I don't own Yugioh. I do own Maria, Gold, silver, and this plot… which is co-owned by Rei…figures, but nothing more,
YSF: These are the step-sisters from oldest to youngest: Nephoris, Tages, Taous, Neherebkan, Nubkhas, and Nefer
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"Come on girls," Atemu said with a humorous shake of his head as he turned towards the palace, "Let's get out of the sun and catch up."
At dinner, Atemu watched with slight amusement as Maria and Nephoris glared at each other from opposite ends of the table. The two had been split and put as far away as possible, but that didn't stop them from shooting dirty looks at each other on a constant basis.
He was confused though, because every time Maria managed to stare Nephoris down, and the latter would look away, Maria would smirk in the same manner that Bakura and sometimes Rei would smirk when they were laughing internally about something.
"Maria, what in Ra's name is so funny?" Atemu asked quietly so that only Maria would hear.
Maria shifted her eyes over to Atemu. "Let's just say that those sisters with the exception of Nefer, are going to get a nasty surprise when they retire for the night," she said quietly and sweetly.
"You've got friends with bad influences, you know that?" he replied, mirth sparkling in his eyes. Maria only returned the smile and continued eating.
…
"So what did you do to them?" Atemu asked, relaxing on a couch once they were in the royal bedchamber. Maria looked up from where she was brushing her hair and laughed.
"I asked Rei that before bedtime, if she'd put creepy crawlies in the five's beds," Maria replied just as ear-piercing screams echoed down the halls.
"Time to put on our façade," Atemu said with a laugh as he headed towards the door. When they reached where the sisters were staying, Nefer spotted them from where she was poking her head out of her door and came over.
"They're in there freaking out," she explained with a small smile. Just as she stopped talking, her sisters ran out of their rooms swatting bugs off of them.
"Atemu! Our beds were covered in insects!" Neherebkan complained. Maria, making sure she was conveniently behind Atemu, banished every last bug with magic.
"Really," Atemu said in a slightly stern and yet amused tone, going to one of the rooms and looking in, "I see no bugs." The five evil sisters ran to their respective doors and looked in. Sure enough, there wasn't an insect in sight.
"I think it was just your imagination," Maria said quietly.
"How so, my queen?" Tages asked with an insulting snarl.
Maria's eyes narrowed. "For one, there's no insects in sight but yourselves, and two," she hissed, "the palace never has insects around except in the gardens."
Taous took a step forward, ready to defend her sister, but was held back by Nubkhas. "You think that you're so special because you're queen of Egypt, but I see nothing special. You're just a lowlife wannabe!" Taous shouted.
Atemu's insides churned when Maria actually looked hurt. Pointless bickering was one thing, but going so far as to insult someone who worked, in his opinion, very hard to reach the status that they were currently at was just dirty and foul. "Enough!" he shouted causing everyone to freeze and look at him. "The five of you return to your rooms and go to sleep. I think you caused enough pain and trouble for one day," he said in his 'I'm pharaoh, so you better damn well do what I say' voice.
"But…" Nephoris and Nubkhas started.
"Now!" came the stern cut off and the five fled into the rooms and quickly shut the doors. Nefer approached cautiously, knowing that Atemu was thoroughly pissed and disgusted at her sisters.
"Atemu, Maria," she said softly, "I'm really sorry that my sisters said those things. They always go too far."
Atemu turned and faced his youngest stepsister and some of the anger disappeared. "Nefer, you shouldn't have to apologize for your sister's actions," he said gently.
"Someone has to," Nefer replied with a sad smile. With a quick bow, Nefer disappeared into her room and shut the door.
"Are you all right?" Atemu asked Maria as they headed back to their chambers.
"I'm fine. They just make me want to get rid of them all the quicker. I just thought of how to quiet them for quite a while," came the determined reply, which made Atemu smile knowing that his wife didn't take the insult to heart.
…
The next morning, Nefer poked her head into the stables, Seto having told her that Maria was out there when she wasn't seen at breakfast. "Maria?" she called entering and standing at the door still.
"I'm in the stall at the end on the left," Maria called back. Heading down to the stall, Nefer looked into the roomy stall and saw Yugi playing with/grooming a young horse, while Maria watched from a hay bale.
"Who's this handsome horse?" Nefer asked. Yugi turned at hearing her voice and shyly smiled.
"That's Amir, he's my best friend," Yugi replied picking up a new brush and continuing to groom Amir.
"Amir was born a little over a year ago. Ever since he and Yugi met, they have always been playmates and have played every single day," Maria explained at Nefer's confused expression.
"That's cute," Nefer replied, "By the way, how are you feeling?"
"Your sisters are a pain in the neck."
"At least you don't have to live with them. What are you going to do now to scare them off?" Nefer asked.
"How did you…"
"Know? It wasn't hard to figure out seeing as you and Nephoris have had issues ever since we last visited. It would be only natural seeing as you and Atemu don't like them," Nefer said candidly. "Besides," she continued, picking up a brush and helping Yugi, "I want to help."
Atemu headed into the stables to look for Maria. Bakura had returned and wanted to see her. Hearing laughter, he headed to Amir's stall and saw Nefer and Maria talking and laughing while Yugi played with Amir.
"Did I miss the invitation to this little powwow?" Atemu asked and smiled when the two jumped.
"No, Nefer came and found me, and we've been busy cooking up another scare plan," Maria explained.
"Ah, well, Bakura returned and wants to do something with you."
"Go with your friend Maria, I'll watch Yugi since my sisters are going into town today," Nefer offered when Maria looked hesitant. Smiling gratefully, Maria left the stall and unlatched Jasmine's door. Slipping the bridle over her beloved horse's head, she swung up and rode out of the stables. Atemu followed Maria out in time to see Bakura swing up behind her and ride off. Once they were gone, he was about to head back into the palace when his sharp ears heard a slight throat-clearing sound behind him.
"Can I help you Nephoris?" he asked turning.
Nephoris smirked. "Aren't you worried that Maria may be cheating on you?" she asked, "After all, they seem awfully close."
Atemu didn't bite the bait. He knew Nephoris' tricks. "I trust both of them," he answered fluidly, "In fact, they're close enough to be siblings, so I have nothing to worry."
"If you say so," Nephoris replied mysteriously with a shrug. "Me, Tages, Taous, Neherebkan, and Nubkhas are heading to the market now," she said as her sisters emerged from the palace.
"Behave!" Atemu called at their retreating backs.
"Want me to follow them?" Rei asked coming up once the five were out of hearing range. At Atemu's nod, Rei threw on a cloak and slipped after the sisters.
…
"This was a pleasant surprise," Maria said relaxing against Bakura as Jasmine cantered down the bank of the Nile.
"I felt that you needed to get away. You seemed stressed," Bakura replied, "and it gives us time to plan."
"Well, me and Nefer decided that since they're going riding tomorrow, we're going to spook the horses and give them the run of their life," Maria admitted.
"How will you pull that off?"
"Jasmine understands directions. I've already tried the signals and she responds instantaneously. Sort of like this," Maria explained with a smirk before letting loose an ear piercing whistle.
Bakura barely had time to blink before Jasmine took off towards the desert, causing him to grab on so as not to fall off. After a few minutes, Maria slowed her horse to a walk with a murmuring sound. "Well?" she asked turning slightly.
Bakura grinned. "Excellent," he laughed, pushing his hair out of his face, "But how are you going to give the cues to Jasmine if you aren't going due to the risk that one of the five may not come back alive?"
Maria laughed ruefully. "You say that like it's a bad thing. No, I will be going, and so will Atemu, but we'll be on Gold and Silver and invisible so as not to be seen," she replied turning Jasmine back towards Thebes.
…
Rei sighed in agitation. Atemu had asked her to follow the twits, and as soon as she turned away for one second because she thought she saw someone she knew but was mistaken, they had disappeared. Making a mental note to brush up on her thieving and sneaking skills, Rei scaled a wall and started going from roof to roof, searching for them from above.
Looking around from where she could see a fair distance either way, Rei didn't see the sisters, but she spotted someone who could help. Fishing a stone out of her pocket, she aimed and expertly threw the rock so it bounced off of the gold covered neck.
Ishtar, feeling the stone, recognized the signal and headed towards an alley casually. Once he was sure he wasn't being watched, Ishtar scaled the wall and came up behind Rei. "You rang?" he asked humorously.
"Help me find the twits. Pharaoh asked me to follow them, but I lost them," Rei said returning her gaze to the street. Ishtar's already narrow eyes narrowed further, but he didn't complain. After all, he owed it to Rei and Bakura for saving him from his father and giving him a place to live after he snapped and…yeah.
Looking over the other direction, Ishtar's quick eyes picked up 'foreigners'. "Hey Rei," he called after a few minutes of additional searching, "Are there five of them?" he asked not taking his gaze off of them.
"Yes, you find them?" Rei asked following Ishtar's point. There they were, heading into an alley which was a little suspicious. "Let's go before we lose them."
Ishtar immediately took a running dash and cleared the actual marketplace street and continued roof hopping on the other side. Rei, not being able to do that far of a long jump, jumped down, crossed the street, and followed the sisters' path on the ground. A few twists and turns later, Rei heard five hushed voices. Creeping closer, she spotted a dark flicker on the roof to the right…Ishtar's signal that he was also listening.
"So why the privacy?" Neherebkan asked Taous.
"I don't think that people in this city would agree with our planning," Nephoris explained.
"We know that Maria's plotting against us to get rid of us sooner," Tages started, "And the bad thing is that she has the whole palace to back her, and we have squat."
Ishtar slid down the wall and joined Rei. "What do you think we should do?" he asked. Rei thought and motioned for Ishtar to follow.
"Well, me and my dear brother have been planning a ride-through," Rei said once they emerged from the alley, "how about we gather up our thieves and do just that?"
About thirty minutes later, after the sister's had resumed shopping, they suddenly heard shouting and screams. Looking around, their eyes widened when they saw a horde of cloaked people riding in their direction, knocking people over in their wake, yet still farther away.
"What's going on?" Nephoris asked someone.
"Those riders are the thief king's henchmen. We thought the pharaoh took care of them all, but they must have secretly regrouped," a merchant explained, "They don't stop for anything until mayhem is achieved and at least one thing is destroyed. I would suggest getting out of the street. These people approach fast."
The shouts started coming closer, and people started running to get out of the way. Nephoris and Taous pushed the others to the wall and the five huddled together as the horde passed very closely.
"That was scary," Neherebkan murmured trembling. The other four agreed and headed back.
…
"So how was the market girls?" Atemu asked at dinner later that evening.
"It was fine until thieves came and terrorized the town," Nubkhas informed.
Atemu shot a sideways glance at Bakura, who shrugged, and turned to face the sisters again. "That's the problem with the Thief Lord's thieves," Atemu explained, "As soon as we give chase, they vanish."
"Aren't you going to something about it?" Nephoris demanded.
"Every time we try to eradicate the hideouts, more spring up after," Maria argued.
Nephoris was about to argue back, but fell silent when she saw the glare Seto was giving her, and also because she feared Atemu's wrath a second time.
Nefer decided to break the silence. "Sisters, if we're going riding early before it gets too hot out tomorrow, we should retire now," she said logically. The other five agreed and all retired since it was late out.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Bakura called after them, followed by laugher from everyone else still at the table.
The next day dawned perfect for riding. The six sisters were already up and getting on the horses. Nefer was riding Jasmine, already aware of what was going to happen, and Nephoris and Taous were riding Anubis and Sekhmet since Rei reluctantly allowed it on the sole reason that Anubis and Sekhmet would gladly follow Jasmine at the same neck breaking speed. Tages, Nubkhas, and Neherebkan were currently being mounted on Star, Blade (Seto's horse), and Kaminter (Mahaado's horse).
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" Nubkhas asked Atemu as she adjusted herself on Star's blanket.
Atemu laughed and shook his head. "I'm pharaoh, I just can't go galavanting off anytime I want," he replied with a smile, "Just have fun okay?"
"We will," they chorused and headed out. Maria waited till they were gone before summoning Gold and Silver.
"Ready?" she asked her dragons. When they nodded, Maria and Atemu settled themselves at the base of the dragons' necks. Once they were sure their riders were settled, both dragons took off, becoming invisible once they were in the sky.
"So Maria, do you think that this will work? I mean, you've relentlessly gone against them with the exception of Nefer. What if it doesn't work?" Atemu wondered looking over at Maria.
"Then I'm royally screwed," Maria snorted. Looking ahead, she saw the bluffs looming up. Knowing Bakura was up there, she waited for the flash signal of the sun hitting a medallion or something shiny.
"Maria, there's the flash, the sisters are in position," Atemu reported. Maria nodded and putting two fingers to her lips, whistled the ear piercing whistle.
Jasmine's ears pricked hearing the sound, and immediately bolted forwards. Anubis and Sekhmet, thinking this was some game, bolted after the chestnut and were closely followed by Blade, Star, and Kaminter.
Nefer threw her arms around Jasmine's neck and prayed to Ra that Jasmine wouldn't throw her by accident. Hearing blood-curdling screams behind her, Nefer knew that the other five horses were following Jasmine. Looking up when getting closer to the bluffs, Nefer spotted a small flash of gold near two cloaked people who were standing on the tallest bluff.
Maria flew parallel to Jasmine on Silver alone, Atemu and Gold having joined Bakura on the rocks. 'This is becoming fun,' she thought as Silver let out a screech/ roar that was the signal for Jasmine to turn. Silver kept it up until the horses were once again heading towards Thebes. Sensing Gold catch up, she urged Silver up high to where they could not be seen from the ground.
"Are they heading back?" Bakura asked from behind Atemu. Maria nodded.
"Neherebkan looks like she's ready to pass out," she replied with a laugh, "And of course Nefer is having a ton of fun."
"That means we should get back," Atemu thought pensively. Bakura just shot a look at Maria and rolled his eyes before summoning Diabound and flying on him. The three continued flying fast until they reached the palace and had time to 'banish' Diabound, Gold, and Silver; get safely into the palace before the six horses bolted into the courtyard, dumped their riders, and bolted into the pasture.
"That should shut them up for at least a day," Bakura muttered as the girls recovered from their shock and started screaming.
Hah! I gots my inspiration back! This had to be the fastest ten page chapter that I have written yet, so please review and praise me for my hard work…jk.