Chapter Eleven

Sagira's head ached,as did the rest of her. She felt rigid, fragile. It was a feeling she was quite unaccustomed to. She heard herself cry out in pain several times, but she didn't know where the pain was, or why she was letting her weaker side out. Then Beni's voice was heard, telling her to shut up. She felt him dig into her fragile palace conditioned skin. with his sickle knife,and she couldn't help but scream. She cried for Mahadou to come and save her, ignoring Beni's angry,insane yelling at her to be quiet. He slapped her more than one time,during the terrifying process which led to her being cursed, before leaving her to sob in a heap of blood and vomit. She was still sobbing,when Bakare came to shake her out of it..."Sagira..."

"Sagira,sister! Wake up,it's alright,he's gone now."

Sagira opened her eyes, which were full of tears from the horrible nightmare. "Bakare..." She wiped her eyes, feeling disgraceful, letting the thief king see her acting so childish.

"It's alright...I'd probably be just as upset if it was me..." He wiped away her tears with his hand. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. I am thirsty though..." Sagira allowed. She sat up, feeling sick almost immediately. "Oh..." She had to lay down again. "Master Seth was here, wasn't he?" She had now noticed a taste in her mouth that was reminiscent of his medicines.

Bakare grunted, nodding. "He said you'd feel a bit dizzy for a while. It's better if you just lie down as much as possible today." He got her a cold cup of wine, and handed it to her. "It's a bit bitter, so sip lightly." If Benikan ever touches her like this again, I'll kill him. Hell, I still might. Sure she was our prisoner, but damn it, she is also my sister! He watched her sadly, shaking his head. "Rest now. I'll be right here." He told her softly. He wanted to say more to her. He wanted to know what had happened the day the damn Pharaoh had taken her. But now was not the time for that. First ,he needed to take care of her.

"B-Bakare...?"

"Hmm?" Bakare looked over at her now, concern etched on his face. "What is it ? Are you hurting?"

"No...I...I just wanted to know...if...if I have to stay here..." Her voice was soft,timid, and so unlike her, it pissed Bakare off further.

He growled to himself,then replied, "Yes, you do. That pharaoh won't have you, ever again." To his annoyance, that made Sagira cry in misery. "Just go to sleep." He ordered, without thinking. The crying stopped instantly, and he sighed in frustration. Beni...You're so going to pay for this...

"Well? Is she alright?" Mahadou caught up to Seth before he was even at the palace entrance. "Where is she? Why did you not bring her back?"

"She's too ill right now to walk. Her brother will care for her." Seth replied, tiredly. "One of Bakare's people put the Sedjem curse on her."

"What!" Mahadou's eyes widened in shock. "Where would a common thief learn such advanced magic?"

"Off the tombs of our previous kings." Seth replied, muttering sourly. "How else?"

"We've to get her away from them. They could really hurt her with that spell." Mahadou decided, turning to go to the king.

"Don't be a fool,Mahadou. We can't take Sagira away from them just now. It will only cause more trouble. She's too ill to be moved right now to begin with." Seth advised.

"I really don't like how you seem to know so much about those thieves. It's not right." Mahadou scowled in disapproval.

"Yes well,at least I can keep them away from our store by making friends, eh?" He sighed. "Look, let me see if I can convince them to hand her over on their own accord. If not, then...okay, we'll do it your way."

"Very well. If you think you can actually accomplish talking sense into those fools..."

"I'll do my best." Seth agreed, and left to go to the storeroom. He figured he might be able to sweeten Bakare and his people up if he brought more food than they could steal in a four hour time.

"Bakare..." Beni stood in the entrance of the thief king's hut. He had washed himself clean of the girl's blood, and changed his tunic.

"What is it?" Bakare had just given Sagira her evening meal, and was watching as she ate it slowly. "Don't force it if you feel sick..." He said this to her, as he got up to see what Beni wanted.

"I know what I did was wrong..." Beni began slowly. "But, I had good intentions about it. "

"Oh?" Bakare's eyes narrowed. "Do tell. Tell me why you think you did the right thing by cursing my sister. My sister! Did it make you feel better? She isn't really the Pharaoh's child, Beni. Besides that, she's not to blame for the Pharaoh's deeds."

"Just hear me out, please, My Lord." Beni replied, kneeling now. "I thought to use the fact she was living in the palace to our advantage."

"What do you mean?" Bakare asked now, exiting the hut, and walking away from it out of Sagira's ear shot.

"Don't you think living there might have been good? She probably knows all of the Pharaoh's treasure rooms backwards and forwards. Don't you think?" Beni looked up at his old friend. "Think of it! We could pull the ultimate job!"

"No." Bakare replied suddenly ,looking towards his hut. "I will not allow you to put my sister in that kind of predicament. He ran a hand through his tangled hair. "It's not right, Beni." He said quietly.

"Not right! Not right! Was it right for him to take her away from you in the first place! Was it right for them to murder my baby sister in cold blood! No! Sometimes, in order to get revenge, we have to hurt those we love. Like it or not, that child in there is NOT your sister! She is a princess to these people. She isn't Sagira, sister of the king of thieves anymore. She is Sagira,daughter of the Pharaoh!"

Bakare sighed deeply, holding on to his last shred of patience. "I said no." He turned to go. "She stays with us, but we will not use her against the pharaoh."

"As you say." Beni replied solemnly. He walked off towards his hut. Bakare's a fool! Sagira will never be a part of us again. She's been too pristine for far too long. She's palace conditioned. If Bakare thinks she's going to drop the "going home" subject so easily, he's in for a surprise.

Bakare returned to his hut to find Sagira picking up her area. "Are you alright,Child?" He spoke softly, trying to show a shred of kindness, as if nothing had changed. He hated to admit it, but Beni was right.

"I'm alright." Sagira replied softly. She met his gaze silently. Her expression was a bit unreadable at the moment.

"I'm sorry for this." Bakare said awkwardly. "I...I did miss you..."

Sagira felt a lump in her throat. "I...I did too,but, only in my dreams could I really remember anything..."

Bakare growled softly, getting a cup of wine for himself, before settling down beside her. "There's..something I've been meaning to ask you..."

The young girl looked up at her brother, waiting. "What?"

"Well...the day you left...that the pharaoh took you...? What happened?"

Sagira blinked. She could just barely remembered the day in question. Her eyes took on a far away look for a moment, as she gathered her memories. Then she began to speak. "Well...I was trying to get us some food. A few people gave me bits of bread, and one person,I remember, gave me a small piece of meat..." She paused, as she thought a bit more. "Then, I was going to go back to our meeting point, when I heard the Pharaoh's people coming. I was sort of trapped."

Bakare continued to listen to his sister, occasionally sipping at his wine. He glanced at her when she paused again. "So? Didn't you even try to get away?"

"I couldn't. No matter what I wanted to do. Aris, one of Fa-I mean, the Pharaoh's guards, had me cornered. He kept yelling at me to move out of the way, but I was too scared. Then the Pharaoh came himself, and...well, you know the rest."

Bakare asked no more for the time being. Her account of what had happened disproved all the theories he'd held previously. So, the Pharaoh hadn't had any notion she was my sister until I foolishly came to retrieve her that night. Fool that I am! If I had waited it out like Beni told me to...He growled under his breath. "I must go scrounge. We're low on some of our food. Stay here, and don't let anyone in." He stood now, setting his wine cup to the side. His sister merely nodded, and he moved to leave, only to find Seth at the door. "What do you want, Priest?"

"To negotiate, if that's alright with you."

Bakare folded his arms, then muttered a curse. "Very well." He pulled the flap of his hut opening up a little more. "Come in."

Seth nodded, and entered, dropping his bundle at the thief king's feet. "Now for the negotiation." The two eyed each other suspiciously.