Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh

Author's notes: Sorry for the late update. I've been busy doing other stuff. The good news is that I now have a better idea of what I want to do with this story. Many ideas have graced my presence in these last two weeks. Im also gonna be busy concentrating on getting my squall Leonheart costume ready. My sister has convinced me to go with her and her friend to an Anime/Manga convention. Sounds like fun.

Btw, you are going to see a taste of Romi's true personality. She is only interested in herself and uses others to get what she wants. She's very different from my other oc and any other I've read about. I want her to be selfish. It's a refreshing change don't you think? Im sorry if this is boring so far. Please bear with me. This is still building up to something. Once she finds out about her village, things will get better I promise!

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The Thieves of Ancient Egypt

Chapter 4: The Last Straw

The sound of papyrus rustling, echoed throughout the library. The woman behind the sorting was in a 'very' bad mood and who could blame her? Romi fumed to herself as she bitterly organized the papers in front of her, wincing at sudden movements. She was now officially fed up of life here in the palace and despised every single person in it! Today's events had forced her to seriously reconsider her future here in Kemet. She growled in anger as her mind played back to the events the day before.

88888 Flashback 88888

Romi had been working as usual, minding her own business, doing what scribes do best. She had been working for many hours and was in desperate need of a break. Feeling she would work better after a stroll, she stood up to stretch her arms and legs.

"I feel like an old woman" she thought as she felt her stiff knees creak from the endless hours of sitting on her backside.

Romi made her way to the door of the library and stepped outside. She eventually came to a balcony and looked outside onto the city below. It was a particularly nice afternoon. It was just after midday and the sun had just begun to descend from the sky, a pleasant breeze blowing through the city. Romi closed her eyes and breathed deeply as the wind blew her hair about her face. She shook her head, allowing her long raven tresses fall about her shoulders.

"It's a shame I have to work. Once again I am forced to stay inside on the one day that everyone else is out enjoying themselves" she thought bitterly.

She crossed her arms and leant over the balcony, an idea slowly forming in her head. She had been asked to write an important paper that had to be completed this very evening, a very serious job. Romi didn't really want to do it though. It was so incredibly boring; she thought she would die before completing it. Her idea? Why not get someone else to finish it instead while she went off and did her own thing?

It didn't take much to persuade her, so with that final thought, she sprinted off towards the dormitories to find Siuani.

Romi and Siuani had become friends over the years… or so it appeared. Siuani loved hanging out with Romi because she was fun, and interesting stuff always seemed to happen when she was around. Especially where Baal was concerned. Romi however thought of Siuani to be a tagalong and extremely annoying. She much preferred to have her own space then share it with someone like her. The only reason why she acted all buddy buddy with Siuani, was because the girl was so damn eager to please people, and that in itself was a reason to stay civil towards her. You never know when you might need a pawn to do your dirty work.

She soon arrived at her 'pal's' room and knocked a few times. With no answer, Romi poked her head around the half opened door to see Siuani laying on the bed with a book covering her face. She looked like she was asleep.

"Wakey wakey!" hollered Romi, scaring the life out of her.

Siuani jumped with such a start, that she fell off the bed and landed with a loud bump on the stone floor. She groaned in pain, and stood up rubbing her sore rear.

"Owwwww! What did you do that for? You could have just nudged me!" she complained.

Romi waved her hand, dismissing the matter. "There wasn't time. Let me get straight to the point, im in a hurry, I need your help with something"

Siuani looked at Romi in concern. "Why? What's wrong? How can I help?"

Romi smirked inwardly, but put on a troubled look. That girl was too kind for her own good. "I need to go into the city for a few hours. It's 'really' important, but im laden with work that has to be completed this evening. I can't get out, so I was wondering if you could help me by finishing the work for me"

Predictable as always, Siuani jumped in to the rescue. "Of course I will. What do I have to do?"

Romi explained the work to Siuani, the naive girl trying to take it all in. Once she had finished giving her instructions, the girl dashed off to begin the work. Romi smirked at yet another job well done. She went into her room and grabbed a white cloak so she would be able blend in with the city dwellers.

88888888 in the city.

Romi wandered the streets, enjoying herself immensely. She had decided to go to the market and have a browse at the merchant's wares. She stopped at a few places, buying bits like jewellery, glass beads and fabrics. It was a hobby of hers to sew and create garments to sell for extra cash. That was how she was able to make up for losses after that merchant had scrounged over half her wages for delivering her parcels and messages to her family in Kuruelna.

After a while, Romi decided that she had to stop buying, otherwise she wouldn't be able to get back into the palace without looking suspicious. Siuani wouldn't be very happy with her either if she found out she had lied just to get out of working. She'd lose her tool, and that must never happen. Siuani was still too useful to her.

Romi was beginning to feel clammy underneath her cloak, but she had to keep it on so that people wouldn't recognise her scribe uniform and point her out to the guards.

"But I'm not ready to go back to work yet. I think I'll go over to the Nile and have a swim" she thought, glancing over at the sparkling river.

She found herself a small hidden spot amongst the reeds, away from inquisitive eyes, and put her items away out of sight in the rocks. She began to undress herself, taking of her jewellery and placing it in a pile with the rest of her things. She walked over to a large boulder that was raised above the water, lifting her arms above her head and diving gracefully into the cool water, hardly making any splash at all.

She spent the first few minutes cleansing herself before swimming around in the small tributary, paying no mind for the time. After a while, Romi became tired and decided to rest. She climbed out, dripping wet and grabbed a white cloth, wrapping it around her. She sat against a smooth rock, allowing the sun to dry her tanned skin naturally. She soon felt her eyes becoming heavy with sleep, so she decided to rest them for a while.

Romi opened them again and looked up into the sky to see that the sun had travelled a considerable distance since she last checked. In fact, the sun would be setting in an hour or so. It was a pale pink colour right now. Bolting upright, Romi swore to herself, angry that she had allowed herself to be that reckless. She was only supposed to be out for a few hours, but had been gone for much much longer.

She was supposed to have been back by now to deliver the documents to the priests who had requested them. She pulled on her clothes and left her shopping where it was. It was hidden in a space between some rocks anyway. No one would know it was there so she could come back and fetch it later.

Romi ran as fast as she could towards the palace, somehow managing to get in without being seen by the guards. The first thing she had to do was find Siuani. Hopefully she was still in the library. Throwing the doors open and almost falling into the room, Romi saw that the place was empty. Figuring that the girl had just gone back to her room, she turned to leave.

Romi almost died of shock when she saw someone standing behind her. It was Baal. She composed herself and stared back at him.

"Where have you been hiding?" asked Baal with a derisive sneer.

"What are you going on about? I've been here all along you denser then dense moron. Have you been sniffing opium again?" she spat, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice.

"No, not today. It's just that Akunadin has been looking all over for you ever since Siuani handed in the documents 'you' wrote earlier" he said, looking at his nails.

"What does he want with me?" asked Romi casually, despite the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Akunadin was the strictest of all the priests and no one liked him all that much. He was just respected really. Whatever the job, he always got it done regardless of who he hurt.

"He wants to congratulate you on a job well done" said Baal, turning to face her, annoyance clear on his features. "Apparently, that little essay you wrote has resolved a few of this city's most major problems and he wants to reward you for it"

Romi stared at him in complete confusion. "What?"

"You heard what I said Romi! You bask in his glory while you can, but one of these days you will get what's coming to you" Baal turned on his heel and stalked away, a smirk appearing on his face when he was out of Romi's eyesight.

Romi stood there feeling relieved. Baal was just jealous of her. She let out a small laugh. Siuani had covered up for her thank goodness. She would have to thank her later for this. Romi took a seat on a nearby chair and slumped into it. It wasn't long before she was interrupted again.

"There you are" boomed a deep voice by the door.

Romi tilted her head to see the priest Akunadin standing there. He didn't look very happy, but when did he ever look happy? Romi quickly stood up and bowed her head in respect to the older man.

"You wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Yes" growled Akunadin. "About the paper you wrote earlier…"

"Was it to your liking?" she asked with a concealed triumphant smile.

"Excuse me! Are you asking me if I enjoyed this…. this impertinence!"

Romi's smile faltered when she heard this. "What? I don't understand…"

Akunadin reached into his robes and pulled out the incriminating letter, throwing it in Romi's face. She blinked at it lying on the floor before looking at Akunadin again.

"Do you think that such insolence will go unpunished?" he growled angrily. He was obviously not amused.

Romi stared in horror as two guards entered the library and seized her.

"You will receive twenty lashes and a night in the stocks as your punishment! The next time you pull something like this, it will be double that! Take her away!" he ordered turning his back on her and walking out of the room.

Romi's protests were drowned out as they dragged her towards the dungeon to be whipped. They pulled her into a dark and dingy room, decorated with devices of torture, and chained her to a wall, her back facing them. They tied her hair up so her back was more exposed. She twisted her head to look over her shoulder. One of the men was deciding on which whip he should use. Romi cringed as they began a crude debate on which would be more painful in the long run. She turned her head towards the wall again and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping against hope that they would never come to a decision. Unfortunately for her, they did.

She heard a man standing directly behind her cracking the whip in practice. A shortly after, she heard a second. At first Romi thought it was another practice, but a few seconds later she felt a sharp sting tear across her shoulders. Her punishment had begun. She refused to scream. She had more pride then that. She wouldn't give these men the satisfaction of hearing her pain. The man continued to desecrate the skin on her back. Blood trickling down and sticking to her clothes.

When they had finished, they unchained her from the wall. Romi fell to the ground, her body lifeless and weak from the loss of blood. The guards took her by the arms and placed her in the stocks. Then they placed a dry cloth on her back and left her there, all alone.

It wouldn't have been so bad if it had just been the lashes, but Romi had to force herself to stand or risk serious injury which was very difficult to do in her weakened condition. She spent the next twenty four hours standing there, her anger and hatred towards the upper classes well past boiling point.

88888888 end flashback

Romi picked up the papers she had been sorting and threw them across the room. She just didn't care any more. She wanted to go home and forget this miserable excuse for a life she had. Romi stormed out of the library to go to bed. Upon arrival, she ran into Siuani who had with her clean bandages and ointments.

Apparently, she had finished the letter as instructed, but upon delivery, she had bumped into Baal in the halls dropping the paper. He had picked it up for her and handed it back. Siuani taken it from him, completely unawares that he had switched it with an opinionated letter telling the priests what Romi 'really' thought of them.

Siuani had been nothing but kind and apologetic to Romi the moment she had returned from the dungeon. The men had pulled the cloth off her back, all of her closed wounds reopening again. Siuani had tended to Romi, making her feel much more comfortable, but no less angry.

"Im so sorry I didn't check the letter" said Siuani. "I should have known that he was up to something when he acted like a gentleman"

Romi shrugged; face down on the pillows as her bandages were redressed. "He would have found another way to get back at me. It was a long time coming. Don't worry about it"

"Don't worry! You were whipped for something you didn't even do! How can I not worry about it!"

"Because I told you not to!" Romi ordered, getting annoyed now. "The tricks I played on him were miniscule compared to this one. I aimed to hurt his pride whenever I got the chance, and he did the same to me, but this time he took it one step too far. He wont get away with this…"

"What are you going to do?" asked Siuani.

"If he's willing to draw blood to make his point, then I will have to do the same. Only I won't be so merciful towards him. Do you know what im going to do Siuani?"

The girl shook her head in response. "What?"

"I'm going to run away from Kemet and return to my family. I haven't seen them for twelve years. When I tell them what Baal did to me, they'll gladly help me get my revenge on him. They'll make his life a living hell…"

88888888888888888 a few days later

'Have you heard about the pharaoh Akunumkanon?' was the most frequently asked question amongst the common folk. 'I heard that he only has a few months left' was always followed after.

Bakura sat at a table in the corner of a crowded inn, listening to the people talk about their 'beloved leader' all the while a smirk stuck on his face.

"Ha ha! Well what a surprising turn of events. It seems that the man I am after will soon be joining the ranks of the dead. What a pity. I was kind of looking forward to making him beg for mercy while I destroyed everything he held dear. Oh well, all that means is that I have to alter my plans slightly to fit the new situation"

The pharaoh's only son Atemu was the next in line for the throne of Egypt. Once the old man had passed away, Atemu would inherit all of Akunumkanon's duties that came with the title of pharaoh. Bakura grinned to himself. Unfortunately for the boy king, he would also inherit his father's sins. He would be the one to pay for his father's mistakes and the people would suffer for it too.

This new development tipped the scales in Bakura's favour. Atemu was inexperienced and naive. He'd had a sheltered life and was weak. He couldn't do anything on his own and relied upon his priests to protect him. He wasn't fit to fill the role as pharaoh. Bakura however was confident that he would be perfect for the job. But in order to make his plans a reality, he needed to be able to hold his own against the priests.

"Before I make my move, I need to get my hands on a certain item. But I can't do anything until the old man has snuffed it. Maybe I should give him a helping hand to speed the process up a little…"

Bakura stood up from where he was sitting and strode out of the place without even paying for his meal and board. The innkeeper didn't say a word to stop Bakura from leaving. He wasn't stupid. He wanted to keep his head on his shoulders thankyou very much!

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Ok then. The next chapter will have lots more Bakura in it and hopefully, Romi will find out that truth about her village. The next chapter will be better I swear! I will work extra hard on it.