[Hey, I'm not gonna give it away in the author notes!! Go read!!]
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Light the Flame
Chapter Three
I Don't Think They're Coming Home...
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"It's the... the honest truth," Jono said to Maia one night after watching for Yami. Maia leaned forward onto the stone table, the candle they were using for light flickering.
"Are you sure? You're positive?" Maia asked, her eyes saddened. Jono bowed his head.
"Yes, Maia, dear... I don't think they're coming back home." Maia ran her hands through her hair, sighing.
"Oh, gods... Has anyone seen them?" Jono nodded.
"Yes, some men that had gone out to find them came back, saying Yami had defeated them... They said he was so determined that his Shadow magic came out. He... he killed whoever opposed him. The only men that came back were the ones watching from a distance..."
"He killed? Yami? Really?" Maia said in disbelief. "But... I thought he was so passive..." Jono stared straight at her.
"He was," he explained in a hushed whisper. "Maia, don't you know why he didn't want to be Pharaoh?" Maia shook her head. Jono leaned in closer, although anyone who could overhear were all asleep.
"He's afraid of the Sennen Items," Jono whispered. Maia's eyes grew wide with surprise.
"What?" she whispered back. "He is?"
"Yes, very afraid," Jono explained. "Whenever he sees them used, something... happens to the holders. He says it's the thing he's afraid of. He can't explain it, supposedly, but it's there and it frightens him. Something about... the purity of them. Maia," Jono said, his hands on her shoulders, "those Items aren't as pure as we think they are." Maia gulped and stared hard at Jono.
"W-what's he afraid of in them?" she asked slowly. Jono let her go and looked away.
"He's afraid of himself. He's afraid of his own power. He has the most power out of everyone, Maia. And he's not even full-blood Egyptian, for Ra's sake," Jono said, turning to her. Maia gasped and blinked.
"He's not?"
"Shhhh! Don't let anyone know!" Jono said, covering her mouth. He glanced around for a moment, but the windows were silent. He let her go, Maia shaking.
"So, he's afraid of his Shadow power..."
"Because, with the Sennen Puzzle, the others come alive," Jono explained, attempting an explanation of the Items. "Without anyone to rule the Puzzle, even if there are people to use the others, they won't truly work until the Puzzle is in order. Like... if Pharaoh were to die, and Yami didn't come back..."
"What about Sekhem?" Maia asked, folding her hands. Jono shook his head.
"No good. Yami... he was chosen at birth. It's either him, or no one, Maia."
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The rock was hard and smooth between his hands as he raised his arm to fling it. It skipped a couple times, then sank into the water. Seto sighed.
"Seto?" a voice called behind him. Seto turned to see a woman behind him. Two of them. Asenath had been walking and talking to Isis, but when they saw Seto, they both stopped.
"What on earth are you doing?" Asenath asked, walking forwards. Isis followed. Seto stepped back and stared into the large pool of water he'd been using to skip rocks on.
"Waiting, like everyone else," he said, tossing a rock up and down in his hands. He sighed and tossed that one, too. It landed in the water without any movement at all. Isis folded her hands in front of her and stared at the silver-looking water.
"It's been... nearly a week," Isis said softly. She glanced up. "Surely, if they were still alive, they'd--"
"They're still alive," both Seto and Asenath said defiantly. Isis gulped. She knew this would happen... They wouldn't accept the possibility that they had died...
"...Well..."
"I have proof, Isis," Asenath said, turning to her. Isis looked up at her. Asenath's lips curved into a small smile. "I can sense Yami. He's still alive. When... when he died the last time," she said, staring at her hands, "...I couldn't sense him any longer. It was if his presence was never there. That's how I knew he had died without being told. But now... If he was dead, I wouldn't feel him so... strongly. His soul is still here... He is still alive..." she trailed off, rubbing her hands together.
"...Oh..." Isis murmured. "Well, I certainly hope..." she decided not to finish. Seto crossed his arms and stared at the water.
"You know what the Pharaoh said, right?" he asked softly. Asenath bit her lip and closed her eyes.
"He said bring them back, dead or alive," Isis said in a small voice. "...Dead or alive..." A soft wind picked up, blowing them in the back. Seto closed his eyes and Asenath sat down on the edge of the pool, her braid swinging out behind her. It took both Isis and Seto a moment to realize that Asenath was wiping her red, blotchy eyes. They were filled with painful tears.
"It's not fair," Asenath whispered. She refused to look up at the two. "...It's just not fair."
"What isn't? That they get to die while we're stuck here with the burden they left behind?" Seto said angrily, turning around. Asenath looked up at Seto, tears in her eyes.
"It's not fair, what the gods are doing!" She cried. "Playing this damn game with us!"
"Heh, you call this a game?!" Seto cried, throwing up his arms. "Oh yeah, what a game this is! This isn't a game, you idiot, it's life!" Asenath narrowed her eyes.
"I don't care. The gods are playing with human emotions. Don't they know how difficult it is for them to do that?"
"They can do whatever the hell they want!" Seto said, leaning forwards, right into Asenath's face. Asenath swallowed. "Listen. I don't know what's going on in his head, but there is no way that the gods could want him now!!" Silence filled the courtyard. Isis was shaking her head at the argument.
"It doesn't matter what he's done," she explained. "Seto, the gods chose him at birth. He has no real choice whether he wants to or not." Seto sighed and ran his fingers in his hair, turning away.
"They should choose someone else," he muttered. "Someone who actually stays loyal to his family..." Asenath stared at the ground, the setting sun flashing over her body.
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"They're not coming home."
This was the word throughout the city by the next day. Jono was sitting on a stone wall, splashing water onto his face when Tiet came running over, hopping onto the wall beside him.
"Did ya hear, Jono? They're stoppin' the search fer Yami now." Jono stayed silent. "It's incredible. They've been gone hardly seven days and 'den they call of tha search... Guess they really think he ain't comin' back, huh?" Jono sighed.
"No, he's not coming home..." he said in a soft voice. Tiet closed his eyes.
"It's... so sad..."
"They're either miles away from here..." Jono continued in the same voice, "...or they've died." He heard Tiet take in his breath sharply.
"Yeah..."
"Hey," Maia called from a few feet away. She pushed her way through some of the militia men and arrived at the wall, staring up at Jono and Tiet.
"New news has spread, boys," she said. With Jono's help, she was pulled up beside him.
"What didya hear, Maia?" Tiet asked, leaning forwards. Maia sighed.
"...Pharaoh believes Yami to be dead..."
"No!"
"...And now they'll send out a note asking the people of other countries to keep an eye out for him... So that... we can give him a proper burial." Maia finished in a much softer voice then when she started. Jono sighed.
"So, they've given up," he said. "They just... gave up."
"It's different this time, Jono," Maia said, placing her hand on top of his. "Asenath isn't here to resurrect him. There's hardly a chance for survival of a royal because... he's never had to work his entire life. You or me out there, we'd probably live twice as long as he would." Tiet sighed. Jono nodded slowly.
"...You're absolutely right, Maia," he said, closing his eyes. "You're absolutely right."
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Pharaoh Ankumanukanon just couldn't take it anymore.
"It's getting too hard..." he said one evening to his wife. Anna sighed and leaned against the wall. "...It's getting too hard to say good-bye to him one more time..."
"People have been talking," Anna said slowly. "The theory is that he's leaving until the charges are lifted."
"Gone for a year?"
"I suppose so." Ankumanukanon rubbed his face with his hands, sighing deeply.
"Gone for a year... He'll probably shun us or something," Ankumanukanon said, smiling a bit. "It's just like him. Sometimes, I wonder why he didn't turn out to be more like Asenath or Sekhem. Not as... rebellious." Anna glanced up at him, tapping her fingers on the wall.
"He didn't come out like them because he was born with a huge duty placed on him," Anna explained softly. "Becoming Pharaoh? That's one of the hugest duties there is, Anku." Ankumanukanon nodded.
"Yes... he has to become used to it... I know he's scared..."
"He can't stay that way for long," Anna explained. She closed her eyes. "I just keep to the thought that, one day, he'll come home to us..."
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[Erm, oddness. Well, there's a taste of what's goin' on back home... Now, what about Yami and Teana, eh? o.o Next chap: Home at Last.]
Oooh, note: in September's issue of "Money" magazine, my dad was featured in an article about being laid-off and surviving. They came today to take our picture of our family. Look for "Jim Stewart" in the article. The pic will either be one of my parents with me and my brother in the pool in the background, a group shot of us with me an Nick being wet with towels, or a pic of us, all grouped together in the grass. o-o Look for me -- I'm the girl. xD
Shibby-One
