Cerulean Violet Sands

by Sailor Charon

Takes place 3000 years ago in Egypt: Thief King Bakura will do anything to destroy everything. A haphazard meeting with a girl causes obstacles for his twisted plans. Future chapters may contain angst. Rated T for violence.

2. Cerulean hates Violet

Cerulean Violet Sands

Disclaimer Once again, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, blah blah blah, you get the picture.

Author's Note What's up, guys? Whew, this took some time to finish, and I'm really sorry about the long time to update! But the good news is that chapter 2 of this fanfic is finally up! Yay! Ha ha, well if it makes up for the lack of updating and you enjoy sitting down to read for a long time, then I believe you will be happy to hear that this chapter is . . . the same amount of pages as the last chapter! (How did that happen? O.o) I hope you enjoy this chapter and have lots of good ol' fun reading it!

(One more thing I'd like to add: In chapter one, I realized that I had referred to Shimon as a 'high priest.' Actually, he is supposed to be the pharaoh's royal vizier. I apologize for this mistake, and I will go back and try to change it. However, from this chapter on he will be referred to as the royal vizier. Thanks for understanding!)

---

Diaha! Two-Cerulean Hates Violet

The confusion . . . dread . . . anger . . . the hurt. Pharaoh Atem sat glumly upon his throne, his usually charming facial features now presenting a depressing darkness, his jeweled eyes' lacking of spark, and his hands, clammy and nervous. The empty throne room didn't help lighten the mood either. He was not looking forward to seeing Millennia. Not at all. He knew that this news he was to give her was not going to be joyous, and he did not want to see her in agony. Though unfortunately, he was pharaoh. It was his job to tell her the truth, even if it would cause her great pain. Gritting his pearled teeth in frustration, he subconsciously gripped the hardened, gold arms of his throne until his smooth, tanned knuckles turned white. Atem was wondering which would break first, his teeth or the throne, but his thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt a gentle hand be placed upon his shoulder. His tenseness loosened and the startled king shot a glance up at the being that stood beside him to his left. Gentle, sapphire orbs gave him a comforting, maternal gaze.

"It will be alright, my pharaoh."

"Isis . . ."

Atem gasped at the elegant priestess standing beside him. No matter what the situation was, her demeanor always expressed serenity. Long, ashen hair was hidden underneath a beige veil and a winged, gold ornament framed her delicate, tan face. She fashioned a matching dress with gold and turquoise, wrapping around her waist and below her collar bone. A small, beige cloak sat upon her shoulders and surrounded her slim frame from the hips up. One noticeable accessory the priestess revealed was a golden item that sat above her collar bone and shaped into an eye. It was attached to a piece of sienna string and was worn so as a necklace. She was a beautiful woman with an air of mystery, and a likeness to the goddess, Isis. A sight for sore eyes she was, to say the least.

"My apologies, for entering your most sacred courtroom without your consent, pharaoh." The woman, dubbed Isis, gracefully floated away from Atem, her long gown drifting behind her. She kneeled before him in the center isle of the room. One slender hand clenched to her chest while on bended knee and her other hand to her side, her soft fingertips gently pressing against the floor. She bowed her head in reverence and began to speak, Atem watching closely in anxiousness.

"I have received news from Seto." Once that was said, footsteps could be heard clicking into the throne room. The pharaoh removed his gaze from the priestess and caught sight of the footsteps which had came in so abruptly. Two men in royal garbs of priests made way toward the center of the aisle where from Isis sighed at the interruption.

"Pharaoh! I have urgent news!" The one man exclaimed as he and the other man kneeled on both sides of the priestess. The man who had last spoken was in possession of a golden item resembling an ankh, but along the sides of it were small teeth, as on a key. A large insignia of a deep midnight black was plastered across his forehead in a sort of design and, as many of the Egyptians in the kingdom, lacked hair above his head. Golden earrings shaped like hoops were hung from his ears. He was dressed in beige-white robes with matching shoes and his arms were covered in gold bands. Dark olive was his complexion and the man possessed hypnotizing, cobalt eyes. The other priest was a much more built man, with a large physical appearance, but an even larger heart. He wore a white sash across his chest and a matching kilt and shoes along with it. His eyes were a grayish blue-green tone and his skin was a dark tan. This priest had velvet black hair that went down to underneath his chin and a slim, gold band encircled his head. In his hand, was a golden scale with two plates on both sides as if to weigh something physically immeasurable. The second and third priests of the pharaoh's court had arrived.

"Er-please continue, Shada," Atem reluctantly encouraged the priest to speak while Isis gave an impatient glare at the oblivious Shada. The man with the golden ankh cleared his throat with a brief cough.

"Thanks to Isis' ka, Spiria, we have located Seto and his royal guards. His message had been relayed to us, that he had found the princess and she is being brought back here as we speak."

The pharaoh then shifted uncomfortably in his throne chair, hoping that he could just have a little more time before speaking with Millennia. Oh well, there was nothing he could do now, except for waiting upon his friends' arrival. Most likely once she got here, it would be expected of him, as the pharaoh, to explain the situation to his future queen. This was not going to be easy, and it was hard for him to hear it at first. How would Millennia react?

"My pharaoh, is everything alright?" Atem immediately snapped out of his daydream at the sound of Shada's voice.

"Yes-everything is fine, thank you, Shada." The pharaoh rubbed his temple in frustration; how could everything be fine? The third high priest turned his head toward Isis, who seemed a bit exhausted.

"Oh! Were you about to speak to the pharaoh before we had arrived, Isis?" The man smiled moderately at the woman's smooth face. Isis forced a gentle smile upon her lips and faced the priest next to her, regaining her patient demeanor.

"To say the truth, Karim, I was about to tell the pharaoh the same exact news Shada had just spoken." Isis smiled kindly at the pharaoh calmly as the one named Karim smiled apologetically at the high priestess. Shada, on the other hand, coughed nervously into his fist with a slight blush of embarrassment tinting his bronze face. Atem couldn't help but dismiss his high priests' misunderstanding, finding the whole event fairly amusing. He let a half-smile creep upon his lips and let out a slight chuckle, his officials joining in shortly afterwards.

"Bam!"

As if on cue (or not so on cue), the two large doors of the throne room slammed open, an evening sky of twilight emerging inside. A large cluster of blackness was in the doorway, appearing to be a group of moving shadows. In the lead was Shimon, walking at a swift pace into the courtroom, and a crowd of guards behind him. "Pharaoh! We have the princess here at this moment and her majesty is free from harm! Praise Ra!"

The elderly vizier jovially walked next to the pharaoh's right side and cheerfully patted the top of the pharaoh's hand, which lay on top of the right armrest to the throne. Atem blinked at the enthusiastic man as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down his olive face. The guards began to line up along the sides of the isle as Priestess Isis and Priest Shada stood side by side to the front left of Atem and Karim stood to the front right of him. Coming up the isle were High Priest Seto, and an apprehensive Millennia following closely behind him. Seto slightly kneeled before the pharaoh as Millennia stood a few feet back behind him and more into the isle.

"Pharaoh . . . we have recovered the princess." With that brief explanation, the azure eyed man had then taken a place to stand between Priestess Isis and Priest Shada. Atem nodded in reply, trying to conceal a knowing smirk behind his staid expression. Soft footsteps were heard coming from the isle, apparently belonging to Millennia. She walked forward in front of the pharaoh with concern burning in her cerulean orbs. What was wrong? What had happened to her brother? The princess stopped before the throne and held her arms strictly to her sides while clenching her fists. The brunette was attempting to brace herself, but even she wondered if that would be enough. She cleared her throat to speak, though she really didn't need to do so. She could talk to Atem about almost anything; they were friends after all. Why did she feel so nervous now? Is it possible that she may be too afraid to speak in front of so many people about a personal situation? Or was it the situation itself that she feared?

"Atem, I-" Before she could finish, the princess sweatdropped at Shimon's scolding, wide eyes and all of the other priests' matching facial expressions of appall. Millennia then chuckled nervously to herself, and then rolled her eyes in amusement at the reactions she received. "Forgive me . . . pharaoh, but I have only just one question to ask before we begin."

Everyone watched the princess intently as Atem did the same, wondering what was about to be asked. The amethyst eyed pharaoh hoped that she wasn't angry with him for telling his priests that she had left; he had just wanted her to come back to hear about the word on her brother. He gulped and took a deep breath, prepared for anything. Millennia's lips separated to speak.

"When is dinner?"

". . . . . . . . . . . . . . ."

Ever hear of that saying that states, "Silence is golden?" In this case, we'll just call it an assortment of colors.

"Dinner?" Atem blinked with a sweatdrop as everyone else in the courtroom did so. Millennia smiled guiltily, but then placed her hands to her hips and grinned broadly.

"Correct! Wow, am I starving! It is pretty hard to go on with out eating for hours!" The princess stated matter of fact as everyone in the courtroom began to develop migraines. Priest Seto, one who isn't too big on foolishness, or fools for that matter, took a deep breath and supposedly counted to ten.

"If I understand you correctly, princess, you are about to find out news on your only brother, and all you can think of now . . . is food?"

". . . why not?"

This was going to be a long night. In the meantime while Millennia began to annoy Seto and the court watched the scene impatiently (Atem fell asleep on his throne . . .), Shimon had suspiciously taken notice of the absence of two of the high priests, leaving Karim to stand alone on the right while Isis, Seto, and Shada stood to the left. There were unoccupied spaces.

"I wonder where Mahaad has gone off to . . ." He thought while gazing into Karim's direction. He also took note of the next, and final, missing priest.

"What is this? He is never late and has never been late for a court discussion . . . for all of these years. What is going on . . . Akunadin?"

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

The palace halls were shrouded in darkness, the night consuming twilight. Though very faint, immense movement could be seen as two even darker shadows jostled around, a few slams being heard here and there.

"Rip-"

Suddenly, a piece of fine, royal mauve cloth had fallen to the hallway floor, floating gently on top of the crimson red rugs. A small cry was heard from the taller one of the enigmatic figures, and the other had the taller one lifted up by the collar of his to be revealed mauve, royal robes, a piece of it missing from where a strong, bronze fist clenched the delicate, silky material.

"Slam!"

The shadowy, purple figure was pinned up to the wall by a cloaked, dark figure, whose only features visible were his eyes-or in this case-eye-for the fact that his other dark blue eye was missing and replaced with a golden item shaped into a peculiar eye. The other figure, at the cloaked figure's mercy, grabbed the other silhouette's fist clenched to his collar with both of his hands, knuckles turning pale white, which had made his already grey hands even more ghost-like. The mauve figure gritted their teeth in aggravation, and appeared distressed, their eyes still covered by the shadows. Beads of sweat rolled down their face and their legs had kicked around in midair for a split moment, but then gave up to the other figure's strength. They panted hot breaths of air while the cloaked figure's blue eye burned a wrathful burgundy.

"We made a deal!"

The cloaked figure then dragged the other figure harsh fully slow down against a brighter part of the wall, so they could speak face to face in the moon's light. They were now at eye level, and the cloaked figure turned out to be a man in a taupe-colored hooded cloak and matching royal shoes who appeared to be around Shimon's age. However, he seemed much taller and fit and his bronze face was covered with sweat and drenched his beard of white. A rough appearance served well for this man's actions, apparently.

"There was no specified order of any certain manner, nay, Akunadin?" A snake-like voice hissed from the purple-garbed man's scaly lips with a conceited smirk spread wide across it. The other male, Akunadin, glared at the mauve figure in rage and gripped is collar even more tightly, causing the taller man to gag.

"I said we made a DEAL! Did you not comprehend this, Heishin? Do you need my assistance to literally bash it into your head?" A husk voice whispered angrily at the currently being strangled man, roughly jolting the man's pale face closer to his own. The mauve-robed man, Heishin, began to sweat even more than he had been doing so before, fearing his own life may be taken in just only a few more moments.

"N-No need to be hasty, Akunadin. It still w-worked out the same way, n-nothing in our deal changed. A-And by the way, have you gotten the pharaoh to sign the contract?" Heishin gagged, forcing an awkward smile upon his serpent-like face. Akunadin grunted into Heishin's face, causing the man to wince.

"I did my part, and you failed to follow thoroughly through yours. Give me one good reason why I should not have you executed." Akunadin's tone became a low growl, his face revealing utmost anger. Heishin was able to manage a sly, reptilian smirk through his struggle and began to chuckle darkly. Akunadin eyed the man disgustedly. "What is so amusing about this circumstance, you lying snake?" The man in purple began to calm down and his toothy smirk grew wider at his attacker's wrath.

"Heh . . . Akunadin, if I go down, you are coming with me, whence I tell the pharaoh about your involvement." Heishin began to chuckle more after his statement, creating more anger to develop inside Akunadin. His face darkened, and a low, calm tone escaped his lips.

"That is . . . unless . . . you are unable to do so, Heishin. I hear it is difficult for dead men to speak . . ."

After these words were spoken, Heishin's face exposed even more fear. The two were still for a few moments, lost in the darkness and buried into each of their own hatred. Moonbeams showered them sympathetically, saddened by their hearts, or lack there of.

"Cling . . ."

A mysterious echo filled the halls as both Akunadin and Heishin gaped into the moonlight behind them, where a familiar silhouette stood. Akunadin immediately released his hold on Heishin and quickly turned toward the silhouette, leaving Heishin fallen to the floor on his hands and knees, gasping for air. The silhouette in the moonlight stepped forward, and Akunadin took a step back.

"What has happened here, Master Akunadin?"

"Everything is well here, Mahaad! No need to worry yourself." Akunadin took small gasps of air as he used the back of his right hand to wipe the sweat from his brow. Mahaad, on the other hand, eyed the man suspiciously and craned his neck out to examine Heishin.

"What has happened to our court's mage?" Mahaad walked directly past the silent Akunadin, and knelt down next to the mauve-robed mage. Heishin continued to pant heavily, but as he lifted his head higher to be eye-level with the high priest, his breaths became slower and he smirked deviously at Mahaad. "Are you alright, Master Heishin?"

"Yes . . . yes, I am fine, thank you, Mahaad. I have been suffering from some respiratory problems lately. Perhaps it is a punishment from the gods for a crime I have committed?" Heishin could not help but widen his smirk after speaking the words of his last sentence. Mahaad blinked in question at the elder man, but then smiled kindly in return.

"I am sure the gods are not angry with you, Master Heishin. You, along with Master Akunadin, are quite loyal to the pharaoh." The high priest then helped the mage stand to his feet, as Akunadin watched with distaste. "Master Akunadin, all of the pharaoh's court has been called for a meeting. We should get going." He then faced Heishin, whose arm was rested over Mahaad's shoulder. "As for you, Master Heishin, I believe the pharaoh shall not mind if you head back to your chambers for the night. By the looks of your condition and of what you had told me, it's best if you had your rest. I will escort you there, if you may wish."

"Nonsense, Mahaad! I will go to my chambers, but I would not want you or Akunadin to be anymore late for the meeting then you two are already. I will head back myself, thank you." Heishin broke away from the high priest, taking Mahaad by surprise and Akunadin by suspicion.

"Are you sure, Master Heishin?" Mahaad asked again for reassurance. Heishin bowed a few times to each of the high priests, muttering "Yes, yes" and "I shall be fine." Holding onto the darkened, yet golden wall, Heishin began to feebly slither into the darkness. Mahaad watched after him as Akunadin took hold of the priest's toned, bronze-colored arm. He nodded at Mahaad, and the two began to walk into the opposite direction.

"How did you find me, Mahaad?" Akunadin asked in the most straightforward way as they continued down the palace corridors. Mahaad lifted the golden item which hung from a string around his neck.

"As I was making my way to the pharaoh's courtroom, my Millennium Ring began to sense dark energy. I followed the direction in which it was directing me to, and that was when I found you and Master Heishin. It probably was just picking up you Millennium Eye." Mahaad explained specifically as Akunadin's face remained emotionless as the two walked on. "Uh-Master Akunadin, if I may ask, what were you and Master Heishin doing?" At that moment, Akunadin stopped his pace abruptly, causing Mahaad to do the same in bewilderment.

"Mahaad . . . you will forget what you had seen only a few moments ago." Without question, Mahaad nodded in a more puzzled manner than understanding, but in whichever case, the high priests continued on to the courtroom.

"Shoom-"

Unknown to them, a shadow even more dark than the hallways themselves lurked around the corridors. Heishin growled angrily to himself as he struggled to maintain his balance while leaning against the wall for a moment.

"Heh . . . heh . . . that cursed Akunadin . . . he deserves to be stripped of his flesh and buried alive . . ."

"I agree entirely."

"What?"

Suddenly, a large shadow with one swift movement sent the man down on to his hands and knees.

"Agh!" He cried out in pain, landing directly face first into the crimson rugs. His vision became blurry and he fought to keep his eyes opened to face his current attacker, who was slowly making their way to the fallen mage. A low cackle could be heard from the being, dark and sadistic. They now towered over the man's body, and Heishin could feel something strong grasp his arm and hung him limply into the air. Glowing, demonic eyes were luminescent in the dark, and with a gasp of fear from Heishin, he knew exactly what he was up against.

"You!" Fear overwhelmed his feeble mind, and he froze, holding his breath. The attacker chuckled darkly in reply.

"Shall we pay a visit to the pharaoh?"

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

The courtroom had finally settled down, Millennia and Seto had just about enough of each other's ignorance. All was quiet, until the princess collected herself and decided to get back on topic.

"Pharaoh! What about my brother?"

" . . . . . . ."

"Huh?"

The pharaoh had just received a nudge in the shoulder from Shimon's bony elbow, who also gave the young pharaoh a reprimanding look for falling asleep during a court meeting. Atem smiled ruefully at his royal vizier, who then nodded toward the anxious Millennia. The amethyst eyed pharaoh blinked at the girl and then abruptly sat up straight in his seat, hoping that no one had seemed to notice, which was highly unlikely.

"Ehem . . . uh-forgive me, I was just resting my eyes for the moment, no more." He coughed into his fist and blushed slightly in embarrassment, while the rest of the court sighed with sweatdrops.

"My brother!" Millennia cried out again, becoming impatient with her friend's bad habit of falling asleep on the throne. Atem's eyes widened in remembrance at her exclamation. That was right. He had to get his mind back on the matter at hand.

"Princess, I-" He froze for a split second, gazing straight ahead into his friend's face. She expressed deep concern, and already had a feeling that this news was going to be bad news. It was as obvious as her eyes were a deep blue, full of worry and uneasiness. Though, he could feel the gazes of everyone else in the courtroom's eyes, silently supporting their king to do his job, no matter how hard it may be for him, and for the rest of them. Atem took a deep breath, and stared directly into Millennia's cerulean orbs with his amethyst ones.

" . . . Greece's kingdom had been attacked last night, but word had not been received until today, and that is even considered fast. The whole entire royal family has been declared missing, including your parents, the new queen . . . and your brother, King Andreas."

Atem breathed through his nose and watched Millennia. Her features transformed from anxiety to extreme fear. The high priests gazed sympathetically at the princess, unable to do a thing for her. Even the royal guards seemed to bear heavy hearts, some staring down at the floor in discomfort while others had just plain refused to make eye contact with the disheartened princess. Millennia's facial expression became blank, her bronze bangs shifting over her dark eyes as her head slowly lowered. She felt a knot form in her stomach. How could something like this happen? Why now? Why me?

"MISSING? I THINK NOT!"

A deep voice boomed throughout the courtroom, following a thunderous slam of the gigantic, golden doors at the entrance. A man marched quickly toward the pharaoh as another man followed him in a quick jog and repeatedly urged the other man to either "stop" or "calm down." Shimon's and Atem's eyes widened at the scene in concern as everyone else in the courtroom watched with puzzled expressions. Millennia, however, paid no mind and continued her daze into the sandstone floor.

"Lord Akunadin! What is the meaning of this?" Shimon demanded with boldness, yet simultaneously with respect in his tone. Akunadin stomped right before the pharaoh's throne and stopped with his arms spread out before him. The other high priest immediately stopped right next to Akunadin once he had caught up to him.

"Mahaad!" Atem exclaimed in surprise, not even realizing that the bearer of the Millennium Ring had not been previously present. Mahaad nodded with a curt smile toward his king, but then his lips formed into a solemn frown. He faced the elder high priest next to him and began to interrogate him.

"Master Akunadin, why were you suddenly in such a rush to get here? What is the matter?" Mahaad began to ask away with as many questions full of worry as he could. Though, his reply was an instantaneous glare with a few stray strands of silver surrounding an angered, tan face.

"Do not question me at a time like this, Mahaad! I have the truth about what has happened in Greece! The truth!" Akunadin had mainly directed this statement more toward the pharaoh than Mahaad, but both had seemed to be in understanding of what was to come. The entire court seemed startled by this sudden outburst by the highly respected high priest, not comprehending why he had lost his calm or what he was trying to say.

"Akunadin . . . I don't understand . . ." Atem appeared to be in a state of frustration and agitation, looking both concerned and uneasy at the same time. Shimon mimicked the pharaoh's facial expression and had to wonder as well of what was going on here. The other high priests each exchanged worried glances with each other, knowing that this was probably not going to be good. The guards in the courtroom seemed quite clueless of the situation, for the matter that Akunadin's odd behavior had distracted them. Millennia was now watching Akunadin intensely, making sure that she would not miss any piece of information about her family and brother. The old high priest swiftly turned his back to the pharaoh and faced the court, briefly startling Mahaad, who was right next to him and withdrew next to Karim immediately.

"Pharaoh! Princess! Everyone! The royal family of Greece is dead!"

Instantly, gasps echoed throughout the entire room and murmurs were heard all the while. Akunadin had not seemed at all disturbed by their responses; he may have even been satisfied. The faces of the high priests were notably horror-struck, and the guards appeared even more saddened than they were before.

". . . ." Millennia was speechless. The news had just gone from worse to the worst, even when she thought that nothing else could make this day anymore like a nightmare. "But . . ." She couldn't understand this, not any of it. Were the gods so displeased with her as to give her such a burden? The princess thought of how immeasurable her heart would be right now on the golden scale in Karim's possession, the Millennium Scale, none the less. Even better, Akunadin wanted to brighten the mood with more good news.

"And on top of that, they are not just dead, they were murdered!" More murmurs were stirred up in the courtroom. Atem's jaw almost hit the floor from the shock and Shimon placed his hands to his face in distress. The high priests continued to watch Akunadin with stunned expressions across their faces.

"Akunadin, how do you know all of this?" The pharaoh demanded in a rage as the high priest turned around toward him, almost crazed.

"I have some . . . inside information about this, my pharaoh. You see, it was not just a massacre by a rival country, but it was a slaughtering done by none other than the most iniquitous group in the world . . . it was Bakura! The King of Thieves! He and his men are responsible for this catastrophe!"

The room began to grow louder; suspicious murmurs grew into angry shouts and it was so hard to believe that the mention of one name could cause so much pandemonium. The high priests, and even Shimon, looked even more disgusted than they did before, knowing now who was to blame for this atrocity. Atem appeared as if he would jump right out of his skin and go on a killing spree himself against Bakura.

"SILENCE!" The court grew instantly quiet in obedience at the strident voice of Pharaoh Atem, who at the same time rammed his fists into the arms of his extravagant throne.

"Bakura? That scum! I can't believe he would go out and kill innocent people just to try to get revenge on me! That makes me sick . . . he cannot be forgiven for this insidious act . . ." Atem clenched his bronze fists as he sat in a silent rage upon his golden throne. The high priests all nodded at each other, and then circled around one another, excluding Akunadin who watched amusingly a few feet away from them and in front of the pharaoh's throne.

"Bakura has taken things too far! This was probably not a random act of evil, but one to get our kingdom's attention!" Priest Seto exclaimed angrily to the other priests as they began to discuss the situation amongst themselves.

"Could this possibly be a tactic to try and draw us out to Greece? If we head there, our kingdom could possibly suffer the same fate . . ." Isis added in melancholy, as the other high priests went into deep thought.

"This is an outrage! That monster had to not only involve the princess' kingdom, but is using this event as bait for us!" Shada explained angrily, his teeth gritted hard in wrath.

"The question now is what Bakura's true motives behind this crime are?" Karim placed an olive-toned hand under his chin as if he were pondering.

"He has to be stopped before anymore innocents are injured. Maybe we should take this account as a warning rather than seeing it as a trap. We should heighten our security even more now." Mahaad was the last high priest to speak his mind on the issue at hand, but Seto seemed to have something snide to add to this.

"Heighten security? Ha! Have I not already brought that up with you before? Mahaad, may I remind you that it is you who is in charge of that department . . . and are failing miserably. Maybe it is time that you stepped down from your position." The azure eyed priest smirked haughtily into Mahaad's azure eyes, Mahaad's expression revealing both objection, and maybe hurt.

"Seto, I admit that security has not been at its peak lately, but I promised the pharaoh that I would do better. I believe that things have grown much safer in the kingdom than it had been when Bakura first attacked. Plus, we-" Mahaad was abruptly interrupted by Seto, who now was infuriated.

"How do we know that the kingdom is more secure? Maybe Bakura is just waiting for the right moment to make his move! You cannot say that he has tried to penetrate through our defenses since after the day when he ransacked the previous pharaoh's tomb and arrogantly dragged his mummy before the court to mock him and us all! Do you want that to happen again, Mahaad? If you do not, then I suggest that you rethink why you are even in the pharaoh's court!" After this loud outburst from Seto, the two high priests began to quarrel between each other, causing a chain reaction among the other priests who tried to get Seto and Mahaad to calm down, though only making the situation even worse and creating a noisy debate. Atem sat upon his throne and watched them with protest plastered across his face and Shimon shook his head to himself in exasperation. Akunadin remained a solemn expression across his face, but even he began to join in on the conflict after awhile, however he made no difference to the situation.

"Pt-" A small, clear drop of liquid fell to the floor, looking as though a soft crystal had shattered against the hard, granite throne room floor. A small sniff was barely heard over the shouts of the high priests, who were too preoccupied within themselves at the moment. Cerulean orbs slowly looked up to them, and screamed a silent suffering.

"STOP IT!"

The high priests began to quiet down, except for Seto and Mahaad who hissed their final remarks to each other before taking notice of the sudden cry. Millennia stomped a foot before herself and clenched her fists into tight balls. She squeezed her eyes tight, though a small tear was able to slip away from the corner of one of her eyes.

"JUST STOP IT!" And on that impulse, the princess turned on her heel and began to sprint out of the courtroom, guards watching her with concern. A trail of tears were left flying behind her and some mixed with her flowing, bronze colored hair.

"Princess!" Isis called out on maternal-like instinct, and receiving a guilty gaze from Mahaad. The other high priests exchanged accountable glances with each other, though Seto had just made a 'hmph.' Akunadin watched darkly after the princess until the golden doors of the throne room were half way closed by the guards. Atem stood abruptly from his chair and gasped in shock.

"Millennia!" His amethyst orbs shone valiantly as he decided to chase after her, his royal purple cape flowing behind him.

"Pharaoh!" Shimon called out in protest, but the young king could not be stopped. In a flowing motion, Atem had just run after Millennia, startling the guards who were shutting the giant doors and leaving the high priests baffled. Right when the pharaoh had left the room, the doors had been completely shut, and leaving the courtroom in a culpable quiet. The high priests stared at each other in disbelief and guilt, excluding Seto who gave Mahaad a haughty gaze, and Akunadin who was dismissing the guards from the courtroom. Once almost all of the guards were gone, Shimon placed his hands on his hips and let out a loud grunt, catching all of the high priests attention.

"You should all be ashamed!" The small, elderly vizier rebuked the full grown priests as if they were spoiled children. "I have never seen such carelessness in my life! Such ignorance!" It was quite rare to see Shimon so upset, and almost no one had ever seen him like this. The old man made his way in front of the high priests, all of them not daring to make eye contact with him except for Akunadin.

"All of you are so worried about such trivial matters compared to what is going on right now! Especially you, Seto, and I am very surprised with you, Mahaad!" Shimon glared daggers at the two taller priests, Mahaad mouthing a silent apology and Seto grunting in reply. Akunadin then stepped forward and ended up standing right next to Shimon with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I have to agree with Shimon here. We should not be worrying about such minor problems of 'who is ahead of security' or whatnot. Bakura is on the move!" Immediately after stating this, a small spark lit from Shimon's dark purple eyes.

"All of you are missing my point! This has nothing to do with Bakura or politics! Princess Millennia is just a girl, and she did not just lose her country's rulers and leaders, but she had lost her family! Do any of you have no compassion? Only the Pharaoh was able to see her suffering from the loss of her loved ones, unlike any of you who go on and babble about such issues!"

The high priests kept quiet then, absorbing everything the royal vizier had said; even Seto swallowed his pride for the moment. Akunadin on the other hand, seemed a bit alarmed.

"However, Shimon, more people's lives are at stake, and we must take action! We cannot rest until we settle these matters!"

Shimon looked up into the taller man's eyes, and appeared to have calmed down.

"Lord Akunadin . . . there is a time for political affairs, and there is a time for mourning. This is a time of great sadness and loss, so I can assure you that the Nile shall be flooded with tears tonight . . ."

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

Darkness . . . an endless, blind maze. No one could stop her sightless dash, to get away from everything. From everything that she had known to be real, from everything she had known to be true . . . it was all gone. So . . . what was there to run from?

"Millennia!" A deep voice could be heard throughout the corridors, though it held a tone of sympathy in it. The panting girl with invisible tears rolling down her face stopped immediately at the sound of the voice, leaning against the cold, hard wall next to her for support. The brunette rubbed her eyes briefly with her forearm, trying to dry her reddened face. Semi-luminescent, cerulean orbs peered from behind her arm, a soft sound heard from her lips.

"Atem?" Millennia's voice had cracked a bit, causing her to lower the tone of her voice in embarrassment.

"Millennia! Can you here me?" The gentle, yet thunderous voice of the pharaoh rang throughout the halls again, footsteps coming closer and closer to the princess. Millennia was both relieved and anxious at the same time. She was so glad that her friend was concerned for her, but . . . did she really want him to find her in the dark . . . like this? Looking pitiful and weak? Certainly not at all. The choice was somewhat hasty, though she had made her decision.

"Keep running . . . do not let them find you . . . I want to be alone . . . Let me be. . ."

These thoughts raced throughout her head as the princess ran as fast as she could into the shadows of the halls, not turning nor looking back. Stumbling once her twice, she could barely hear the faint cries of the pharaoh. Good. Or . . . was it? To not be able to hear Atem's cries only made her deepest, innermost cries even louder. Before she knew it, she was once again all alone in the dark, with only her own pain and sorrow to comfort her . . . or to torture her. Either way, company was company. There was nowhere to go now. She went as far as the hall went, gently brushing her soft hand against the wall of the dead end. No where to go . . . would anyone find her? Atem? She still did not know whether or not she had wanted to be found. "How indecisive . . . that is not a quality of a future queen," she was always told by her family. They were strict in their ways, but she knew that they had loved her. Especially Andreas. He was the only one that was ever direct with her about anything. "Sometimes our flaws may lead to the doorways of our aptitudes." If only he were here now . . . where did her flaws get her now, dear brother? Nowhere but a dead end. She leaned back against the wall, as to camouflage with it in the night. Maybe she could just stay like this forever . . . all alone in the dark . . . in her misery . . .

"H-Help me! Princess!-ack!"

Millennia had basically jumped as if she had been shocked by electricity for a split second, clinging to the nothingness of the wall behind her. A long figure lay out before her feet after being thrust there unexpectedly. A cold, pale hand reached out for her wrapped ankle, though the princess had stood on her toes to avoid physical contact with the unknown creature.

"P-Please-it's . . . it's Ba-"

"Stomp!"

"Ohhhh!" The figure appeared to be a man after the beaten and bruised body let out an inhuman howl; a bodiless leg had appeared from the shadows and was standing mightily on top of the man's back. Millennia gritted her teeth in fear, trying not to scream. She stared down at the poor figure on the ground, and began to take pity in his pain. Suddenly, after examining the man's facial features, despite the small cuts and trickles of blood, she had realized who this suffering man was.

"Master Heishin!" Millennia let out a cry of fear and knelt down on her hands and knees to observe his face into greater detail.

"What has happened to you?" The blue eyed girl felt a ping in her heart of sorrow. She was so caught up in herself, that she had not realized that there was something more to all of this chaos. A bigger scheme . . .

"Why you little liar . . ."

A smooth, yet deadly voice could be heard from behind Heishin. Millennia gasped in terror and jumped to her feet as she watched the mage being dragged into the shadows by the leg on Heishin's back. Two, glowing violet orbs could be made out in the dark at a higher elevation than Millennia's eyes. No-it couldn't be-

"You?" Millennia could not believe her eyes as she saw a taller figure walk closer to her and into the sudden moonbeams that Khonsu and Yah had sent down as to create a spotlight for the being's appearance. The being appeared to be a man, in a remarkable crimson cloak. He had Heishin lifted up by the collar of his garments and his head at the same level as the man's waist. Blood dripped down the mage's chin . . .

"Let him go! You're hurting him!" Millennia felt the words flow right out of her mouth without the consent of her own will. The man in the crimson cloak and the violet eyes let out an earsplitting cackle, an inhuman tone was most notable in it. The princess flinched, yet stood her ground. The man gave her a sly smirk of satisfaction, inflicting the fear he had wanted to with only the power of his presence and voice.

"You are quite an amusing person. First, you lie to me and say that you are a servant in the palace. And I almost believed you, princess. Now, you are reprimanding me on what to do with my victims, when you yourself lack the courage to do anything about it except for standing there, horror-struck, and watch me torture this old man." The violet eyed demon lifted Heishin by the collar to be eye level with him. "Or maybe he will die before I even give the pharaoh a real show with this man's pain. Or maybe I could hold him for a nice ransom, he is the pharaoh's highest ranked mage, so killing him or not, both decisions are tempting . . ."

Heishin let out a painful moan, and his captor smirked disdainfully at the man, a malicious grin which hungered to hurt. Millennia had to admit that this man was correct; she was horror-struck. She had never witnessed anything like this in her entire life, and on top of that, her own family and kingdom were slaughtered by a band of thieves, led by the notorious-

She knew immediately who he was.

"Bakura!" Millennia screamed as though he were a thousand miles away and not able to here her. Tears of anger and hurt streamed down her face, not letting up anytime soon at all. She could not believe that this same person had helped her earlier in the bar! This same man, who was famous for being the King of Thieves and killing many, including 99 palace guards single handedly, had saved her from being injured terribly! Why? She could not understand.

"Hm hm, well I'm glad that we have been properly introduced now, eh, princess? Now if you don't mind, be a good little girl and stay there while I take this old man with me to the pharaoh's court. His majesty might be . . . entertained . . . when he watches this old mage's blood stain his palace floor red. It's a shame really, I mean, it might take hours to clean all that blood up from the floor! And what would they do with the corpse when they see how mangled it is? You can't make a mummy of mangled flesh, am I right?" Bakura darkly chuckled to himself in his sick amusement as Millennia listened in horror. What a terrible and ruthless human! No-he's not even human!

". . . Bakura . . ." Millennia gulped, holding her breath. This man had killed her whole entire family and more . . . and Andreas. The anger and rage burned inside of her, she clenched her fists at her sides and was just about ready to take a swing at the jerk.

"Hmph. What is it? I don't have much time, so make it fast, princess." Bakura gazed wickedly into Heishin's hurting face, enjoying the old man's agony. Millennia did not appreciate the fact that she was being underestimated; especially by the man she hated most. The blue eyed brunette gritted her teeth as hard as she could; fighting back any tears that had wanted to erupt. Finally, she made her move.

"Take me instead . . ."

Her facial expression and body softened, her cerulean orbs gazing sadly at an angle to the ground. Bakura and Heishin both revealed shocked expressions across their faces, though Bakura's eventually transformed into a vampire-like smirk. His fist grasping Heishin's collar loosened, dropping the mage to the ground in a weak state.

"Ugh-" Crumpled to the ground and surrounded in a cascade of mauve robes, Heishin laid there fragile-like, watching Millennia with confusion.

"N-No, princess, y-you are making a big mistake . . ." He protested against her decision, but the princess nodded at him with a tiny, yet brief smile. She then created eye contact with the thief king, and regained her solemn expression.

"Well?" Millennia asked somewhat forcefully; she was new to this suspense thing and all, and having a hard time sounding intimidating. She knew that if he was a few inches shorter and not as muscular, it would be easy for her to take him down; unfortunately, this wasn't the case. All she could do now was talk her way out of this, or into it.

"Are you sure that this is what you want, princess? The kingdom will probably miss you more than the old man, of course. . ." The milky haired man asked her, though more of a taunt.

"I am sure. I won't let anyone else get hurt." The princess stiffened a bit, emotions of fear and courage battling inside of her.

"Alright, then. Come to me, and if you try to disobey me, I can guarantee both you and that pathetic old man an instant death, right here, right now." Bakura's eyes shone with malice, one of his strong arms extended out toward Millennia. She gazed in horror at his outstretched hand. The girl wanted to scream, in all honesty. How did she get into a situation like this? It doesn't matter now; he'll probably kill her in just a few hours. It's almost poetic; her family dies just a day before her and now she will soon join them. Everyone having the privilege to be faced with the same god of death. Fate was fate and destiny was destiny.

Both of their hands fit together perfectly.

"Millennia!" As if almost right on time, Atem had witnessed the scene before his very eyes, despite how dark the corridors were. The pharaoh gasped in shock as he realized that Heishin laid on the floor in cuts and bruises, and Millennia was found hand in hand with Atem's most hated enemy . . .

"Bakura!"

"Ha! Why in the world is everyone shouting my name tonight when I am clearly standing right before your eyes? Really, the nerve of you royals . . ." Bakura sarcastically scoffed at the pharaoh while yanking Millennia to his feet, the princess releasing a yelp.

"Bakura, I want answers! What have you done to Heishin? To Millennia's family? What are you doing to Millennia?" Atem roared in a rage so loud, that even Heishin and Millennia were taken aback. Bakura's tan lips formed a soft smirk in delight at the pharaoh's hatred.

"Please forgive me, pharaoh, but I must return to the desert to think of a date for my next visit to the palace. Mahaad's Millennium Ring has been looking awfully tempting lately, if I do must say so myself. And if you don't mind, I shall be borrowing the princess for just awhile. If I am in the mood, then I might decide to give her back alive." Atem's facial expression froze in fear at the thief king's words, bluff or not. Millennia mimicked Atem's facial expression, gazing up in terror into Bakura's demonic, violet orbs. Bakura's lips curved into an even more sadistic smirk while gazing darkly at the pharaoh.

"Oh, it's getting late, I might as well leave. It was fun crashing in."

At that instant, a large crash was heard from behind Bakura, debris of the walls and ceiling flying everywhere, along with smoke and dust. Millennia let out a scream while both of her hands clung to Bakura's one hand grasping her wrist. Heishin wheezed from the particles in the air and Atem cried out in shock while using his dark purple cape to protect his face from the blast. Millennia squinted with difficulty as she tried to make out what had caused the explosion. A large figure could be seen through the smoke . . . but what was it? Was it a demon . . . no . . . a . . . god?

"Diabound!" Bakura shouted maniacally to the figure behind him. It slowly began to emerge from the smoke and debris.

"Until we meet again . . . pharaoh . . ." Bakura mocked the amethyst eyed man. Millennia began to become dazed from the unclean air. What was happening to her? She felt her body being dragged from behind the thief lord, though she could also feel that all of the sudden, she had been lifted and was being carried into two, strong arms. The princess could hear her name being called out by Atem, though his cries were futile. She was now blind and becoming deaf. Once again, she was alone in the dark . . .

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

"This is absolutely a horrendous turn of events! Horrendous!" Shimon stood right next to the tired looking pharaoh on top of Atem's balcony, which led to his royal chambers. The old vizier began to cry out pleas to the gods up above in the starless, navy-midnight sky. This wasn't making the young pharaoh feel any better about the incident which had occurred just a few hours ago. He just could not get any of the previous images out of his head! He rubbed his temple with his forefingers, as if trying to get rid of a headache.

Bakura had the nerve to appear in the palace right after what he and his men did to another country, and he even took a hostage! Millennia was taken away in place of Heishin, and disappeared with Bakura and Diabound. Right after the smoke and debris had cleared, all of the high priests and many palace guards came to the scene. Unfortunately, they were all too late, for the reason that the princess and her captor had already vanished into the pitch darkness of the night, leaving a scene of destruction behind them. Immediately, Akunadin had ordered yet again another search team to find Bakura, and this time they were to find Millennia as well. Heishin was taken to his chambers to rest and for his body to recover for the night. A short meeting had been issued in the court afterwards about this event. Besides the fact that Bakura had infiltrated the palace again and Millennia was taken, everyone was worried about the pharaoh not being able to get married now, since his 21st birthday was tomorrow. Mahaad was concerned that Atem would lose the throne now, though Seto objected and made some snide remarks about how this would not have happened if Mahaad's security standards were as new and improved as Mahaad said they were, creating more problems in the court. There were moments of control and moments of conflict, though whatever had happened in that courtroom had just pulled the last straw for Atem. All of the sudden he had raised to his feet from his chair and dismissed everyone in the throne room. Before anyone was able to comprehend his behavior or order, the amethyst eyed pharaoh stomped straight to his chambers with Shimon following him shortly after.

"Pharaoh, I promise you that things will turn out well in the end."

Atem turned around toward his royal vizier, who smiled comfortably at him.

"For now, I believe that ye should get some rest. It has been some hard times for all of us. Bakura may be a ruthless murderer, but I highly doubt that he would kidnap royalty just for blood lust. He is also a strategic genius, and most likely may want a ransom for the princess. I know that we can overcome that demand unless-" Right then and there, Shimon had stopped speaking, an expression across his face as if the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Shimon!" Atem gasped in concern, not knowing what was wrong. The old royal vizier slowly walked over to the pharaoh and stood next to him, looking over the balcony and into the black desert.

"Unless . . . no . . . he would not think of it . . . or . . . would he?"

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

"Three divine beings . . . a dragon . . . a stone soldier . . . a phoenix . . . what does this all mean . . . ?"

Three flashes of colors shot across the darkness; red, blue, and gold. Suddenly, a white flash overcame the vision, reality returning. A blinding, goldenrod orb of light shone throughout the clear, powder blue sky. The black outline of a predatory bird soared before the giant light. A hot sensation burned and the reddened skin was layered in sweat. A stomping-like motion could be felt underneath her. "What were those beings? Where am I?"

Princess Millennia looked around her surroundings in a panic, realizing finally that she was out in the blazing desert. She was about to move a few strands of wet hair from her face, but noticed that she could not move her hands. Her wrists were bound behind her back, by what felt like a rough-textured rope. With her confused, cerulean eyes wide opened and in shock, Millennia felt a soft material on the side of her face that she was leaning against . . . horse hair . . . great, and it smelled like it too. The brunette figured out that she was most likely straddled on top of a horse. Wait a minute-she wasn't directing it or anything-where were the reins? Was she exiled to ride to her death alone in the desert on a runaway horse? Why? What happened? Oh . . . yes, that's right. The events of last night . . . she was beginning to remember . . . unfortunately. She wondered if it was all just a dream . . . a long, terrible dream. A nightmare, to put in lame mans terms. No, it was real alright, but there were so many questions clouding her head right now. Why was she in the desert? Was she dead? Did she pass the final judgment of the gods of death? Did she fail? Was this the afterlife? Could she see her family again . . . and Andreas? However, why would she be dead? It couldn't have been that simple . . . that easy. "Grrgle . . ." Well, that should settle things. Her growling stomach should be an indication that she was still alive . . . and hungry. But if she was alive and if what happened last night was not a dream, then where was-

"Finally awake, I see."

A familiar, smooth voice could be heard from behind the girl. Millennia's fingertips brushed lightly against a soft, yet sturdy material. This to her conclusion was not horsehair, but someone's cloak. She became startled by the voice, and convulsed in her place for a split second at the silky, sarcastic tone. The princess craned her neck as far as it would go in her position, only to be partially blinded by the golden orb in the sky, which turned out to be the sun. Though, she managed to catch a glimpse of the person's face behind her before quickly turning back to her head's original placement. Violet eyes; piercing eyes, through night and day, they always seemed to portray a radiant brilliance of darkness and malevolence. The same milky white hair and rugged scar were still there, planted upon toned, bronze skin. A large hand was at each side of her head and the horse's neck holding reins. To her surprise, they were going quite slowly. She guessed the king of thieves was not in much of a rush.

"Hm. Well, aren't you going to say something, princess-wait, never mind, I can tolerate you better when you're quiet." Bakura's sardonic tone made Millennia want to jump up right then and there to kick him square in the jaw. She wondered how he would be able to mock her then . . .

"What are you smirking at? You know what, since you're awake now, I see no reason why you can't walk yourself." The violet eyed man immediately tugged on the reins as the horse whinnied, coming to a complete stop. Millennia felt a strong force yank her back by grabbing her wrists and she had fallen roughly on top of the hot, desert sand.

"Oof! Hey-ow! That hurt!" The princess was not having too much fun being dragged on the ground to the back of the sienna-colored horse. Ignoring the girl's complaints, Bakura pulled Millennia to her feet by effortlessly lifting the ropes and her wrists up. Before she knew it, the white haired Egyptian had pulled her arms over her head and tied another longer rope around the ropes binding her wrists together before her. After finishing a tight knot, he fastened the knot to make sure it was secure, and then formed a small hoop at the other end of the bristly rope so it would fit perfectly around his left hand. Millennia tried to maneuver her wrists out from the bondages, but they were too tight; the more she tried, the more the small strands of reed sticking out from the rope would create small cuts into her already sun-burnt skin. She winced from the pain, and was extremely tempted to yelp, or possibly scream in agony. Bakura appeared to have noticed Millennia's pain, and smirked wolfishly at her distraught expression while placing his right hand on top of the horse.

"Comfortable, princess?" He softly chuckled in amusement at her suffering, and in the process receiving an angry glare.

"You . . . murderer . . ." Millennia heaved viciously under her breath in malice, wanting nothing more than to see that cockroach squirm in the hands of death; she wouldn't at all mind if those hands of death were hers either. Bakura cocked an entertained eyebrow, his smirk only widening. He began to cackle brutally as he mounted himself up on his horse, and Millennia held her breath to prevent herself from sobbing in offense. The thief king began to calm down for a moment and shook his head to himself. He then moved his violet gaze ahead of him, yet began to speak to the girl.

"Ha! I may be a murderer, but do you really think that those people you have been living with for the past week are any better than I am? The only difference between me and them are that they are rich murderers . . ." Along with that reply, Bakura slightly tugged the reins of the horse, causing the creature to continue its walk forward. He also gripped his fist around the hoop of rope he had created previously, which was tied to the princess' binds.

"Ah-!" Millennia gasped as she was suddenly being dragged behind the horse without stopping. She stumbled forward, but then regained her balance quickly after. Disregarding the abrupt movement, the blue eyed brunette decided to respond to Bakura's cocky statements. "You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Bakura! None of my friends would ever hurt anyone!"

"So now they are your friends? Funny, you just met them recently, and now they are your friends. You barely know them, princess. Think of the rationale here: we had just met yesterday and you assumed that I was a good guy, right? For all you know I could have been putting on an act . . ." Bakura answered her thoughtfully while still keeping his eyes on the sands ahead of him.

"You were putting on an act! My friends are not! What would you know about friends?" Millennia blurted out in anger; she was now feeling more heat rise to her face, and if she got anymore hot she swore that it would be the end for her.

"Oh, please! I don't need to hear any friendship rants right now! 'Friend' is just a more polite term for 'pawn.' Get it, princess?" The thief king sneered at the girl, wanting her to so badly shut-up. Millennia just wanted to scream curses at him and such. Boy, she had lots of definitions for him right now, the kind of definitions that Shimon would probably have a cow if she muttered even one. "Might as well not add anymore fuel to the fire . . ."

After about ten or fifteen silent minutes later, Millennia began attempting to bite the ropes around her wrists. She almost thought she saw Bakura look back at her and smirk for doing something so childish, but she didn't care. Realizing that this wasn't working after about thirty seconds, she decided to stop her gnawing and started to stop in place, let the rope extend to full length, then catch up, stop, let the rope extend, then catch up to it. The girl hoped that she would eventually gather up the strength to get the horse to at least stutter in its steps (or have Bakura fall back off the horse- boy she would love that.) Maybe Bakura would stop and let her rest from this tiresome walk, and he would untie her; that would be her chance to escape! Hold on- he has a horse, he could catch her if she decided to run- no problem! She'll take the horse before he thinks of hopping onto it! –Wait, then there's Diabound- she could- ok, a Plan B needs to be made here . . .

"What in the world are you doing back there? If you continue to play those games like a child then I will have no choice but to tie up your whole entire body! Would you like to be dragged face first into the sand, princess? Heh heh . . ." Bakura smirked to himself in his idea of humor while watching the tired princess through the corner of his eye.

"Bakura, let me go! I promise to not make this easy for you!" Millennia continued to walk as she had originally been, staring down angrily into the seemingly moving, sparkling sands below at her feet. At that instant, Bakura let out a loud howl of demonic laughter, puzzling the Greek princess even more than she had already felt.

"Let you go? Was it not you that volunteered to be taken away in the place of that old man? If I released you, then your little sacrifice would have been in vain, would it not, princess? And as for you intending to not make this easy for me, then may I let you know that I do not propose to make this any easier for you! Maybe if you are lucky, by nightfall I won't have to drag your corpse to the oasis instead of your living self." That caught the girl's attention. She immediately looked up from the ground to be staring ahead at Bakura. Her blue eyes gleamed with perplexed interest.

"Oasis? You mean that by the time it's dark you plan on stopping somewhere? Where exactly are we going?" In reply to the girl's interrogation, the king of thieves tilted his head back with a luscious smirk spread across his lips.

"Of course I plan on stopping. The oasis is just a few hours beyond this point where my men should meet us. The Great Bakura also needs his rest, right?" He smirked pompously to himself as they continued. Though, that response left a bad taste in Millennia's mouth.

"You need rest? Hello? I'm the one who will be walking for miles all day! It's so hot out here, aren't we even going to stop for a few moments today?"

"No. That's why we're going at such a slow pace. I can't have you collapse on me, yet, there's no time to stop." Bakura replied bluntly, with no sympathy in his tone at all.

"What? Are you insane? Don't you have any water?" Millennia felt the sweat pouring down her face at this point, and her sun-burn wasn't improving either.

"Hmph. Why would I have water? Such a substance is for the weak. I'll have you know that I can sprint these deserts for hours and not even break a sweat." The thief king could not help but smirk at his own reply, realizing that the girl would suffer even more without water to hydrate herself.

"This has got to be a nightmare! So, is there any water at the oasis? If there even is one?" She asked in a bored fashion, expecting a sarcastic answer.

"Oh, there's water alright. I'll think about it as to let you have any . . ." The white haired male smirked mischievously in response to the girl.

"What do you mean think about it? Then what's the point of even going?" The girl's tongue hung loosely from her dry mouth in exhaustion, just about ready to faint. Bakura gazed up into the cloudless sky thoughtfully, maybe mockingly toward the warn-out princess. A small smirk crept upon his face, and a mumble only he could hear was released.

"The point of going is . . . to test my theory, of course . . . hm hm . . ."

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

On his throne, Pharaoh Atem began to stare into space, his head rested against his copper fist. While his high priests discussed certain matters, he had trouble staying awake during such tedious conversation. Tanned eyelids teased amethyst orbs, closing slightly, and then reverting back to its original position. The youthful king was up all night worrying about Millennia, and what Bakura was possibly planning to do. Worst of all, today was his birthday; and what a way to spend it! Discussing politics and fretting over the fate of his friend and Egypt . . . yeah, wonderful. Atem began to convince himself that everyone probably forgot about his twenty-first birthday. Perhaps it didn't matter, in all actuality; such an occasion was most likely insignificant compared to everything else that had been happening. The pharaoh began to experience vertigo, the dizziness slowly drifting into darkness. Three lights . . . red, blue, and gold . . . were they-

"Pharaoh!"

"Uh- Y-yes?" Atem sat upright in his throne, being awakened by the scolding voice of his royal vizier. Those three lights . . . they couldn't have been . . . were they trying to tell him something?

"I truly wish that you would pay attention, my pharaoh! This is very important as you may know!" Shimon had his hands spread out before him as if he were showing the tri-colored haired pharaoh the point of his rebuking like it was physically there in front of him. Atem slightly smiled at the old man and began to reply apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Shimon. It is just the fact that-"

"Bam!" The courtroom doors slammed open, with a large group of guards flowing into the palace room. The head guard, with a different colored headdress than the others, made his way toward the pharaoh while he was followed by four other guards, and the rest stayed in the back of the courtroom. The four guards appeared to have been holding two people, most likely criminals.

"Pharaoh! These two peasants were the last two people seen in the village with the princess! By the description given by Priest Seto, we were able to find these ruffians in the bazaar. Priest Seto believes that this street filth has been working undercover for Bakura!" The head guard explained with authority in his voice as the guards behind him split into two pairs, each pair stepping up to each side of the guard and held before them a suspect.

"What? Are you crazy? Anzu and I wouldn't work for the likes of that guy! And why the heck would you think that we would in the first place?" One of the 'criminals' shouted in annoyed protest, his messy blond hair dangling over his burning, almond colored eyes.

"Jonouchi!" The other villager scolded him, her auburn eyes reproaching the blonde. Receiving a grunt in reply from her friend, the girl then shifted her head to face the pharaoh, chocolate colored locks swaying around her delicate face. "My pharaoh, if I may speak, I would like to know why we are being persecuted like this. We are innocent! The princess is our friend! We would never hurt her, even if she was not royalty!" Right after she had spoken her mind, the brunette decided to take a deep breath. It was quite uncomfortable to have two, full grown men grasping each of your arms at your sides with all of their might. She gazed into the pharaoh's eyes, waiting for an answer. However, that was when it hit her; he was beautiful. His eyes were like two perfect jewels, and his skin appeared to be very smooth. It was as if she was face to face with a god. A slight blush crept upon her supple cheeks, her reddish orbs lost in a daze.

"Seto, what is the meaning of this?" Atem demanded of the high priest, amethyst eyes shifting toward azure. At the loss of this eye contact, Anzu blinked in realization, and then shook her head briefly in embarrassment. How could she think like that at a time like this!

"These two commoners were last seen with the princess, and only shortly afterward Bakura had infiltrated our palace, yet again, and decided to take her hostage. However, her being here was not exactly released to the public. Bakura would only know of her existence here in the palace if he had some outside help. Am I not correct, pharaoh?" Priest Seto had stepped up and explained himself while Atem listened with interest. Jonouchi, on the other hand, refused to stand there and be forced to hear what the high priest had to say.

"Is there something wrong with you? We didn't even find out that she was the princess until after you had told us yesterday!" Venting his anger, the Egyptian boy began to shout some more at the blue eyed priest, yet Anzu on the other hand, seemed more concerned than angry.

"Millennia is gone? Are you saying that Bakura took her? Bakura, the king of thieves?" The girl appeared disheartened, gazing helplessly at the pharaoh.

"That's princess to you!" Seto snapped at the brunette, sharply pointing his Millennium Rod at her.

"She's our friend! We can call her by her first name if we want to! Plus, she even said we could! You think that you're so much more important than the rest of us just because you get to wear a big hat!" Jonouchi snapped back at Seto's remark. Right then, Seto began to make his way toward the boy, a bitter expression tainting the handsome high priest's tanned face. They were finally opposite of each other, two glares meeting.

"You better keep your comments to yourself, mutt, or you may just regret it."

"Grr . . . you lousy-" Right before Jonouchi could finish his comeback, Seto turned his back to him and faced Atem.

"My pharaoh! These two speak of our kingdom with disrespect! This should be proof enough that they are working under Bakura and should be extracted of their evil ka immediately!" Raising his Millennium Rod into the air, murmurs were heard among the guards and the other high priests' facial expressions revealed protest. Anzu and Jonouchi both gasped in shock, not wanting to receive the most horrific punishment.

"Well, do I have your consent, pharaoh?" Seto waited patiently with a cool smirk spread across his lush lips for his reply. Atem blinked in surprise, but then directed his attention to the two villagers.

"What are your names?" He asked casually, as if he were in any other normal conversation with anyone else. Anzu and Jonouchi exchanged confused glances, but then decided to respond.

"I am Anzu of this here village in Egypt. And that hot-head over there is my close childhood friend-"

"-Jonouchi . . . I am also a native here. And we don't appreciate disrespect from anyone . . . and I'm not a hot-head . . ."

Atem had no choice but to smile at these two villagers. They seemed so full of life, and very different from anyone else in the palace. They were definitely not bad people.

"Well, Anzu . . . Jonouchi, welcome to my palace. I apologize that you two could not have had a more proper greeting." After stating this, the pharaoh gave a playful smirk toward Seto, who grunted to himself in annoyance.

"But what about their ka? And Bakura! They must be punished!" Priest Seto protested against the pharaoh's warm welcome toward the villagers. Jonouchi growled at the high priest while Anzu watched Atem for an answer. The pharaoh smiled kindly at the two villagers and began to speak.

"I see no harm from these two. They appear to have good hearts, and I respect that entirely." After that statement, Atem leaned over to whisper something into Shimon's ears, causing the royal vizier's eyes to light up in delight. Shimon then motioned his hand toward a few servants who had been observing the whole event from the halls, and they entered in the courtroom by command.

"Ye three there! If ye may, please take this young man and young lady to some of our spare chambers to get washed up and changed into more suitable clothing." Shimon explained to the servants, and everyone in the room's eyes widened in surprise. Priest Seto was outraged, to say the least, and stepped forward in protest.

"Pharaoh! I must disagree with your decision! These two commoners are only trash to our palace! They contain the potential of great evil! The servants of Bakura will curse our kingdom and bring down our empire!"

"Actually, I was hoping to invite them to dinner, not to invite them to bring us a curse, which I highly doubt they will do. And perhaps they can stay in the palace for awhile, since they had been so abruptly forced to come here. I think that should be fair enough. Plus, if I must say, Seto, I believe you are possibly jealous." Atem kept his cool and calm composure as the high priest's temper began to silently boil, mainly at such humiliation he had been put through thanks to some commoners.

"Ah! Really? Oh, pharaoh, we really do not deserve such an honor-" Anzu gasped in shock, but was then cut off in mid-sentence by her childhood friend.

"-Of course we do! Thank you so much, pharaoh!" Jonouchi was ecstatic by the news, and too busy making faces at Seto to notice Anzu's reprimanding glare. Seto was about to make another protest to the pharaoh, but Akunadin placed a firm hand on his colleague's shoulder, as a gesture for the younger high priest to give it up. Seto hesitated, but then nodded bitterly at the wielder of the Millennium Eye and kept quiet, silently glaring angrily at the two villagers for the rest of the time. At Atem's command, the guards had released a relieved Jonouchi and Anzu, who were then greeted by some of the servants. Anzu then faced the pharaoh gleefully, her auburn eyes beaming at him, and she bowed slightly on bended knee toward him.

"Oh, thank you so much, great pharaoh! Thank you! Thank you! You are truly the great pharaoh!" This comment caused a small smile to appear upon the pharaoh's lips, and he nodded kindly toward the girl, his smile changing into a chuckle when he took notice of the girl pulling the boy, Jonouchi, down to his knees by roughly yanking on his shirt collar. He parted his lips to speak, but was beaten to the next words.

"Great pharaoh? I am sorry to say, but this boy is no longer the pharaoh according to the law."

A snake-like voice hissed throughout the courtroom, causing eyes to wander and shift around the room in curiosity. Who had just spoken? The high priests each took a place in front of the pharaoh, and the servants led Anzu and Jonouchi to the sides of the courtroom while the guards took position on both sides of the courtroom walls. Atem felt a sudden sting in his chest, and winced at the slight pain. His intuition led him to stare into the shadows of the golden, ornate pillars inside of the room on the opposite side from where everyone else had stood on guard.

"Click . . . Click . . ."

Out of the shadows, came a tall, mauve figure, with a reptilian smirk plastered across his pale face.

"Heishin! What do you mean by this? How have you healed so quickly?" Shimon demanded of the old mage.

"Believe me, dear Shimon, that after many years of magic and sorcery, I have developed quite a nice cure spell that heals the human body within hours. I am the high mage of the court, I dare say, but perhaps that will all change very soon." Heishin slowly made his way closer and closer to the throne, yet maintained a good distance from the high priests.

"Change? What are you talking about, Master Heishin?" Mahaad interrogated the mage while being backed up by the other priests. Heishin smirked even wider, and then began to laugh maniacally loud. The court watched the madman with alert eyes. After calming down, he then pulled a scroll of papyrus from behind him.

"You see this? This is the contract the pharaoh had signed only awhile ago. It states that if the current pharaoh fails to marry by his twenty first birthday, which is today, he must give up his throne to his highest rank mage. That would, most obviously . . . be me."

Everyone in the court glared at the man in protest, more murmurs being heard among the guards and servants. Shimon decided to take another round of words with Heishin.

"I do not recall the law ever stating such a thing! If the pharaoh fails to marry by his twenty-first birthday because of unusual circumstances or an emergency, such as which we are going through right now with the kidnapping of the princess, then the pharaoh has another year to be wed." The royal vizier stated perfectly by memory, as if he was reading directly from the scroll. Heishin smirked at him, and wagged his finger mockingly.

"Well, that is not what this little scroll says. Would you like to see for yourself?" With the wave of his hand, a magic wand appeared out of thin air before him, resembling a small, hooked staff that was white and blue striped. He then grabbed it with his scaly hands, and waved it in a swift motion. The scroll then floated like a feather in mid-air, interesting everyone in the magic trick as it hovered over the high priests' heads and into Shimon's hands. He received the scroll successfully, and then opened it while Atem peered over the royal vizier's shoulder to see the document. Both of their eyes widened in shock at the same time after looking it over for only a moment's time.

"This law is authentic with the pharaoh's signature! He had never signed anything like this before, and all of us always witness each of his amendments to the law! How can this be?" Shimon cried out in protest, Atem's facial expression matching the old man's face. Heishin smirked slyly at them, and then replied calmly.

"Funny what a simple character changing spell can do. The ink is jinxed to be blunt, thus right after the pharaoh had signed it, the ink had changed back into its original message." Heishin then directed his attention to Atem. "Do you remember a tax-cut law given to you a couple days ago, pharaoh?" Atem's amethyst orbs shook in realization.

"Yes! I do . . . but it was given to me by-" A blue eye gazed at the pharaoh, followed by a glint of gold.

"-Akunadin!" Atem gasped, and everyone in the court adverted their eyes to the eldest high priest. He stood there casually, as if no one had taken any notice of him at all. The most seemingly surprised was Seto, who quickly turned around toward the man.

"Master . . . Akunadin . . . did you know about this? Did Master Heishin give you the scroll?" The azure eyed high priest was next to speechless, yet Akunadin appeared unfazed.

"I had no idea at all that the ink on the scroll was jinxed." The high priest replied with an emotionless expression. Heishin's snake-like smirk grew even wider at this answer.

"Do not play innocent now, Akunadin. We had made an-"

"I know how we can settle this affair . . ." Akunadin stepped forward and faced the pharaoh, cutting off Heishin before the mage could finish ratting him out. Everyone listened to what the high priest had to say.

"The pharaoh and the high mage should resolve this dispute with a diaha. The winner becomes pharaoh and the loser . . . will have their fate decided afterwards." Akunadin explained with little to no emotion in his voice, alarming the other high priests.

"No, Master Akunadin! Is there not a better way?" Shada protested as Isis, Mahaad and Karim nodded in agreement with Shada. Seto also had taken the liberty to oppose this decision.

"Master Akunadin! Please come to your senses!"

"Seto, I am fully aware of my senses." Akunadin responded solemnly to the astonished high priest, the others mimicking Seto's facial expression of surprise. Heishin took a step forward more toward the throne.

"I am willing to fight for the throne . . . meh heh . . . my only condition is that the pharaoh does not use the gods in this battle." A conniving smirk covered Heishin's face as the others glared angrily at him and his traitorous attitude.

"Shoom-"

Unexpectedly, Atem rose from his throne chair, fists clenched at his sides. Shimon tried to sit him down again, but there was no use. Amethyst eyes burned into the pale face of the twisted mage.

"I accept. I can't believe that Millennia would sacrifice herself for a lowlife like you. I won't let you get away with everything you've let happen, just so your plan could work."

Gasps were heard throughout the court. The high priests attempted to convince their pharaoh to consider otherwise, but he already had his mind set.

"Please trust me. I will not let this country fall into the hands of darkness."

The high priests were speechless, and could not say no to the young pharaoh's gentle, yet confident smile. To their dismay, they retreated to the walls of the courtroom.

"Pharaoh, are you sure that you want to go through with this?" Shimon questioned Atem with concern. The pharaoh smiled playfully at his royal vizier, knowing that Shimon was truly worried about him. Shimon understood the charming pharaoh's smile, and then nodded coherently at him, taking Atem's hands into his.

"May the gods be with ye, pharaoh." And with that, Shimon stepped down from next to the throne to join the high priests. Taking a few steps down from the platform the throne sat upon, Atem made his way closer toward the smirking Heishin. Akunadin stood toward the middle, but more near the wall to stay clear of the battle. He raised his arm in the air; Atem and Heishin both stood in stances as if to hold their ground. At that instant, Akunadin dropped his raised arm.

"DIAHA!"

bdbdbdbdbdbdbd

"Heh . . . heh . . ."

The sun was beating harder and harder upon Millennia, her heaving pants growing louder and louder. Bakura seemed to pay no mind to this and the horse kept at a steady pace, yet the princess seemed to walk slower and slower. Her vision began to blur and her steps became more jagged. The brunette's peach skin was burnt along her forearms, legs, and a little across her face. Sweat tumbled terribly down her body, and the sand began to stick to her burnt skin, which made matters even more badly than it already was. Was this the end? Was she going to die? Just like this?

"Poof . . ."

Millennia's legs had finally given out, causing her to fall on her side into the hot sand. The horse immediately stopped at the thief king's command. Impatiently, Bakura tugged hard on the rope he was using to lead the princess. Her body moved a few centimeters on the ground after he tugged on the rope, but the girl's body refused to move.

"I suggest that you get up, princess. Because if you don't, I promise to leave you out here, just like this . . . to be food for the vultures. There is no such thing as getting tired, just being lazy." Bakura smirked wickedly in his amusement while the princess continued to stay motionless on the ground. A moment passed, and she still did not move. "Alright then, if you want to die out here, then it is fine by me." The white haired tomb robber began to take off the rope from his hand.

"Shik . . . shik . . ."

Movement was heard from behind the horse, causing Bakura to crane his head back.

"I will not die out here." Millennia stood to her feet, legs shaking and covered in sand. Her eyes were watery from both the heat and the pain she was going through, physically and emotionally. The thief king smirked at the blue eyed girl with half-closed eyelids.

"That's what I like to hear." Once again, the horse began to move forward, forcing Millennia to keep up with its pace. Bakura returned his attention forward, ignoring the suffering girl behind him. She had trouble keeping up because of the many little things she was in agony from; sun burn, sand and ropes piercing her skin, dizziness, weakness, nausea, you name it. However, she had to keep going. The man that killed her family just could not win. She would not let him. He wanted her to die out here and she knew it. Though, once again, she would not let him win.

"This is going to be a long journey . . ."

---

Yay! That was chapter 2 and I hope that you guys liked it! If you have any questions, just let me know! By the way, I had mentioned the names of some Egyptian gods in this fanfic, but I assume that everyone knows who Anubis, Osiris, and Thoth are (just in case you don't, they are the gods of death.) Also, there was Khonsu and Yah. Those two I know are not too commonly heard, but they are the gods of the moon. Please review, because it would make me so happy n.n In the next chapter, Heishin and Atem duke it out with a diaha (duel) and Bakura has some plans for Millennia when they reach the oasis. But until next chapter- "Duel! Stand by!" (Sorry, Anzu-chan, but apparently I'm taking your catch phrase . . .)