~ Painful Memories ~

Ryou stayed up for hours waiting for the others to fall asleep. Many times he himself had almost dosed off, but he had made it a point to stay awake, after all, this was the only chance he had to warn Malik.

   So, once he was sure that they were all asleep he climbed out the small window on the second story. Using the sheets that he had tied together, he slowly scaled his way down the wall. This was something that he didn't really enjoy seeing as how he was scared of heights, and he couldn't even believe that he was doing all of this for some god awful Pharaoh. But too late, his feet were already planted on the dirt path below the house, his mind, made up.

   Glancing around the dark alleyway he so wished that he had thought to bring a torch. No telling who or what was lurking in the shadows of Thebes at this time of night. Oh well, he shrugged it off, he had to grow up sometime, Bakura wasn't always going to be there to protect him. But somehow...that didn't seem to boost his confidence.

   Taking in a deep breath, he slipped the hood of his cloak over his head and started off down the dirt path.

   It was narrow. On one side was Malachi's house, and the other was an enormous wall that separated the city of Thebes from the Sahara desert that stretched endlessly to the west. The wall was put there not only to stop invasions, but to keep the hyenas and jackals out. There had been one too many encounters with them over the years.

   Once Ryou reached the end of Malachi's house he pressed his back tightly against the stone wall and peered around the corner.

   The street torches had long since been extinguished, leaving the Theban streets looking like a ghost town. Had it not been for the cloudless night, Ryou wouldn't have been able to see anything at all.

   He shivered slightly, pulling his cloak around his body tighter. Egyptian days were well known for their scorching temperatures, but nights in Thebes, by the river Nile could be just as brutal.

   Cautiously he stepped out of from the protection of the building and made his way down the street almost at a running pace, wanting to reach his destination as fast as possible.

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   Once again Malik found himself wandering to that place in his palace. The place where he could get all of his thoughts in order. Where there would be no Yami to bug him, where no servant could walk in on him. Of course it was his garden.

   He walked down the narrow corridor that lead to the door that separated the rest of the palace from his private sanctuary. Two guards were standing by, and as the Pharaoh approached them, they bowed low. He dismissed them without a word, but with a simple wave of his hand, and quickly, after one last bow, they walked silently down the constricted hallway.

   Malik waited until they were out of sight, and then, with a quick glance behind, he opened the door that separated fantasy from reality.

   Instantly the world seemed to take on a whole different meaning. It was dark in the garden, but there was no roof; the moonlight was reflected off the small pond in the center. The moon itself was enough light for Malik to see around the garden, it cast eerie shadows along the walls.

   The delicate breeze that was blowing caused Malik to shiver slightly as he brought his hands up and moved them up and down his upper arms.                                      He started to walk around the garden, realizing that he wouldn't be able to sit still and stay warm.

   As he watched the moon dance across the surface of the rippling water, and listened to the sounds of the small waterfall, he thought about what Isis had said. "Ryou will be back." Those words had been ringing through his mind ever since she had said them.

   Was he really coming back? And if so, when? And why did he want the little runt to come back so badly? He didn't like him, and he most certainly didn't care about him...much.

   "Dammit." Malik growled, picking up a rock and throwing it full force into the pond, wishing that the pond were Bakura's face. Those two boys were ruining him. They were the cause of his humiliation. Especially Bakura. He couldn't believe that Bakura, after punching him in the face, had the nerve to kiss him. Although, Malik couldn't help but think that Bakura really knew how to kiss...

   'Gross.' He thought. He never wanted to think like that again. But deny it though he tried, he had to accept that he thought both boys to be extremely attractive.

   But Ryou...it was Ryou who made him feel something...ah, what's the word? But that couldn't be it. Malik didn't even know what that felt like. No one had ever loved him. Not even his own father.

   Seeing Isis tonight had brought back those painful memories that he had fought so hard to forget. Absentmindedly he brought his hand around and placed it on his back, running his fingers along the slightly raised scars that were there. With those scars came a torrent of pain.

   After that day, it was as if he had become a different person. Up until he was ten he had always wanted to be a priest of Ra. He would spend countless hours in the temple with his friend, now servant, Litho. Litho was like the older brother he never had. They did everything together. But as Malik grew older, he spent less and less time with Litho.

   His father forced him to stay inside the palace and read about past Pharaohs. He had to memorize ancient scriptures and learn the old form of hieroglyphs. Every time Malik would protest, he was only yelled at, and sometimes beaten for being, what his father would call 'insolent'.

   He was taught that, when he became Pharaoh he should have mercy for no one.

   That he was the only living being that mattered.

   That emotions were below him, and to have them showed signs weakness.

   It was that last rule that made him what he was today. It feared him beyond words that he might actually care for Ryou. He had never had feelings like that before. The closest he had ever come to loving and caring for someone had been Litho, and his sister, who both tried desperately to keep him from undergoing the sacred initiation ritual. But nothing that anyone could have said would have changed his fathers mind.

   That would be that last time that anyone had ever stood up for him. Shortly after that, Isis left the country and Malik had been crowned Pharaoh. Litho became his loyal servant, but refused to regard him as a friend any longer.

   It pained him every day to look at Litho, and not be able to talk to him like he used to. There was so much that he wanted to say, but he had no body to tell it to.

   In fact, now, the person that he most wanted to just talk to was...Ryou.

A sudden noise from the other side of the garden caused Malik to stop thinking and look up. It sounded like it was coming from the other side of the wall.

   Becoming curious, he leered in the shadows and edged his way closer, being careful not to make a noise so as not to disturb whoever, or whatever was there. He waited silently, in the shadows against the adjacent wall. If it was a person, they would pay dearly for daring to come into his garden.

    The noise was growing louder. He looked to the top of the ten foot wall and his breath caught in his throat when his eyes met with a sight he was not prepared to see.

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That's it...damn me and my evil cliffies. Sorry but if you don't know what he saw...heh heh heh...tune in next week...but it should be pretty obvious!

Again, thanks for all of the wonderful reviews, I really appreciate them!