Lu: I'm back! And I've brought my new chapter, Caught in the Act. Say hi!
Caught in the Act: Hi.
Lu: Well, as is tradition, I better answer to reviews.
kitty-gurl1: Well, here's the next chappie. I'm taking this one slow, so the romance will be gradual.
DayDreamerz: This doesn't really have much of a plot yet. The plot is still under construction. I'm working on it, I promise!
Shining Friendship: Thanks! Trust me, I wouldn't write any other ancient Egyptian pairings, maybe TristanxSerenity's equivalents in Egypt, but I'm too lazy to do that.
norestar-angel: It's not a one-shot, don't worry.
Jellybob 15: God no. Yours is so much better. I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter ::hint,hint::
Hysterik-Angel: You ain't seeing my crappy old one and that's final. I can't see it anymore, and I was the authoress. So nya! And I like cliffies! But if you don't like cliffies, then don't read this chapter… ::gulps:: You're gonna kill me aren't you?
M.W.: Yup, I think we all knew that was Joey. I mean, could I write a story without JoeyxMai in it? Ever? ::sigh:: I'm so pathetic…
Hikaru: Well, I'm working on The New Tournament update. Lotsa romance, I promise! And yes… this story too…
Lu: OK, that's over, so you can read the chapter now! Doesn't that sound fun?
Yami Lu: ::cough::Not likely::cough::
Lu: Shut up. Here you go all you TeanaxAtemu fans out there. And a mention of JonoxMaia. Although it doesn't actually count yet.
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Jono fought against his drowsiness. He was exhausted, because the Pharaoh had been chasing around all day at many meetings. However, it was his duty to make sure that no one except the Priests and the Pharaoh were allowed inside the building, and he couldn't fall asleep at his post at risk of being executed.
Jono was a former slave, but Pharaoh Atemu had released him after many years of hard labour under Atemu's father. He now served the Pharaoh as his ever-present, loyal bodyguard. He was permitted to attend most of the Pharaoh's meetings, but tonight's was a top secret meeting, and Jono had been forbidden to come by Priest Seto, who had much power in Egypt.
As he struggled to remain awake, a rustling sound could be heard from the bushes. He was jerked into an alert state by the sound, but he thought little of it. His senses were dulled by his tiredness, and he wasn't exactly going to jump at the wind.
However, he was going to jump as a figure emerged from the bushes. He was startled, to say the least, when Teana, one of the servants to Priestess Isis and Jono's friend, came out onto the path confidently. When he had registered that she was no threat to the Pharaoh, he smiled and greeted her cheerfully.
"Teana, you scared me. I thought I actually had somethin' to worry about dere. Whatcha doin' up at dis time o' night?" he asked curiously. He knew perfectly well that she was not meant to be there, but it wasn't as if Jono had never broken the law before. In fact, he did it quite often.
"Hey Jono. Mana and I were going to spy on the Pharaoh. Will you let us in?" she questioned. Jono knew he was under direct orders from Priest Seto not to let anyone in, but when had he ever followed orders? Especially if they were from Priest Seto. Seto had had something against Jono ever since the first day they met, but Jono couldn't do anything about it, considering he was much less important and socially inferior to the priest. A small teenage girl sprang from the bushes. She had dark skin and brown hair. She looked confused and angry.
"Wait Teana! Why are you telling him what we're doing? He's not even Egyptian, judging by his accent," she yelled. Jono was slightly offended. Sure, he wasn't born in Egypt, but he had spent 10 out of the 16 years of his life in Egypt serving the Pharaoh's family. He felt that after half his life had been spent serving the Egyptian Pharaoh, he should at least be considered Egyptian, even if his accent was not quite Egyptian.
"No, I'm not Egyptian. I was sold as a slave ta de current Pharaoh's father, an' den when de current Pharaoh took de throne, he freed me. I'm now his official bodyguard," he said proudly, and with a hint of indignancy. "Although I'm still not allowed ta listen in on de meetin's. But I'm still not allowed ta let ya in. Sorry Teana."
"Oh come on, it's not as if you haven't eavesdropped on the Pharaoh before," teased Teana. Jono held up his hands to signify peace and guilt.
"Hey, I neva said I hadn't, I just said I wasn't allowed ta let you in," he explained. He then considered the thought of letting the duo in. It couldn't do him any harm, unless they were caught. Even then, as long as the word didn't get to Priest Seto that he had let some one in, he may be able to escape the death sentence. He made up his mind. "But hey, just because I'm not allowed ta, doesn't mean I'm not gonna. Just don't expect me ta stand up fa you if ya get caught."
"Thank you Jono!" squealed Teana, hugging him tightly. Jono hugged her back. They had been great friends ever since they had met during a meeting. It was a highly secret meeting, so both had been forced to wait outside. They had become quick friends, and had remained so for several years now.
"Here ya go," grinned Jono, showing the two rule-breakers the way into the palace. "See ya later. Don't get caught. Good luck."
Once Teana and Mana had disappeared, Jono sighed heavily and went back to his post. There wasn't much to do - this had been a spontaneous meeting, not planned or anything, so no one could have found out the arrangements. Therefore, it was unlikely that any spies, assassins or otherwise would turn up. However, it was a requirement of all meetings that some one guard the door, and Jono was the only one of the guards that was available.
His thoughts began to drift, not to his usual train of thought about what life would have been like if he hadn't been captured as a slave, or another common train about what Atemu might get him into next. No, this time he was thinking about someone other than himself. He was thinking about a girl.
He and the Pharaoh had been to a meeting the previous day, and the representative from his home country, Greece, was the princess. Nobody had mentioned her name, but he knew that it began with an 'M', because he had a vague recalling from his distant childhood. She had the most entrapturing violet eyes, the most exquisite long, blonde hair and the most graceful and elegant figure.
Despite her beautiful and delicate appearence, she had seemed very independent at the meeting. She was not like all the girls in Egypt, who were obedient and quiet. The princess had been outgoing, and ready to argue as much as the men. It wasn't often you could find a woman like that. Since men were considered the superior gender, the men at the meeting had gazed upon her with distaste.
However, Jono and Atemu had been fascinated by this strange woman. They had spent a long time discussing her after the meeting, although Atemu hadn't appeared quite as eager on the subject as Jono. Atemu listened patiently to Jono's ravings about her, before they had to go to yet another meeting. It was becoming tiresome for both of them to be at meetings all day.
Suddenly, voices could be heard from inside the palace, disturbing his train of thought. He stood aside and bowed his head respectfully as the priests filed out of the palace. Seto shot him a withering glare, which Jono ignored with much effort. After the priests had departed, Jono strode inside purposefully. He knew exactly where he had to go. He had to find the Pharaoh and accompany him until he went to bed. He found the meeting room and opened the door without knocking.
"Welcome back Jono. I trust you knew that these two came in," stated the Pharaoh's voice. Jono focused on the Pharaoh, and then to where his hand gestured. Teana and Mana were standing there, trembling all over, staring at the floor. Well, at least Teana was. Mana was glaring at Jono, as if them being caught was his fault.
"Umm... no..." he lied. The Pharaoh smirked.
"You're a terrible liar Jono. I don't blame you for letting them in. I know Mana, and I have seen this servant here before. I trust you know her."
"Yes Atemu. We've been friends fa several years. Her name is Teana, she is servant ta Priestess Isis. I'm sorry I let them in."
"There is no need to be sorry Jono. You know I like meeting my people, but my schedule means I do not often get to do it. So, Teana, is there enough food among the people?" he asked eagerly. Teana nodded without looking up. Atemu looked disappointed at the short response, but turned to Mana.
"My Pharaoh, we apologize for spying, we were curious as to why it was necessary to call a meeting in the middle of the night," said Mana quickly, displaying her ever-ready talent of being able to say many things on the same breath.
"It's OK Mana, no one will find out. Unless..." The dark colour in Atemu's skin was toned down a few notches as blood rushed out of his face.
"Atemu, what is it?" asked Jono worriedly.
"It's just that these two will be found out of their beds. There is no possible way they will get home before their master or mistress does," he groaned.
"We could go with dem. If we can show dem da shortcuts around da city, they'll be sure ta get dere before deir master or mistress does," suggested Jono. Atemu considered it. He nodded slowly.
"That just might work. OK Jono, you go with Mana and take her home. I'll take Teana."
"But Atemu! I meant dat we'd both go with both of dem. I can't let ya go without me. I have ta protect you. If you go somewhere without me, you could get hurt. I'm not allowed ta let ya do dat Atemu," complained Jono.
"Don't worry Jono. No one's going to know it is me. I'll disguise myself. I want to do this Jono," smiled Atemu. Jono looked uncomfortable and unhappy with the arrangements, but nodded nevertheless. He gestured for Mana to follow him, throwing Atemu one last disapproving glance; and they exited the room, leaving Atemu with Teana. Their bickering voices could be heard for moments longer, but they faded quickly.
"Pharaoh..." begun Teana. It was the first time she had spoken since she had entered the room. Atemu noted the trembling decibels in her voice, as well as the innocent tone.
"Come Teana. We must get you home. Where is Isis' house?" asked Atemu.
"It's near the palace, only about 10 minutes away," answered Teana obediently. Atemu thought about it for a moment.
"OK, listen to me carefully. I'm going to change into some different clothes so I can go unnoticed, and then we're going to take a secret passage out of here. If we hurry, we will make it back before Isis," he explained quickly. Teana nodded, indicating she understood. Atemu left the room, leaving her alone.
'Atemu... Pharaoh Atemu caught us... and he didn't turn us in? He's actually helping us? I can't believe this is happening...'
Atemu returned, wearing simple peasant clothes. Teana thought that these clothes didn't suit him as much as his usual white-shirt-with-robe outfit. He looked a lot plainer, which didn't suit his outrageous tri-coloured hair or his entrancing violet eyes. She realised she was staring, and looked at her feet, blushing.
"Shall we go?" suggested Atemu. Teana gave a small nod, glancing up. Atemu was staring at her, but quickly looked away as her gaze shifted upon him. He lead her out of the window and into the extensive and exotic garden at the rear of the palace.
"Why are we going here?" whispered Teana, eyes wide in wonder at the plants that she had never known existed. These plants had extravagant and striking colours, ones that she had never imagined could exist in the whole world, let alone in the harsh desert environment in Egypt.
"There is a shortcut at the back of the palace. If we hurry, we might be able to arrive before Isis does. Who knows, she could be back late. Now, where's that stone?"
He began running his hand along the bricks. Teana assumed that one of them pushed out, but was proved incorrect when Atemu paused on a brick that seemed no different from the others. He began to scale the wall, placing his feet on slight jutting bricks without even thinking about it. Teana guessed that he had done this many times before, most likely with Jono at his side. She followed him, noting the exact place where Atemu placed his foot so that she could imitate is movements a moment later.
"OK, which way is Isis' house from here?" asked Atemu, gesturing around. Teana looked around, and gasped.
"That's it, right there!" she exclaimed, pointing at the large mud brick house before them. Atemu's eyes widened.
"That's Isis' house? I can come and see you some time! When this wave of meetings is finally over, that is," he sighed. Teana blushed at the thought. Meeting Pharaoh Atemu again? He wanted to meet her again?
"Err... OK..." she said uncertainly. Atemu smiled, and crawled back over the wall. Teana let out the breath she had been holding. The Pharaoh had gone, so she was now left to her own frenzied thoughts.
'He's gone Teana... it's OK...' She breathed in and out several times, and composed herself. 'I don't like Atemu. He is the Pharaoh. I am a servant. I am not allowed to like him.'
A slight sound behind her made her jump. She swung around to find somthing, or rather, some one, glaring at her. Her heart plummeted and sped up at the same time. She was sure in trouble now...
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Lu: Ha! Another cliffie! Ooh, this is so much fun! I can't believe it is so easy to leave it at cliffies to piss y'all off! I know how the rest of you writers feel now. It feels so evil but so funny! ::insert evil laugh of choice here::
Yami Lu: Hey! That's my job! ::pout::
Lu: Aww, sorry. That's it anyway. Review!