Sand surrounded them, an open vastness of heat and a dryness so intense that if water wasn't found soon, even the largest man could find himself dead from dehydration. Even though Yami knew he should be feeling these things, he did not and simply felt as though he was comfortable - perhaps almost numb. The silver-haired stranger who had dragged him here looked to him with an expression of apology but determination, "We are in Egypt, at the time of your reign, my Pharaoh," she admitted, now gesturing towards the grand palace that seemed to be just within their reach.
"Why did you bring me here?" Yami asked, brows furrowed with confusion and almost a sense of doubt. Though stranger things had happened, something about this was much more frightening. The knowledge that he could be reliving his demise caused him to become slightly anxious - as much as he wished to know of his past, there was still hesitation.
"The nightmares, I have them too..." she stated bluntly, "I've been plagued with many sleepless nights because of them," emerald hues looked to him once again, "I only wish to know what you do; the only solution that came to mind was to find you," she paused then, giving him a moment to respond if need be. Yami only remained silent, thus she continued, "When I saw you at Duelist Kingdom...and then Battle City, I knew I had found you - I knew I had to meet you," the woman then looked down to the sands, "There are things I have struggled with, memories that come in fragments but they all seem too small...too sharp to put together," her head snapped up, eyes locked on the Pharaoh's features, "I need help...just as you do," her vulnerability shone through her words, genuine and desperate, "Please, let us help each other to discover our past."
Yami remained silent, taking in her words and registering them. More questions came to mind, a sense of distrust now fading slightly. It was comforting to know that another seemed to be suffering as he did. Then it dawned on him, "H-how did you bring us here?" he asked, "Such remnants of my past have been shown to me before, but only by those who have a millennium item of their own," his explanation caused him to take a step back, "The only way you could have brought us here, is if you have one as well! But..." another realization struck him, "All seven are accounted for, as far as I know."
She had hoped that he wouldn't put all of the pieces together so soon, but there was no use in hiding it. It was obvious that the Pharaoh was wise in his years, "There was one unaccounted for - one seemingly made in secret..." she admitted, pulling the collar of her shirt down to reveal the millennium symbol seemingly scarred into her flesh, just over her heart. Violet eyes went wide at the sight, a step now taken forward for closer inspection, "I do not recall when I obtained it..." she explained with honesty, "My mother would never address it and my father never understood it, yet here it is, upon my breast," she could see the look of shock and fascination of Yami's face, "You now see why I seek you; why I must discover who I am...who I was."
Yami then nodded, meeting her gaze, "I understand," he stated simply, "But I will keep my caution, I know nothing of this item and it seems as though you don't know much more than I," his bluntness was received and responded with a simple nod from Kyoto.
"I don't blame you for such hesitance," she explained, "Now...shall we go and attempt to find what we seek?" she smirked then, trying to make light of the situation, "Or have you cold feet?"
The throne became uncomfortable after the ninth grievance had been brought to his attention. Not even six months upon the throne and the young Pharaoh had already grown overwhelmed by the shambles his father seemed to have left the kingdom in. Noble and prideful, he took it upon himself to make an attempt to fix the once broken kingdom; it would take time, but the Pharaoh Atem was more than willing.
"Worry not," he finally replied to the farmer before him, "If you wish for grain, you shall have it," the Pharaoh turned to the adviser who stood beside him, "Get this man some grain from my own personal inventory, I will not have my people starved," the adviser nodded.
"Of course, your highness," without another word, he scurried off to do his Pharaoh's bidding. All the while, gratitude spilled from the old farmer's lips, walking up to his ruler and placing a thankful kiss to his feet.
"You are blessing from the Gods, my Pharaoh," he stated with confidence and thankfulness, "Thank you for your kindness; such has not been seen these last decades," Atem gave the man a warm smile, a hand placed upon his shoulder.
"You flatter, please do not thank me; I am only doing what is right," Atem then lifted the man to his feet, as he did the same, "Now go to your family; tell them they will not go without food this night."
With a final thank you, the man was escorted out and Atem found himself once again upon his throne. A heavy sigh left his lips, finding himself exhausted as this process had started only mere moments after the sun had found itself peaking over the dunes. A break was needed; but just before he was able to make such a statement, the door opened to the throne room and the figure of Priest Seto, followed by the priestess Isis. Shackled and dragged behind the high priest was a woman, dressed in what seemed to be rags. Her hair was long and a pale silver, almost white, but she did not seem any older than the Pharaoh himself, "My Pharaoh," Seto announced, his voice echoing through the hall, "This wench was caught attempting to sneak into the palace; we found a dagger on her," it was then that said dagger was revealed, "I suspect there was intent to assassinate you," the woman did not struggle, nor did she defend herself.
Atem rose to his feet, looking down at the woman before he took some steps towards her, "Is this true?" he asked, looking towards the woman with a stern look. With her head hung, he could not see the features of her face, but made no attempt to.
"Yes," it seemed to have been said through gritted teeth. Gaze now lifted to meet the Pharaoh's and revealing the colour of the forest within her irises, "I have nothing to hide!" she exclaimed, causing the Pharaoh to take a step back. She lunged towards him, but was easily stopped by the priest and the grip on her chains, "My family suffers while you sit here in luxury!" her exclamations rung true to him and a wave of guilt washed over the young Pharaoh, "We starve and remain in pain, all because of you and your greed!" her tone was almost a snarl before she let her next statement broaden its aim to not only the Pharaoh, but the rest of his confidants as well, "All of you!"
Before she could say anything further, Seto cupped her mouth, pulling her against him with the intent to silence her completely, "Apologies, my Pharaoh; she had been docile until n – ow!" Before Seto could finish his statement, Kaija's teeth bit down on the priest's hand with little regard for consequence. Releasing Kaija's mouth, Seto shook the pain from his hand before wrapping that same hand around her throat instead, "Why you little viper…" he snarled before continuing, "We will see how well you insult your Pharaoh and his council when your tongue is ripped from your mouth!" Set reached for the dagger at his side, more than prepared to follow through on his threat.
"No!" Atem exclaimed, watching Seto immediately freeze in place before his attention found his Pharaoh's with a sense of disbelief in his gaze. Climbing to his feet once again, Atem took a step down from the landing, "She has a right to be angry…" Atem stated, looking to the young woman for a moment before looking back to his cousin, "Release her."
Seto did as commanded, letting go of her but keeping a tight grip on the shackles that bound her. Atem took a step towards her, looking into her eyes as if mesmerized, "What is your name?" he inquired, looking at her with a small sense of mercy, still cautious in nature.
"Kaija," she replied, though it seemed almost reluctant, "Daughter of Asim and Mandisa," she added, now more confidently.
"Your family, you wish to help them?" he questioned, his tone showing the sincerity of concern. By now, Kaija had calmed down some, seeing that the Pharaoh that stood before her was not like the last, or, at least, she could assume.
He seemed kinder and much more open to understanding, something the previous Pharaoh had never been recorded doing. Kaija was still skeptical, keeping her exterior as steely as possible, not wishing to show a sense of weakness.
She'd come here to do the unthinkable – she knew it best to at least stand her ground until her head was removed from her neck.
"Yes..." her eyes remained locked on his, somewhat hypnotized by the deep violet, for a brief moment before her gaze found it's edge once again, "But...it is too late," she muttered, jaw now clenched with rage and overwhelming sadness, "There is nothing left for me to do; Anubis has claimed them! They rot in his grasp because of you!"
Sympathy plummeted into the Pharaoh's gut, knowing full well how difficult it was to lose a parent, regardless of the relationship between the two. Atem hardly remembered his mother, a woman who had perished not long after his birth, but all memories he held were nothing but pure joy. To know he could never make new memories such as that was heartbreaking. His relationship with his father was strained to say the least, but Atem respected his father to the highest degree he could muster – there was much they disagreed on.
Even still, not being able to turn for him for guidance was sometimes extremely daunting.
His life had been threatened before, perhaps more times than he could count even in such a short amount of time, but none had struck him as deeply as the woman stood before him in that moment. None had been so brash, fearless (and even moreso foolish in some eyes) as her, as though she was truly willing to risk her own neck for a cause.
Not only that, but the woman was young, much younger than most assailants and had gotten much farther than others. It was hard to ignore that it must have taken some form of prowess to maneuver this far into the palace. That tenacity was admirable.
Then there were her eyes, a bright emerald that seemed just as edged as the jewel itself. They were wise beyond their years, harbouring a plethora of experiences behind them that Atem, once again, couldn't help but find curiosity in. It was as if they called out to him, wanting draw him beneath their depths.
"Might I make a suggestion, Pharaoh?" Finally, Isis spoke, taking steps forward and even daring to place her hands upon the young woman's shoulders, "The temple has been lacking as of late, we are in need of more members to spread the word of the Gods," she continued, looking down to the young woman, "Perhaps this young woman only needs...guidance, a hand to lead her through the path of righteousness."
Pulling him from a daze, Atem's attention moved to that of Isis, intently listening to her proposition and prepared to take a moment to consider before Seto interfered with protest, "Have you gone mad? You are to allow this peasant, this...threat into our temple?!"
The priestess didn't even flinch, her attention turning to the younger priest with the intent to counter, "She is a lost soul, defeated by misfortune; she is young yet," she stated, tone calm and logical, speaking as if matter of fact. Familiar sea green hues eyes looked to Atem then, "What say you, Pharaoh?"
Atem paused for a moment, gaze flitting back towards the young woman but not allowing himself much more liberty than that, "Very well..." he agreed, though his tone was somewhat skeptical. He wasn't a fool, the prisoner obviously had intent to kill him, or at least maim him, it would be beyond folly to simply let her roam around freely.
Even still, a scoff could be heard from Seto, the priest's eyes rolling before Atem snapped to him, "You doubt my decision?"
This caused Seto's eyes to widen, spine straghetning as he shook his head with the intent to convince, "Of course not, I only wish to have you safe – apologies," Seto then bowed, taking the key and unlocking the shackles. Kaija rubbed her wrists, shooting the priest a razor-sharp glare before looking to the woman who had essentially saved her life.
"Take her to the temple, show her the ways of the Gods," Atem replied, attention glancing back towards Kaija with a somewhat cold expression, attempting to mask the sudden uneasiness the woman brought him, "And make sure she is watched at all times. If she was willing to risk her life to take mine, there's no telling what she may do to someone else…" he mused, seeing Kaija return his stare with a rather pointed one of her own.
"I will make sure she is under my watchful eye at all times, my Pharaoh," Isis assured with a small bow.
A sense of silent smugness washed over Kaija, the thought of being watched by a priestess, she knew that it would be easy to make an escape. She'd snuck past well-trained guards, a woman who knew nothing but how to pray to Gods would be easy enough to slip by.
However, as Isis drew closer to her, Kaija sensed something she'd never before – there was a real power that emanated from the priestess and it intimidated the young woman almost enough to rethink her plan. The touch of Isis' hand on her shoudler, gently leading her away also felt like a spark, jolting against her flesh as she easily obeyed her command.
A guard began to follow the two women, Kaija peering over her shoulder back towards the throne. Immediately, her gaze met that of the Pharaoh's, able to see him watching intently as she was taken away. Time stood still for a moment, Kaija finding that familiar sense of intensity in his gaze before she swiftly turned her head away to look forward.
"There's no need to follow us," Isis suddenly stated, pausing just outside of the throne room to turn towards the guard that had been sent to accompany them, "I've got it under control."
The guard seemed taken aback by the sudden change in orders, "Priestess…the Pharaoh –"
Before he could continue, Isis interrupted, "I'm capable of handling a young woman, sir. Go about your duties. Tell the Pharaoh I dismissed you."
The guard gulped slightly before giving a small nod of understanding, "Yes, Lady Isis," he stated with a small bow before turning and heading back towards the throne room.
The Priestess then turned back towards Kaija, "Come, let me take you to Aziza," she stated, gesturing to continue their path with her head.
Kaija obeyed, following after Isis and growing more and more confident than her plan to escape would easily work. It was just her and the Priestess now, no one to overpower her, keep her bound. All she needed to do was slip passed the Priestess, an easy feat once they found their way down a hall with windows.
"I wouldn't think about escaping, if I were you…" Isis suddenly stated, causing Kaija to freeze for a moment, spine straight and brustled.
"Wh–" The young woman began to stammer, only for Isis to continue.
"I can see the past and future," she explained, stopping them to turn towards her capture, "All things that were and could be," Isis took a step towards Kaija then, "Should you try to escape, it will be in vein. You'll be caught and executed. There's no use."
Emerald hues narrowed in response, complete disbelief burning within her at the statement. There had been rumors of those on the Pharaoh's council, how they each held powers of their own that accompanied that of the Pharaoh. The millennium items were well known, but Kaija had only ever found them to be an exaggeration. There was no doubt that there was power to be held, Kaija having felt it just by the touch of Isis' hand, but she wasn't one who believed in much – even the Gods themselves.
"That's impossible," Kaija finally replied, looking to Isis with defiance, "Only oracles have such abilities and even then, they usually just use cheap tricks to guess someone's past," she explained before matching Isis' energy by taking a step towards her confidently.
Isis didn't flinch, instead simply standing her ground with quiet confidence, "Then go. I will not try and stop you," she stated, "Beyond this hallway is a balcony, should you wish to use it." It was then that Isis stepped to the side, showing that she was serious about letting Kaija leave, should she wish.
A look of skepticism washed over Kaija then, brows furrowed as she shifted her head to the side, showing such emotion in her body language. Kaija would like to think herself anything but naive, having survived on her own for as long as she had; but the thought of freedom was too tempting.
Slowly, she made her way past Isis, never breaking their gazes as they crossed one another. Kaija kept moving forward, though walked backward a few steps before finally turning, prepared to make a break for it.
"That scar on your arm is from a fall you took when you were seven…" Isis suddenly stated, causing Kaija to stop in her tracks, "Your father had scolded you for being so reckless, that it was foolish of you to try and scale the side of the house rather than asking him to grab the ladder…" she continued, seeing Kaija's body fall into one of complete and utter disbelief, muscles relaxing as she slowly turned to face Isis.
"How did you–"
Isis took a step towards Kaija then, peering down at her as she continued, "You told him you wanted to learn how to do it on your own…" Isis further explained, seeing a somewhat saddened expression fall over Kaija's face, "He called you a silly girl, though in the way loving fathers scold their children, before he led you inside to tend to your wound."
"There's no way you could know that…" Kaija suddenly whispered, as if afraid if she spoke any louder she would give Isis more to go off of.
"Only one way," Isis replied before placing a hand over the necklace that rested at her collarbone, "The millennium necklace."
It was hard to find belief in what she'd just experienced, someone she never knew able to describe such a small, vivid memory to the detail. Every logical thought had led to lunacy: had people been watching her for that long? If so, the fact that this one person in particular remembered was a feat in and of itself. It all made no sense.
Even still, Kaija let her gaze fall to the floor with a scoff, "I don't know how you think this changes anything," she stated with a false sense of confidence.
"It means I'm telling the truth," Isis replied, taking another step towards the young woman, "I know your fate, should you try and escape."
"How do I know you don't have an ambush just waiting for me anyways? Pretty easy to tell the future if you've already created it in your favour," Kaija spat, glaring towards the Priestess, only to see Isis' neutral expression remain; unbothered by the sudden outburst.
"I haven't set up a trap," Isis countered cooly, "I've already told you, I won't stop you. Go. See for yourself. I've set no trap."
Again, Kaija's gaze narrowed with cynicism, taking a step backward before turning her head to glance towards the end of the hall.
"As I see it," Isis stated, continuing to take another step towards Kaija, "You heading that direction has you caught," she explained, head tilting with a sense of sympathy, "So…perhaps it's best you simply trust me." Isis stopped right in front of Kaija then, hands gently clasped in front of her with that steely expression still etched into her features.
"How does me trusting you make this the better option?" Kaija countered through gritted teeth, peering up at the older woman with a clenched jaw filled with frustration.
"Believe it or not, what I suggested to the Pharaoh is far from a punishment," Isis' expression softened some before she began a slow walk that circled Kaija as she spoke, "I can sense power within you. I don't know what kind, but it's there. Apprentice under me and learn what that power can bring."
Silence fell between the women then, Kaija's gaze following Isis as she walked, weighing her options, "Why would I give up my freedom for that?"
Isis paused then, standing at Kaija's side but facing the opposite direction, "You will have a roof over your head, full meals…clean clothes," Isis reached a hand out then, gently tugging at the rags that hung off Kaija's clothes, "You just simply need to behave."
The offer was tempting. No longer would she need to scrounge for food and fight for shelter. Yet, she'd still be under the Pharaoh's control, a thought that made her sick to her stomach.
However, a new thought came to her, one that would take patience and, though Kaija lacked it in most areas, the only thing that outweighed that was her determination. Trust could be earned through time, she knew that, and once she had it, should use it to her advantage.
The once defiant expression fell into one of acceptance, "Fine. It's not like I have anywhere to go anyways," Kaija explained, complying with Isis' offer and condition.
Isis' chin lifted some, a small smile forming on her face before she gave a nod of understanding, "Very well. Follow me. We'll have you washed up. None in my temple will be without clean garb."
After the departure of Isis and his would-have-been assassin, the Pharaoh began to make his way back towards the throne. The day had barely just begun, which meant there would be many more grievances to attend to, much to his dismay. However, before he could find his seat, he heard Seto call to him, "My Pharaoh, I apologize for speaking out of turn earlier - I was only thinking of your well being."
Turning to face his cousin, the Pharaoh watched as Seto gave a bow for emphasis, "I suspected nothing else," Atem replied, accepting his apology before placing a hand on his shoulder for reassurance, "But I could see it in her eyes, the desperation and anger that it seemed my father had brought to many across my kingdom; I wish to remedy that." The guilt plagued him, at times kept him up at night, knowing that many of his people suffered so greatly for so long, "I do not think she is a threat any longer."
"Still, I would like to keep a watchful eye on her; the last thing I would wish for is to see your end before it is due," Seto's face remained stern and serious, the back of his mind keeping the hidden secrets and true intentions that lay within him.
"Isis will do just that. Though she is a priestess of the Gods, you should not doubt her strength. She will act if the opportunity came to her," Atem confirmed with a small smirk on his lips, "You know just how edges her tongue can be, should it come down to it. We've both been victim to such," he teased. Perhaps not a true miracle maker, the Pharaoh seemed just that as Seto's lip curved upward in a knowing grin.
