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Chapter 2

Atemu found himself sneaking out of the palace to meet his new friend the following day. He crept to the bushes, fear gripping him in case Bakura had decided not to show up. He came to the bushes and peered into them but he could see nothing. Crawling in he came to the small clearing and disappointment flooded him. Bakura wasn't there.

He waited for a while before deciding that he obviously wasn't coming. He decided to return to the palace and his dreary studies so crawled back out through the hole.

He was just walking away when the same noise came to his ears that he had heard yesterday. It was the sound of someone coming over the wall.

Atemu watched eagerly as the snow-white haired young thief climbed down the wall. He wished he could climb like that. Sadly his father never so much as let him climb a tree let alone a large wall such as the one surrounding the Palace.

Bakura reached the floor and darted into the bushes again Atemu already having crawled back in. He carried in his robes another cloth full of food as he guessed Bakura would be hungry. He was correct.

The young thief fell on the food rapturously and ate it as if he hadn't eaten for a week though he had a pretty good meal the day before. He finished and grinned.

"Thanks Atemu." He said.

"No problem, there's always plenty of food to spare." He said and Bakura's face fell.

"I wish there was more food at home." He said sadly. "My master is always complaining that there isn't enough to go round and since he seems to hate me, I get the least out of all of us. He says the pharaoh is evil and mean and charges too much in tax."

Atemu balked at the mention of his father being evil. He didn't he think he was, he was his father and he loved him. Of course the face he showed when he was with him may be a totally different one than the one he showed when dealing with affairs of the country.

"How many of you are there?" He asked curious.

"Ten, my master took us off the streets one by one and gave us a roof over our heads. I am grateful to him for that and in return I try and please him but I'm scared when he gets angry and beats me. That headdress you gave me yesterday pleased him and he didn't beat me but he may do later I don't know."

Atemu's heart went out to his friend. His father had never raised a hand to him in anger, nor had anyone else for that matter.

"Does he beat you every day?" He asked sadness pricking at his soul.

"Most days yes, sometimes he is drunk when I get home and it's worse then."

"He beats you harder?"

"No, he…" Bakura paused unable to reveal what happened to him when the master was drunk.

"It's okay." Atemu said sensing it was too painful for Bakura to talk about.

"I wish I could help you more." He added wistfully.

"It's okay, I was born on the streets and it's all I have ever known, I have always survived though and I will carry on surviving. He seems sick sometimes, maybe he will not live for much longer and I can find a new master, or manage on my own."

Atemu hugged Bakura tightly showing rather than telling him that he would be there for him if he needed him. Surprised at first, Bakura hugged back. When they broke apart, there were tears in the white haired thief's eyes.

"No one ever did that to me before." He said softly. "Thanks."

"It's okay." Atemu said reaching over to brush them from his face.

"I have to go." Bakura said suddenly. His master had ordered him out to steal things and time was pressing. If he went home empty-handed, there would be more beatings for him and judging by the amount that his master had been drinking, tonight it would be a whole lot worse than just a beating.

He wished he knew why the master singled him out like he did, he was the same age as the other boys and yet the master never used them like he did him.

"Okay." Atemu said sadly. "Come back tomorrow okay?"

"Yes all right." Bakura said and Atemu hugged him again before crawling out to check the coast was clear. There was no one around and so he called to Bakura to let him know.

Bakura scaled the wall and waved at the top again before vanishing. Atemu waved back and returned to the palace to continue his studies.

Bakura walked round the marketplace stealing an apple here and a necklace there. He was so good at this that nobody ever noticed until it was too late and the beautiful white haired boy was gone.

He returned home, his raggedy clothes full of all sorts of goodies. He had even managed to steal a money pouch from one unsuspecting person and it had felt heavy to him so he knew the master would be pleased with him. Maybe he wouldn't touch him tonight, maybe he would just let him go to bed. Bakura knew it was a slim hope but it cheered him a little.

"Where have you been?" His master demanded when he entered the small hovel where he lived.

"I have been working for you master." Bakura said spilling his spoils onto the mat including the pouch of money.

His master eyed it greedily and grabbing it, he counted it out. His eyes glinted at the sight of the gold.

"You have done well for a change. Along with that headdress you brought back yesterday."

"Thank you master."

"Now go, get out of my sight."

"Yes master." Bakura said disappearing into the only other room in the hovel that was the sleeping room.

"Bakura!" a voice said.

"Hey Ryou." Bakura said ruffling his friend's hair.

Ryou smiled softly and then winced.

"The master was pleased with you, not so with me." Ryou said and showed Bakura his back that showed a criss crossing of nasty bleeding welts. Bakura gasped.

"What happened?"

"I only managed to bring back a few things." Ryou said sadly. "He took his whip to me."

Bidding Ryou to lie face down on the floor, Bakura soaked a piece of cloth in some water that was in a bowl and began to bathe his friend's wounds.

"I'm sorry we're here Ryou." He said as he tenderly washed his back. (A.N. Bakura being tender awww!)

"It's okay, it's not your fault and at least we're guaranteed food here."

"Oh that reminds me, here." Bakura said taking some food out from where he had stashed it earlier when Atemu had brought him some. He had decided to save some for later but it didn't look as if the master had given any to Ryou that day.

"Wow 'Kura where did you find that?" Ryou asked as his face lit up.

"A friend." Bakura said simply. "Go on eat." He urged.

Ryou ate hungrily and it was soon gone.

"You have a new friend?" Ryou asked when he was done.

"Yes there may be more of this tomorrow and I promise I'll bring you some okay?"

"Okay." The other said wondering whom on earth this friend was. He must be rich as the food had tasted fantastic with lots of flavourings in it and it was only the rich who could afford to eat like that.

Ryou felt a pang of jealousy. He hoped this new friend wasn't going to steal Bakura away from him, he was the only one who had been nice to him when he had first come to this place. He looked at Bakura's face and was reassured when he his smiling down on him protectively.

The other boys drifted in one by one and sat talking quietly about what they had got up to that day. Eventually the master's favourite walked in and sat on the only mattress in the room which was reserved for him alone while the rest of the boys had to sleep top to toe in order to fit in the room.

"I only brought back an apple and the master told me I'd done better than any of you." He bragged and Bakura turned away in disgust. Ryou had done better than him and yet his back was testament to a whipping. Bakura seethed silently and swore one day that he would get them both out of there if he could.

He lay with Ryou's feet on one side of his head and the youngest boy's on the other side. He had only been five when the master had found him on the streets and brought him back yet because of his age and size, he was able to steal a lot for the master. He could pretend to be lost and get close enough to strangers to make a good haul. He wasn't really treated any differently to any of the others, he was still beaten though maybe less savagely than the older ones. Still it was no life for a child as young as him.

He wondered how they could escape. The only thing he could think of was to go back to living on the streets and starving again. Living here was marginally better than that as the nights were so very cold. Bakura pulled the thin blanked round him and drifted into a fitful sleep.

Atemu was sitting on his balcony watching Ra sink low on the horizon. He could see the Pyramids outlined by the glorious colours of the sunset and it made them look dark and foreboding. This was his favourite place to sit and think and right now he was wishing his new friend were there with him. It felt so very lonely sitting there all on his own and he sighed.

He thought of Bakura and felt sorry that his master treated him badly. He wished that he could help him somehow but nothing came to mind. Sighing again, he rose and summoned his personal slaves to draw him a bath and ready him for bed.

TBC.