Guten tag! Moriyasha Neko-hime here, this chapter and the one to follow are very short, so I posted them at the same times. (Salute) Fare thee well.

- - -

- - -

Chapter Six: To Pursue a King…

Everything was quiet.

Malik felt weightless, but at the same time incredibly heavy. He was unconscious, and yet completely aware of is surroundings. Little flashes of light darted through the waving reeds and the sun was far above him, layered by a clear blue.

'Water.' He had fallen from a giant eagle's back and crashed into the river. To fall from such a height surely would result in death. He wasn't breathing, so he must be dead, but then why was he still aware? Perhaps he was dead and his spirit was so disgusting that the afterlife didn't want him.

Malik felt it was appropriate, after what he had done…

Just once.

He only wanted to feel the sun at least one time.

His father had beaten Rishid during their absence, and now he was punishing Isis. Her face was to the wall and clenched tightly in her fight to keep from crying out. The back of her dress had been torn open and lashes from her father's whip were fresh with blood; her wrists were also bleeding from the ropes binding her to the wall.

Malik had cried from the wall he had been chained to for his father's torture to cease. Unlike Rishid and Isis who had been bound to face the wall, he was chained to face the torment of his siblings.

Isis finally couldn't take the pain any longer, but still refused to scream, instead passing out from exhaustion and pain.

Malik's father re-coiled the whip as he turned to meet the boy's amethyst glare of contempt with little concern. "This is the result of your disobedience, Malik," he said, pushing the boy's chin up with the whip. "You have been told to stay here. In the shadows, deep in the Earth…"

The boy jerked his head away, receiving a backhanded blow for the act.

He knew. From the moment he was born, taking his mother's life in the process, he had known he wanted the sun. More than anything he wanted to feel the light of the sun instead of the snapping fires of the many that torches of the caverns. Everyday, he would sneak away from his room to go to the dry well and look up at the blue sky high above the ground he had been born under.

However, with the urgings of his heart his father had placed warnings: Never go above ground; Never let anyone see you; Never feel the light of the sun.

Malik had disobeyed his father and gone above, had seen people and in turn been seen, and he had let the sun smile down on his whole body. But in finding that had sought for, he had caused his loved ones pain.

No. Not him…his father.

That man who had not shed one tear when his wife had died, and he who had confined his children deep in the Earth, away from the sun and blue sky.

These thoughts slowly changed Malik's sadness to anger, as it had many times in the past. But this time it was different, his spark of anger steadily grew into a fire of rage and hate. He lunged for the man, his shackles halting him in the attempt. But even then he didn't stop, not even when his scarred wrists began to bleed as they had a year before; quite the opposite, he pulled harder.

At first, his father looked at him with little concern, uncoiling the whip to proceed with the boy's punishment. And then the bolts in the wall holing the boy's chains began to bend.

Malik's vision became blurred as his rage consumed his every thought, and when the bolts broke free, he knew no more.

When his mind returned, Malik found himself sitting beside his unbound sister and Rishid. But his shock came when he found his hands and front covered in a copper-smelling, crimson substance he knew could only be blood; looking around, he found the floor and walls splattered with the same red fluid.

Tears of uncertain fear and remorse trailed down his cheeks, and his wails echoed through the vast underground caverns…

Though he had washed the blood away years ago he could still feel it, he could still smell it all over his body. He deserved to let his spirit dwell between the world of the living and dead, suffering amid an eternity of grief and pain.

His thoughts of purgatory were halted when he felt a warm presence appear and hover above him. With his unconscious sight, he could see it was a woman. Though he had never met her, he knew her, and had felt a boundless, undying love for her since his first breath of life.

Amethyst-colored eyes snapped open and immediately his lungs cried out for air. Kicking off the ground, Malik swam toward the sun; breaking the surface of the water, he gasped and coughed as air again filled his lungs.

- - -

Atem lay in his chamber, motionless save for his quiet breathing. To the servants who came and went it appeared as though their King was in a deep sleep. However, to the priests and the Pharaoh's advisor standing around the bed, this slumber brought worry.

As Shamans, they dealt with matters of the spirit on a regular occasion, and using their knowledge and powers they had almost immediately they had found the reason for this deep sleep. The Pharaoh's soul was gone.

"It must have been the work of that invading army!" High Priest Nesun stated.

"But how could they? What magic could they possess that could separate a spirit from its body?" Asked Priest Kalim.

As the Priests spoke amongst each other, Isis stood with Rishid at the Pharaoh's side in solemn silence. If only she had received the prediction sooner, perhaps what had happened could have been prevented. Some of the Priests had voiced this with some mention to her incompetence as a Priestess of the Pharaoh's court.

Isis could only stand in silent agreement.

She should have seen the attack coming hours in advance. And now, her Pharaoh was bedridden and her brother was missing.

"Such a mystery," the Pharaoh's advisor, Siamun muttered, making Isis look up. "How the Lord Pharaoh's Ka was stolen, for what reason… Never in all my years as Advisor to the Pharaoh have I heard of such a thing happening." The old man sighed. "Nor does any solution come to my old mind."

Isis' blue gaze returned to the Pharaoh. 'What has become of you, My Lord? What has become of my brother…?'

It was then the doors of the Pharaoh's room opened and all eyes turned to the dripping wet youth standing breathless in the doorway.

"Malik!" Isis and Rishid dashed over to the boy.

Slowly, his hands on either door, Malik looked up at the many figures surrounding the Pharaoh's bed. "I witnessed what happened, My Lords…"

A short time later, Malik had finished telling the events he had seen play out the previous night.

"And you say you fell from this great bird's back?" Priest Akinar inquired, receiving a tired nod from the youth. "How did you survive?"

Malik bowed his head. "I don't know…"

"And your use of Shamanism?" Preist Lukor inquired further. At this, the sandy-haired youth remained silent. "Such use of restricted power is against the law, Malik."

The youth bowed his head further, but felt a hand settle on his shoulder and looked back up to see his sister standing at his side.

"If punishment is to be dealt out, I will take it. I was aware of Malik's actions and did nothing to stop it," Isis said, making everyone jerk. "Also, as The Priestess of Foresight I should have foreseen the attack much sooner."

Everyone stared at the woman with great surprise, Malik most of all. He had believed that his sister had known nothing about his actions, when in truth, she had intentionally overlooked them. Did she know what he had been trying to do all this time?

It was during this moment of stunned silence that Siamun stepped forward. "The one who deals out punishment for such things is the Morning and Evening Star of the Gold Sands—the Lord Pharaoh," said the old man. "And at present, I do not believe punishments are needed."

The room fell from shocked silence to solemn when everyone cast their eyes toward the bed which held the Pharaoh.

"Malik." The boy raised his eyes to meet Priest Kalim's steady gaze. "You said the stone imprisoning the Pharaoh's soul was destroyed when it fell, correct?"

"Yes, I am led to believe so, sir…" Malik nodded.

"And you also spoke of a bird of gold light flying away."

Another nod.

Kalim looked to the other Priests. "It is possible that that bird was the Pharaoh's Ka," he said.

"But even so," piped up Priest Nadda, "why did he not return to his body?"

Again, the room fell silent without answers to the many questions in the air.

- - -

Night fell swiftly, covering the land in a cool blanket of darkness.

Malik entered the Pharaoh's chambers the second time that day and stood at the bedside, staring down at the empty shell of his King and good friend. Atem still appeared strong, but the youth could see that the warm glow that usually surrounded the Pharaoh was gone.

Ever since he had come to the Gold Dragon Kingdom, Atem had treated him kindly; sometimes it was as if there were no social differences between them.

Malik wanted to repay that kindness. It was then that he came to a decision he had been considering for some time now.

Kalim had said that the bird of gold light had been Atem's spirit, his Ka, but for reasons unknown it did not return to his body. But his life vessel still lived, therefore somewhere to the West was Pharaoh Atem's Ka.

Malik fell to one knee, placing his fist to his heart. "My Lord Pharaoh…Atem. I swear by every drop of blood in my body, I will find you." With that, the sandy-haired, desert youth rose and dashed out of the room.

He would tell the Priests and his sister of his intentions and leave the next morning with Rishid to search for Atem's Ka. As he made a sharp turn at a corner, Malik collided with someone and promptly found himself on the ground. Looking back up, he met the familiar hawk-like gaze of his lifelong friend.

"Rishid!" Malik jumped back up and found Isis standing behind the man. The youth was surprised to find his sister not clad in her usual priestess regalia, but in an off-white dress that came off her shoulders with long sleeves that hid her hands. Her hair was not pulled back by a headdress and instead hung loosely about her shoulders with only her gold-banded braids and a simple circlet secured around her brow. It was very similar to how she dressed when they were children.

Something tugged at his brain, registering as 'Wrong,' but before Malik could discover what it was about his sister's appearance that felt inappropriate, Isis grabbed his arm and pulled him after her as she ran down the hall on their left. "We must go, now!"

"What?" The youth blinked. He hadn't even told them of his intentions, yet from the look of the three bags Rishid had slung over his shoulders, they were all ready to leave. "Why?"

"I overheard the Priests talking," Rishid said as he caught up with the two. "And Lady Isis had a vision of—"

"We will discuss it later!" The woman urged, increasing her pace. "We must hurry!"

Malik looked back to his sister to ask further, but stopped when he finally found what it was about her that seemed so wrong to him: Isis' neck, which always bore the tauk of Foresight, was bare.

- - -

Kalim stood outside Isis' room. He had just left a meeting with the other priests and they had decided to arrest Malik and imprison him in the dungeon for his failure to protect the Pharaoh and his use of Shamanism.

As Isis had not been included in the meeting, it was he who would inform the High Priestess of their decision. Truthfully, Kalim had not agreed to what the others had planned, but he new it was the law and the law was for the best. Or at least, he hoped it still was.

Finally, his large fist knocked against the wood surface of the door. He waited, but no answer came from within.

"Isis?" He knocked again. "Are you awake?" Kalim opened the door slightly to peek inside.

The lamps were still lit and the curtains of the windows and bed were still tied back, but he could see no one inside. Stepping past the threshold of the room, Kalim looked around to indeed find the room vacant of its High Priestess.

Curious as to where she could have gone this late at night, Kalim turned to leave, but stopped when he saw a glimmer of gold on Isis' bed. Walking over to the addressed piece of furniture the Priest found the tauk of Foresight, the symbol of Isis' being a High Priestess and one of the treasures given only to those belonging to the Pharaoh's Seven, resting on one of the pillows.

Picking it up, for the first time in many years the Priest of Judgment was shocked.

"Isis…!"

- - -

Isis slowed her horse to a stop and turned to look back at the great city that had been her home for four good years.

Malik and Rishid also halted their horses and looked from Isis to the Kingdom. The sandy-haired youth could feel his sister's sadness and reluctance, and fighting the shivers that wracked his body from being out in the night without a torch, spoke. "You don't have to leave…"

The woman stared back at the palace a moment more before turning back to her brothers and kicking her horse into a run again. "Let's hurry!"

Rishid had overheard the Priests' discussion, however, with the power of the tauk, Isis had seen her brother imprisoned in the dark he hated and feared so much. She had refused to let her brother suffer in such a way; but she knew that as a priestess, and without the Pharaoh to aid her pleas, she would have no choice but to go along with their decision.

So, Isis had done the only thing she could to save her brother: she had forsaken her position as High Priestess of Foresight of the Pharaoh's Seven.

Malik had objected several times before now to her going with him and Rishid, but with what little time they had to discuss it, they had all agreed that they wanted to save Atem. In a way, they each felt they had to make up for not being able to protect their Pharaoh from the attack, and therefore each had their own and yet the same reason to go.

Malik was grateful for the cloudless sky and the bright moonlight, otherwise he feared his strength would fail. And so, he pointed them towards the West, following the bird he had seen the previous night.

- - -

Shadi's head snapped up and he looked at the pool which glimmered gold from the sunlight shining through the holes in the roof of the cavern, the dawn sky reflecting on the surface.

"Master Shadi?" Mana blinked from her perch near the mouth of the cave.

Beside her stood a man appearing to be in his early twenties clad in white clothes with gold shoulder guards and jewelry like that of the desert dwelling people; his dark brown hair went down to his waist in straight locks and his skin matched that of the girl and the robed man, however his eyes were an incredible light blue-green color.

"Lord Shadi?" Mahaado stepped forward to join the other man. He followed his gaze to the pool and stared. He soon saw a beam of gold light shoot across the surface and he looked to his companion. "That was…!"

Shadi nodded, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "They are coming."

- - -

- - -