Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh

Author's notes: I'm sorry I haven't updated this fic in a while. I've been focusing my attention on the other one. oh well. Here it is.

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The Thieves of Ancient Egypt

Chapter 6: The Fugitive

"She's waking up!" said a familiar male voice that Romi was certain she'd heard before.

She turned her head slightly and squinted at the bright light that shone in her bleary eyes. When she could see a little clearer, she looked at the people that surrounded her. There was the innkeeper and that stupid little lapdog of his, and a man she could only assume was a doctor from the blooded clothes that he wore. They all watched Romi with concerned expressions. Almost like she would break in half should she move an inch.

"How are you feeling now?" asked the doctor as he examined the bandage of her thigh.

"Im fine, what happened?" she replied abruptly.

"Well it seemed you'd lost a lot more blood then we first thought. Usually with an injury such as yours, the spear head would have kept the blood loss to a minimum. Unfortunately for you, there was also contamination on the blade. You've been suffering from blood poisoning. It's a miracle you're alive!" explained the doctor.

"Blood poisoning?" repeated Romi. There weren't many people who could say they'd recovered from that!

"Yes" continued the doctor. "I've been watching over you these past two weeks trying to keep your fever down. It wasn't easy I can tell you!"

Romi shifted in the sheets and swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I've been out cold for two weeks!" she yelled, trying to stand up. "Well thanks for all your help, but there's somewhere I have to be right now!"

"I'm afraid that's not such a great idea right now…"

Romi was prevented from moving any further by the doctor placing a firm hand on her shoulder. She was still weak from her sickness and lack of food, and was unable to push past the man as he was also much stronger then her anyway. She glared at him, trying in vain to stand up, but the look on his face showed that there was something wrong. Now that she came to think of it, the doctor wasn't the only one with a grave expression. The innkeeper and the lapdog were also hiding something from her.

She ceased her struggling and studied them, sensing that she wasn't going to like what they were about to tell her.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? Why can't I leave?" she asked, looking each man in the eye.

The innkeeper stepped forward and sat on the end of the bed. "You're wanted by the pharaoh's guards" he said.

Romis eye grew large with shock. "What?"

"A suspicious woman fitting your description was seen fleeing from the palace moments before the pharaoh Akunumkanon was found murdered in his bedchambers…"

"The pharaoh is dead…?" she repeated, unsure if she heard him right the first time. It all began to sink in. "they think that I killed him…?"

"Did you?" asked the lapdog standing behind the other two men.

Romi shot a glare at him. "No I did not! And even if I had, I wouldn't be stupid enough to run right through the guards' right after id done it!"

"Then what were you doing running away from the palace?" asked the innkeeper.

"Well up until two weeks ago, I used to work as a scribe for the pharaoh. I didn't like it there because all the people I had to work with were clingy, stupid, arrogant, or acted like they were gods. Sometimes all three put together. I was on my way home to rally my family and friends to get revenge on a certain someone who had pushed me one too many times…"

The thought of her humiliation that day made her blood boil. Romi had her pride and was not about to Baal take it away! But what was she going to do? She was a fugitive now. There would most likely be a reward for her capture, making it very difficult for her to find people she could trust. They wouldn't hesitate to hand her in for that kind of money.

Romi bowed her head in despair. She wanted to have her revenge on Baal, but what chance did she really have? Boosted security at the palace was most likely number one priority so she couldn't even get close to him. What was she going to do? She was in a very tight situation.

Understanding her predicament, the innkeeper smiled down at her. "Don't worry; the guards have already searched this town. When we heard the news of what happened, we figured it was you they were after and hid you in a secret room in one of our cellars"

Romi looked up at him and shifted her gaze to the rest of the room's occupants. The all nodded in confirmation.

"Why did you do that?" she asked suspiciously. Men didn't do this kind of thing just to be nice. She was sure they wanted something from her.

"Because we didn't like Akunumkanon" the doctor stated. "He was far too nice for our liking. Capturing all the thieves and troublemakers, putting the citizens at ease. I get most of my business from those guys. I rarely get an honest customer. How am I supposed to make a living if they're all in prison?"

Romi laughed. She wasn't expecting that answer. "And what about you?" she asked turning to face the innkeeper.

"For the same reasons as him" he replied. "Im sure the pharaoh meant well, but society depends on the dishonest to thrive. My family have owned this inn for generations. It has always been packed full of weary travellers, or locals just looking for a good time, but since Akunumkanon became pharaoh, business has been in decline. It's about time someone took care of him"

"But who do you think did it?" mused the doctor to no one in particular. "If this young lady wasn't the culprit then there must have been someone else behind it"

"Well duh…" muttered the young man in the background, earning himself a warning glance.

"I don't know…" said Romi. "But they must have planned it all very carefully to have escaped without being noticed"

"Well I doubt we're going to find out any time soon" said the doctor standing up. "Wait a minute! We haven't even introduced ourselves properly. My name is Kasseem, but people around here call me Kassy"

Romi raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Kassy? Sounds a bit girly doesn't it?"

"Don't get me started" he laughed. "This," he gestured to the innkeeper, "is my friend, Gheb, and the boy standing behind him is his nephew Khonsu"

The boy waved timidly at Romi. She held back a snort of laughter at his bashful nature as they had risked so much to help her, besides he was cute. Not in the way that she would want to date him, but cute as in sweet. She didn't want to offend them, and for some strange reason, she was beginning to like them.

"My name is Romi" she said. "Thank you for helping me. What can I do to repay you?"

"Just get yourself better" said Gheb. "If you really want to make it up to us later, you can help us out upstairs in the bar with the customers"

"But wont they recognise her?" asked Khonsu worriedly in the background.

"I don't think so" said Kasseem. "The only thing those moronic guards saw was a cloaked woman on a horse with a spear sticking out of her leg. Romi doesn't have a spear sticking out of her leg now does she? And besides, it's not like the customers will be able to recognise her anyway. Not with the amount of booze they'll be drinking"

Romi wrinkled her nose in thought. "Hmmm, a pharaoh's scribe turned barmaid…. I like it… it's so… gritty"

888888888888888888 in Kemet

Bakura was having the time of his life. He lay in a secluded area of a harem on a pile of comfy silk cushions, surrounded by gorgeous women, and none of them had a clue that he was the one that had murdered their beloved pharaoh. He listened to them all talk about it, telling him how terrible it was and how they hoped the person responsible was brought to justice. Bakura simply smirked to himself, proud of how successful his mission had turned out. He enjoyed hearing everyone's opinion of what happened. It was the talk of the town, that's why he remained in Kemet. It boosted his already swollen ego.

"I suppose I should thank that unfortunate young woman" he thought, chuckling slightly catching one of the girls attention. "It's because of her the guards' attention was taken off me. It made my escape so much easier…"

"What's so funny master?" asked the girl innocently.

"Nothing that concerns you" he replied gruffly, gesturing for her to get back to what she was doing. She resumed his massage, leaving him to return to his thoughts.

"I wonder what their reaction will be when they find out they were after the wrong person. A woman of all people! Women don't have the talent that men do, but then she did manage to escape from them…"

Bakura's thoughts were consumed by the mystery woman. The guards still hadn't found her and it had been two weeks! There were only two possible answers. Either she had found herself an extremely good hiding place, or she was dead from the wound she received. Bakura was confident it was the latter.

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Ok then. Romi has met up and been introduced to her new pals Kasseem, Gheb and Khonsu. I was gonna ditch the idea of a gang of thieves, but now I think I'll go back to it. I quite like these new characters of mine.

I know that Bakura hasn't had much of an appearance yet in this fic, but bear with me. Soon he will be so in your face, you'll beg me to lock him up because he stole your chocolate bar and ate it all without sharing.

Now then. I have definitely decided that Romi will find out about her village next chapter. I meant to put it in a couple if chapters ago, but I decided to make the story a little more detailed so you get to know her better. Im starting to get attached to Romi now. I really like her. I think this is going to be another super long fic. Just like my other that currently has 37 chapters and almost 600 reviews.

Please help me make this story a success. Review and let me know what you think of it so far and ideas that you might like to see.

Once again, sorry for the late update.