I've noticed that the reviews in my inbox aren't exactly piling up. There have also been no answers to my poll so forgive me if I get angry, but I really do mean it when I say that I want REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!! Then again, I know that my chapters aren't the longest in the world and I apologize for that: I really am trying to stretch it out. The QuickEdit on ff.net screws up my formatting, I'm working on it though.

Anyway, here's the seventh chapter of Angel of Light. The sequel may have a different name, like Guardian of Hope or something like that.



Angel of Light

Chapter 7

Sibling Rivalry


"That is the temple that you will attend on the horizon, my son." Akenadin's deep voice rumbled as he pointed it out to his son, Seth. For a second, his face tightened as he thought about her.

Celestia would probably have looked just like him without the long hair and the more... feminine aspects that she had. But that was all in the past: she was dead and Seth would usurp the throne without the hindrances or distractions that a twin would have presented.

It's a pity that she wasn't a boy, maybe she could have been shipped off to an isolated oasis instead of abandoned, he thought, but quickly brushed the thought from his mind. Either way, the girl would have ended up dying, with or without a little nudge from him.

"Father, do you believe that Mother will recover?" Seth voiced a thought, shattering his father's reflections. He referred to an illness that his mother had caught just before they left and, although he gave no sign of it, worried for her.

"Hmm...? Oh! Yes, of course your mother will recover, she always does," he muttered absentmindedly as a reply. Seth sat back in his horse's saddle, reassured. He was a cold young boy around everyone except the royal family and his own relations. Then, he was just mildly thawed out and his behavior touched the line between the utmost respect and blunt insubordination. For all his indifference, though, he was still a popular boy and more often than not, there were many people gathered around him.

"I hope you will do well at the Golden Sun temple, Seth," he added.

"Why, of all the places in Egypt, do you choose to enroll me here?" Seth asked. "It's separated from everything and the only visitors are the caravans and dust storms!"

"You need a change of scene. The city is too...crowded and dirty. Out here, it's lovely and wild-"

"And sandy and hot and isolated," Seth muttered. Akenadin pretended not to hear.

"You'll get to know new people-"

"Who don't even know how to behave in public. They probably eat with their hands and only wash once a month, the savages."

"You're being very pessimistic, Seth."

"What else is there to be? I'm being torn away from civilization and dropped in the middle of illiterate, ignorant, backcountry idiots!" Seth almost dropped his mask of boredom, but he managed to retain some composure.

"Those illiterate, ignorant, backcountry idiots, as you call them, have among them a girl your age who summoned a Ryu-Kishin for her first try! I believe she will keep you on your toes for a while at least," Akenadin almost sneered with condescension at Seth.

"Really? Maybe this place won't be so boring after all if there's a person to duel with who won't lose on the first try," Seth said, faintly interested. Akenadin wanted to reply, but the gates of the temple were already looming ahead.


"Don't forget that you have to show Seth around, "the Head Priest reminded Celestia on his way out to greet their newly arrived guests. " Please, do something about that chiton! Put ribbons on it or something, but don't come out like a common merchant's daughter! His father, who's an influential figure in the Pharaoh's city, is inspecting the temple and the priests!" Celestia was scowling at her simple dress, but once she heard the words 'his father," clenched her fists while continuing to look ahead blandly. Then when the elderly man was out of sight, she vented her feelings on a nearby wall.

"Of course Akenadin is coming! No normal parent would let his son come alone! But then again, no normal parent would..." she trailed off as Malik turned the corner and approached her.

"Talking to yourself again?" he asked with a smirk.

"No. Imagining things are you?" his smirk dropped and was replaced with a deadly look.

"I know you have a goddess's protection, but it won't save you for long," he whispered menacingly so that no one could hear. Celestia idly summoned a ball of white-hot energy fire.

"See this? I wonder what the result would be if it connected with your ugly head? Maybe you'd look better. Oh, and by the way," she continued, "when you hang around a powerful goddess often, you learn all sorts of useful tricks. I don't think Mas-Ne-Ra would like to be mentioned in such a degrading way. Divine beings are...vain," Malik shot her a malevolent glance and disappeared into a convenient room.

"Coward," she muttered and deftly extinguished the flame. A choker and headband appeared before her.

"I thought that you might want to spruce up your appearance for his arrival" Mas-Ne-Ra said mentally. "While they're not the real thing that you'll receive when you're twelve, they're good substitutes"

"Thank you," she said quietly and slipped them on. The elegance of her adornments contrasted brilliantly with the simplicity of her chiton and created a pleasing effect. Her headband was made of bronze and had an abstract pattern etched on it that didn't stay the same every time you looked at it. Her choker was merely a string of carnelian gems threaded together so expertly that they appeared to have been stuck together while maintaining the fluidity of a light, loose necklace.

"Seth, Akenadin, prepare to meet Celestia-"she began.

"Future Daughter of Mas-Ne-Ra" the goddess added. Celestia gave her a weird look. She shrugged.

"It's going to be part of your title when you finish the book learning, so get used to it," she offered as an explanation. Celestia decided to drop the subject: she could feel a headache forming.

"Get out there and impress your brother! Don't reveal anything," then the goddess disappeared.

"Nice to know that she's always around," Celestia muttered, then took a deep breath.

"Seth, whether you're a stuck-up jerk or the bloody son of a prince, you're going to fall before my superior power." She headed outside.


Seth was thinking the same thing along slightly different lines.

The temple is nice enough, but what of the people inside? Girl, whoever you may be, you're going to have to share the position of best trainee, maybe even forfeit it, because I have no intention of backing down.

"This is the Head Priest," Akenadin introduced to Seth. He nodded politely to the youngster, but Seth barely gave any sign of having noticed. The elder felt a bit miffed since all were supposed to show respect to their elders, especially if the said elder could decide the other's future.

"I hope you will feel comfortable in our training temple," he added, unnerved by the silence.

"Whether or not I will be is based on the temple itself. It would be at fault if I wasn't and I doubt that it has much to offer," Seth said. The old man looked for anything to distract the boy's gaze and his attention settled on Celestia, who was just coming out of the temple behind Seth.

"Here's your guide, she is our top student," he said quickly.

Celestia had seen nothing of Seth as she was exiting the building except his short brown hair-so much like hers if she hadn't grown it out- and was feeling a bit of dread as she approached the group. The fact that Akenadin was there only intensified the problem, only the dread was replaced by utter hate.

I'll kill you someday, but not today, since it might upset your son, my brother, she thought.

All thoughts of killing flew out of her head when Seth turned to look at her. Shock then replaced the hate: Seth was exactly as she thought he was complete with the pair of icy blue eyes that were now inspecting her from head to toe, just like she was doing. Celestia was careful to keep a bland expression on her face, which mirrored his. She stopped a foot away from him and met his eyes in a challenge.

So this is Seth, hmm... he looks like a strong spell would do him in. Then again, I'm not exactly going to kill him since he might be the only decent one in my supposed family besides my alleged mother, Celestia called up her power to back her and it surrounded her with silver fire.

So this is the girl I've heard so much about, funny... she looks weak. I bet I could wipe her out with a single Shadow Monster. If she is their top student, what are they teaching here? Seth countered her show of power with his own taking form in pale blue fire.

They glared at each other, both unwilling to back down.

Hmmmmmm..... not so weak after all, they both realized, withdrawing their magic. Seth smirked and she grinned back.

"I'm Seth," he offered in a benign way. Maybe this out-of-the-way place wouldn't be so unbearable after all if there was a challenge. The city and the nobles- especially the daughters-were beginning to irritate him.

"Celestia," she said in an equally benign tone. I'll just have to hope he isn't much of a jerk.

Akenadin frowned faintly. Where had he heard the name Celestia before? It probably was nothing important. He had to begin the journey back to Memphis, the Pharaoh's city, soon.

"Now that you know each other, please show my son around. I must get back. Make me proud, Seth." Then he hurried out of the courtyard.

Celestia felt the slightest tinge of melancholy well up in her. She was never said 'make me proud' to by anyone. It was times like these when she almost wanted a family.

Almost.

"Celestia, show Seth where his room is. His room is the one next to Malik's in the west wing," the priest said and left them.

Alone.

Together.

Open for combat.

Celestia grimaced and he noticed.

"I'm guessing that this Malik is someone that you'd prefer to avoid?" he asked.

"Yes." Was her short reply as she started walking. Seth fell into step with her.

"Why?"

"He's a two-faced jerk with absolutely no sense of bravery, to put him in nice terms."

"He's a rival, right?"

"You catch on quick. Yes, he's a rival, but only in his dreams. In reality, he's way out of my league."

"Better or worser?"

"Worser, of course. Don't try to joke with me; I know you sensed my aura," Celestia quickened her pace but he matched it easily.

"Yes, but I'm still trying to figure out if it's weaker or equal to mine,"

"Have you ever considered whether it's stronger?" She turned left into the west wing.

"No, because most children my age have weaker ones."

"Well, it's lucky for me that I'm one of the minorities. Any others?"

"The Pharaoh's son, Yami, is one."

"Strange name," she commented.

"No less strange than yours. Celestia can be traced to celestial, which means heavenly. I don't exactly see anything of the heavens in you," he shot back.

"Your eyes must be on the blink, then,"

"So, this is the new guy?" Malik drawled, leaning on the wall next to his bedroom door. Celestia stifled a sigh of annoyance.

"The flea I swatted yesterday has come back to haunt me," she said to Seth.

"You're Malik." Seth stated.

"You're Seth," Malik said, confirming his name.

"Yes, and I'm the girl who's going to blast you into oblivion if you don't disappear," Celestia said warningly.

"What's the matter? Feeling protective, are you? Don't worry; I lack the fangs to bite your precious friend."

"Well, I do possess the influence to destroy your soul in the afterlife, so start disappearing!" Celestia readied a fist to do some punching.

"Relax, it's not like I can harm you with your divine protection" he said, emphasizing the last two words. He walked down the hallway and disappeared from sight.

"I can see why you hate him with such passion," Seth commented. He pushed open the door to his bedroom and walked inside. The twin brother looked back at the door and raised his eyebrows. Celestia lingered around the doorway.

"Coming in?" he asked. She shifted uncomfortably.

"Temple policy dictates that no girl can be in a boy's room or vice versa, no matter what the age. I'll wake you up tomorrow at six if the bells don't. Your luggage is in there already and I'll show you the rest later. If you get lost, ask anyone, but until tonight, you can wander to your heart's content," then she muttered. "If you have a heart," then she continued in a normal voice, "I have to go to lessons now, so feel free to settle in. Any questions?"

"Which god or goddess do you serve?" He asked.

"Mas-Ne-Ra," she said.

"You do know that it means Greater then Ra, don't you?"

"Not until now, I didn't."

"Still, that's a pretty powerful goddess. You must have passed the test she placed on trainees then."

"Which one?" she was gone after that, leaving Seth to ponder the mystery of Celestia.


Wow, nine whole pages! That's an all time record! Not that I have been writing for that long, but it's pretty amazing for me. Celestia might have seemed quite bloodthirsty in the Akenadin part, but this is the guy who tried to kill her. Don't forget to review!