This one was a bitch! Seriously, I spent like my whole two weeks of training writing down ansippet sof this and typing them up here, phew! but i got it done and once I did everything else just fell into place! Phew!
Now the battle scene you've all been waiting for is approaching...
Disclaimer: I own nothing, characters based of historical figures are fictional and in no way represent any actual people.
As always, read, review, critique, comment, ask questions, post theories and go nuts!
Chapter XVI: Jurisdiction
The four siblings fixed the other with a hard stare: the differences between them radiant in their every action. Though taller than Yugi, Menkheperre was shorter than his brother, thicker at the chest and middle, but leaner on his arms and thighs whereas Pas had all corded muscles from years of labor. At his full height, he commanded the aura of a Hem-Netjer, expecting obedience and commanding authority simply because he decided it was his. But juxtaposed against the weight of Psusennes' regal presence and commanding stare, he was practically insignificant. Donning the mask of the Per-a'ah, neither cold nor ruthless but unwilling to accept insolence, he looked in every inch the Living Horus, and more intimidating than Menkheperre ever could.
The two women were polar opposites of the other: two faces of a lioness. Though both were petite, barely taller than Yugi who'd always been short, Maatkare was round and buxomly curved. Her hair short and cropped like fur without her wig, her eyes wild and her mouth twisted with a snarl, ready to snap. In her was the lioness' savagery and bloodlust.
Petite and willowy in a guaffered capelet and gown that displayed her delicate curves, Mutnedjmet hardly looked dangerous, but the light in her eyes and curve of her mouth in an unreadable line was fierce and strong. The kohl outlining her eyes in a cat-like pattern sharpened the blue and spoke of unyielding devotion, ferocious protection and even fiercer love. Her posture straight and patient and regal with unchallenged authority, she was the true Queen Lioness: the Per-a'ah was Ruler, Lawmaker and Guardian; she was Mother, Provider and Enforcer.
Their gazes fixated on the other: their shared dark blue eyes hard and their faces blank. Silence echoed between them then Psusennes spoke, his words dropped like a stone in a well. "My Divine Brother and Sister," he greeted hard and without titles. "How good it is to see you both."
Mutnedjmet was at his side, the King's equal. "I'm so pleased to see you've managed to find your way back to our Father's city." Mutnedjmet said honestly. The words lacked the love she'd showed Yugi, but still promised forgiveness. "Oh how we've missed you."
Their guards, both the Kemet Hem-netjer of Waset's sister temple and Dartz's Royal Guard, moved to follow, but Psusennes dismissed them with a wave of his hand. The Hem-netjet bowed their heads low and retreated backwards. The Royal Guard dropped to their knees in a bow then moved behind their own King.
They stood before the Divine Servant and Divine Adoratrice. No guards or finery other than Psusennes' Horus winged crown and Mutnedjmet's vulture headdress. Their foreign allies were no longer at their side. Only the Per-a'ah and the Great Wife stood, unafraid and unyielding.
Maatkare's response was a growl, a lashing ready on her tongue but she swallowed it. Menkheperre smirked, a dark, cruel thing that twisted his lips. "I'd hardly call it a return, when the Per-a'ah had a foreign army take the Royal Temple of our most sacred God hostage." The words were biting and bitter but loud enough that they held a slight echo. "I wonder what Kemet thinks of such acts of tyranny?"
The challenge initiated, Yugi remembered where they were and who was around them. All of Djanet had flocked to see the arrival of the Hem-netjer and see their new Per-a'ah and Royal Wife. It was not loyalty that compelled them, but curiosity: they knew nothing of the new monarch, or what to expect of the new reign. Were they gaining a leader? Or a tyrant?
Pas was still, he did not look unruly distressed by the news. "Tyranny?" He said it as if Menkheperre were making a joke. Only the court knew he wasn't. "You wound me brother, you are guests in my home. Why do you think I asked my most trusted friend and ally to escort you here? The Nile can be lethal so soon after the flood."
"How kind of you," Maatkare spat. "To send an outsider's army." It was a derogatory term. An isolated paradise for much of her history, Kemet had never been fond of strangers, but the New Kingdom has opened many eyes. It was simply impossible for her to continue without investing in foreign friends, but many still feared and distrusted foreign relationships.
"Our most loyal friend and trusted ally," Mutnedjmet corrected with a harsh bite.
"You did not!" Maatkare spat with a slighted shriek. "You sent him." She spun to glare at the Atlantian guests but it was not Dartz who was the fixation of her hate, or the Atlantian knights flanking his side but their leader, the one Yugi knew only as Timaeus.
"You sent a savage from Greece!" Maatkare spit with a chuckle of sadistic pride when the crowd gasped. "Not even a Greek, a mixed breed!"
One of the Knights, donned in red, lunged forward, but Timaeus stopped him with a wave of his arm. His face did not change. His face stoic, betraying no emotion: his eyes sharp, not revealing a flicker of thought. He didn't wait for the King's permission. Instead, he approached her, never once showing rage or hate, even as her eyes gleamed in triumph and malice.
Timaeus stood before and smiled: a terrible smile that curled into an all-consuming smirk. He bellowed, "Do you think my origins betray my loyalty?" He said rhetoric and brutally sarcastic. "That I have some secret tie to a land that means nothing to me?"
Maatkare's response was a growl, but it had only half its earlier confidence.
"It is true. I come from Antiloa and Greece. I don't deny it; my appearance alone is testament to that." he confessed loud enough for even the crowd to hear.
Yugi wasn't surprised. It explained Timaeus bi-colored hair and his sharp eyes and face; he himself carried traces of his ancestor's Hittie brides. But from what he knew of Greece it was a country of colonies: tribes more than colonies, each with its own laws and customs and gender roles.
"My father was Antolian," Timaeus continued blazing with pride, and gestured an acknowledging hand to himself. "My ancestors are Antolian, and my mother," he paused, spun to the priestess and smirked. "Was a Spartan Lady."
Yugi's eyes widened, that explained it. The flawless grace with the way Timaeus moved and the smoothness in his step when he fought. His mother had praised the Spartan woman, a brutal society, that favors strength and cruelty, and abhorred any type of weakness, but one famed for its freedom and discipline, and above all, its women. Unlike its sister colonies that stressed quiet, and sheltered brides that did little more than decorate the man's bed, Spartan woman had pride: they were intelligent and strong in body as well as mind. They ruled the cities their husbands protected, protected the young raised to be warriors and trained to fight. They were a pride of lions, his mother had said once again quoting her patron goddess: the men fight in wars, protecting their families and patrolling their lands, and the woman hunt and provide food, birth and raise strong children and rule from within. It was as if Sekhment herself had started her own raise of mortals.
In his moment, Timaeus carried all the flawless pride and unchallenged dominance of his mother's people. "And she had no shame in that fact. And neither do I." His tone was simple and matter-of-fact, but in it was a bite that struck the air like the crack of a whip.
"So yes, I am Antolian, and I am Spartan. But," he bowed to the shorter priestess meeting her eyes with a fire so ferocious even Maatkare flinched. 'There is no love in my heart for Greece," his voice was dangerously low and he took another step forward. "My ancestry and body may be of Antolia and Sparta's Greece, but my mind is Atlantian. My heart is Atlantian. My loyalty is Atlantian. And my soul,"
He was dangerously close to her now, and his tone carried on the wind like a stone shattering the water in a well. "Will always be..." There was a pause then he announced "Locrian! And coward you are for assuming otherwise." He spat with a sharp crack like a whip lash.
Then he left her and returned to his king's side.
Mutdjenment stepped forward. "We care only for your and our brothers' safety, sister." The word was hard, and no one missed the hard plural when she said brothers.
Maatkare glared at her, her mouth twisted to speak but no sound came out. Mutnedjmet only smiled. The challenger had lost, and the Queen lioness retained her position.
But Menkheperre did not give up. "I'm surprised your friend agreed to such a request." His voice was granite. "Crossing the Great Sea seems quite a long and tedious journey for a simple favor, especially when the King seems fit to bring his Dragon Knights?" His eyes fixated on Dartz, lips curled. Dartz acknowledged him with a blank expression but said nothing.
Menkheperre turned to Psusennes, "Especially when Amun's House has so many beautiful ships to travel by." There was a dark tone to the hem-netjer's voice. Yugi winced, knowing full-well the resources the High Priests of Amun held, including nearly all of Kemet's ships.
He cast a quick look to his brother but Psusennes was too good at disguising his emotions. Then he smiled. "I am well aware of Ta-Sehmu's resources, brother, but I assured you trading ships are hardly fit for a long journey up the Nile, and I'm afraid too many of the merchants retuned their employment to Djanet."
Menkhperre's smile dropped. "What matter is this?"
"Their services were needed for a national project," Psusennes recited the news like it was common knowledge. "I'm afraid our military vessels and soldiers were simply unskilled in the task."
"And what project is this?" Menkheperre demanded.
Psuennes smiled, his tone did not change. "Why the transferring of Per-Ramses to Djanet, of course." Yugi's ears perked up, connections suddenly forming in his mind. Then he recognized the lotus columns on the temple, the richly decorated obelisks and richly engraved battle scenes and the many statues bearing a face similar not to his father, but that of his mother and his father's first Wife, the daughters of the last man to carry the name Ramses.
Psusennes did not give Menkheperre time to recover from his shock. "It was my hope, when I invited you and the King here that the construction would be complete, but it seems that is not possible." He turned and gestures to the Great House and the adjoining temple, a near replica for the House of Life, where the remains of a great pylon remained unfinished and construction for a central temple was nearly complete. "It was our fathers dream to restore the capital of our ancestor and call Avarice home, but the river decreed it was not to be so," the Ramses branch has silted over long before their father's reign. "Instead, he wished to build a new capital symbolizing a new dynasty, one to symbolize the union of the sons of Ra and Horus with the Servants of Amun and his Great Heavenly Lady. Under my reign, Djanet shall be that capital, and we shall both immortalize the glory of our forefathers and begin a new reign of peace and prosperity." He spoke loud and grand, addressing the crowd as well as the priests, and there was a pleasant mummer that followed. The people cheered, accepting.
"And peace," Psusennes turned to them both, his response was calm and diplomatic, but the message was clear. "Must be established both externally and internally for a kingdom to be strong. Don't you agree, Brother? Sister?"
Menkheperre and Maatkare remained silent. Their lips twisted to retort, but none came. The world around them waited for a response but there was none. They looked to one side, then another, then to the other before finally bowing their heads with defeated sighs.
"Indeed brother." It was Menkheperre who spoke, but the worlds were hollow. "It does."
Yugi fought down a sigh. The balance of power had shifted, no longer divided in an uneven split. The battle was won, the victor clear, but it was with fierce reluctance that the challenger accepted defeat.
Psusennes' face was a heavy frown. "My servants have prepared rooms for you in the Great House," he gestured with his hand. "My guards will see you there." It was both a gesture and a warning. "We shall begin negotiations tomorrow."
"So the King wishes." No one missed Menkhperre's mock, or the twitching of Maatkare's claws. The guards circled them as they walked. Yugi met their eyes when they turned to glare at him. He didn't look away. It was they who broke contact first, and he snorted when they did. Only Timaeus noticed the smile slitting Menkhperre's face.
The crowd watched them leave then slowly they began to disperse. They had their answers and it was disrespectful to linger around royalty.
"Friends," Pas addressed the King and the Knights. "Let us retire to the Great House so we may speak in private."
X X X
They retired to the Audience chamber of the Per-a'ah's apartments where a gold and granite dais housed a series of lion-pawed chairs waiting for them. The guards, priests and advisors were dismissed with a wave of their respected Kings hands. Only the three Dragon Knights, led by Timaeus, were permitted to remain. Mut had not let go of Yugi's hand, even after they entered. They followed Psusennes up the dais where he sat in a gold ornamental chair. Mut sat at his right hand, and Yugi took the smaller seat beside her.
"Have a seat, my friend," Pas gestured to the empty chair at his left hand, already prepared.
"Thank you," Dartz stepped onto the dais and sat back in a relaxed friendly manner. He turned to the knights who dropped to a single knee in a loyal bow. Yugi recognized the other two as the Knights from the harbor dock. The taller of the two, with a lean build and muscled arms, removed his helmet revealing neat blond hair and sharp, striking purple eyes. His black under-armor was black, his cape hung from a spiked blue mantel, and a paneled kilt the palest of silvery-blue tied around his waist. Yugi wondered how he was unaffected by the heat in so many layers. The third, and mid of the three, wore far more armor: gauntlets, boots, mantle curved over his shoulders, and a wild mane of dark brown hair peeking through his helm, all in a rich red that highlighted his pale skin and made his ocher eyes glow with a bright light. They stood on either side of Timaeus, acknowledging him as their leader. The King dismissed the knights with a bow and they rose to stand at his side.
The aura of dignity and decorum no longer needed, the two Kings resigned themselves to a recuperative evening. Yugi expelled a sigh; he hadn't realized he's been holding and immediately felt a heavy weight lift from his shoulders. He glanced at Timaeus, who looked regal even as his eyes closed in a relaxed exhale.
There was heaviness in the air and they all could sense it: the battle was won, the fighting had stopped, but the armistice was far from signed.
"You did well, my friend," Dartz praised. "Now they know you have the people's support as well as their army and their navy."
"Yes," Pas agreed his head in his forehead, not ready to use his siblings names just yet. "They will not challenge my becoming Per-a'ah, that is clear, but they will not surrender the south without challenge, nor would I expect them to."
"Pasebakhennuit," Yugi asked in a low voice, as if testing the name. Timaeus raised a brow, not having heard the King called that before. Despite the softness of his voice, Yugi's eyes were determined. "What will become of…them?" he asked with difficulty. He resisted the urge to look away almost afraid of the answer. He'd hated what his brother and sister had done, to him and to Mut when she'd been summoned to Djanet to be Pas' wife. At times he admitted he'd even hated them, but never enough to wish harm upon his brother and sister. What would happen to them when Pas removed them from power?
Pas leaned over and squeezed his hand. A small smile on his face. "Rest easy, young person, I have no desire to see harm befall our brother or our sister, nor do I plan on removing them from Waset's House of Life."
"You do not?" It was Timaeus who spoke. Dartz looked surprised.
Pas frowned. "We shall rule with Djanet as capital, and they will return to Waset, only when their loyalty is ensured. It is not my desire to please them, but we do need the Priests of Amun in Waset. The capital's power cannot reach the South, but even if it is the Priests they answer to, it is me they will call Per-a'ah. Kemet will not fall into civil war."
"Then…what will you do?" Yugi asked suddenly nervous. Timaeus noticed it but willed himself not to move, the dark smile of the priest returned, clear in his mind. Mut took Yugi's hand in a reassuring squeeze.
"First, we will learn their plans." Mut declared confident and decisive. "We will speak to them lastly and privately. Before that, we shall interrogate their guards and speak to their servants," she smiled at Timaeus. "I'm certain your Surgeon's kindness has loosened their tongues, and any information they can provide will be helpful. Once we learn the nature of their plots, we can expose them and in private, show them forgiveness, and only then will we consider negotiations of position and power. And perhaps, in time," she said it as a possibility, hopeful, but understood it may not be a probability. "Perhaps we can learn to trust each other again."
It was Yugi who squeezed her hand this time, and he gave Pas a smile. Their carefree days as children were gone. The closeness of childhood would never be reclaimed, but it could be salvaged.
"Is that wise?" Dartz asked his friend warningly. "Letting Menkheperre become, in a sense, de facto ruler?"
Pas smiled at his friends concern. "He knows Waset and its people, it was never power he wanted but his decisions respected: a reduced position will ensure his loyalty, but give him the freedom to enact change." Pas explained: his voice low and his face grim. "But it is cementing that loyalty that concerns me."
Dartz rose and stood before them. "Then please, allow me and my Knights to remain in your service until the negotiations are complete."
The three royals looked stunned. Yugi's heart pounded. The Atlantians were staying? Then, his gaze turned to Timaeus who smiled. Yugi looked away, his face suffused with color.
Dartz continued. "You have already proven to the Priests you are powerful without Atlantis' aide, but perhaps our continued presence will serve to remind them what they shall risk if they do not concede to peace."
Pas smiled but shook his head. "My friend, I cannot ask that of you." He turned to Yugi and smiled. "You have already done so much."
Dartz frowned and shook his head. "It is for selfish reasons I make this request." His head was bowed. "I wished to inform you in private, but there was an issue when we apprehended the temple."
Timaeus stepped forward, cutting off his King and dropped to one knee, "Please, Your Highness the fault is mine, let me explain." He dropped to one knee before the dais. "As you know, the truth of our mission was the retrieval of your prince, which was kept an utmost secret. I myself was not told until our arrival. During that time, however, the prince fled to Mut's precinct and was followed by two of my men."
Yugi's eyes widened in realization and he gasped. He'd nearly forgotten about that, and now that it had resurfaced, would Timaeus truly take the blame for it?
"Though I arrived in time to stop them, those men attacked and attempted to assault the prince," Timaeus confessed. Mut gasped in horror and for all his skill Pas could not hide the horror on his face. Their faces turned to Yugi who smiled reassuringly. "I'm unharmed, I promise you." He said, quickly. "Those men defied their orders, and I defended myself, Timaeus punished them, and the King himself apologized to me," he chose not to include that Timaeus had killed them in front of him. "I'm alright."
Mut hugged him, tears in her eyes before turning to Timaeus and the thought of the fate of those men caused her wet eyes to turn grim. "And those men?"
Timaeus rose, his face dark. "I killed them." His tone was flat. "By disobeying me, by attacking him, they dishonored me, their King, their land and our alliance with you. I could not forgive their sins."
Pas nodded his face dark. "And Mut's precinct?"
Dartz stepped forward. "We were sure to pacify the Goddess before leaving. The men were informed of the issue and its consequences, Timaeus made certain of that." He bowed his head. "My friend, you have my humblest apologies."
"Enough," Yugi assured, and stood before the dais "It wasn't Timaeus or the King's faults. Those men acted on their own, they told me so themselves."
Timaeus placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled. "Be that as may, little one; I told you before, I was their General and Dartz, their King. We are responsible for the actions of our men, and if they disobey it is we who punish them, we who remedy the damage, and we who will ensure such a mistake is never made again. An army is only as strong as its discipline." He smiled then whispered to Yugi, "Though I doubt their pride will ever recover after your little trick."
Yugi smiled and fought down a blush.
Pas smiled and dropped his face to his hand. "It seems I was wrong, General Timaeus," he looked up. "There is nothing I can give you that would express my gratitude for bringing my brother safely back to me." Next to him Mut nodded in agreement.
Timaeus removed his hands from Yugi's shoulders and bowed. "Per-a'ah and Lady, you owe me nothing." Then he rose. "Your youngest brother was a pleasant guest on my ship, and I confess I've grown quite fond of his company."
Yugi giggled at the praise and fought down a blush.
Mut looked at him with a blink then her smile curled like a cat's. "We are both eternally grateful to you, Lord Timaeus," Mutnedjmet wrapped her arms around Yugi's shoulders and turned her smile to him. Yugi's heart raced, horrified. "Come Habibi, it is late and the palace has changed since you were last here. We've prepared your chamber." She flashed Timaeus a cat-like wink over Yugi's shoulder.
Timaeus blinked, befuddled in surprise. Too late, he noticed the blush on Yugi's face and the horrified way he covered it with his hands. Oh heavens, Timaeus resisted the urge to deflate. First, Rhebekka and now Mut? Was there anyone who hadn't misinterpreted their recent friendship?
Again the priest's dark smile invaded his mind. The smile he'd given after glaring at Yugi. He waited until Yugi and the queen had left then turned to the Per-a'ah in discussion with his King. They finished with a nod and turned to the Knights.
"Critias," Dartz turned to the man in blue. "Hermos," he spoke next to the knight in red. "The Per'a'ah and I have discussed and we believe it best you accompany him and the queen in the negotiations." They looked surprised. So did Timaeus.
"My King?" Timaeus asked.
Psusennes frowned. "Do not misunderstand, General," he apologized. "Your skills are unsurpassable, but it is crucial that these negotiations end in peace. I fear that in the presence of their conquer my brother and sister's allies will be…less inclined to speak truthfully."
Timaeus' confusion melted to one of understanding. With a curt nod he said, "I understand, wholeheartedly. However," He approached the dais and dropped to one knee in a respectful bow. "Since I will be unable to assist with negotiations I have but two requests."
Psusennes and Dartz both looked surprised but Psusennes nodded. "You may speak."
"The first, I wish to be informed of any and all information obtained during the proceedings."
The Kings nodded. "It will be done. And the second?"
Timaeus inhaled through his nose. Exhaling his trepidation, his lifted his chin and with determined eyes said "I ask that you leave Young Ujalah under my care, as long as negotiations proceed."
Bet yo all didn't see that coming ;) maybe you did, either way I was a fun clffie to write!
I hope you enjoyed the priests getting put in their place, probably not what you were all expecting but to me it fit i mean TECHNICALLY they didn't do anything illegal, and Pas, Mut and Yugi, as angry as they are, still love their siblings, and historically speaking Menkheperre did do well as defacto ruler of the South and Maatkare remained as God's Wife of Amun (more on that later) but it's not over yet ;)
Another major hint about Timaeus in this one: hope that makes some of the little hints I'd added make more sense ;) I had planned on making Timaues; ancestry Antolian and Spartan from the start (that scene was actually loosely inspired from 300 Rise of an Empire not gonna lie), but it was fun to design. The Antolian Empire or the Hittie Empire or Ancient Persia (modern Day Iran) was a play on why Timaeus and Yugi have similar hair, Yugi is a descendent of Ramses the II who took two hittie princess as wives.
NOTE ON ANCIENT GREECE: The Geek Empire didn't form until around 800 BCE about 200 years after the events of the story, which also makes more sense that Plato actually meant 900 years ago rather than 9000 because it said it failed to conquer Athens (of course) and Athens wasn't even around yet (plus if Atlantis sank in my original time period I'm thinking, it fits perfectly into my location and time setting) So around this time the Greek city-states were mostly just colonies and tribes, the Spartans of course being one of the oldest, and my personal favorite since unlike the rest of Greece, in Sparta woman were virtually equal, encourages to outside and exercise, be physically strong and mentally sharp, and encourage to speak their minds, and men had to earn their right to them as well as vice-versa, hell if a man wanted to sleep with another woman, he needed permission from the husband, but the woman also needed permission from the wife too, so safe to say Timaeus' mother had a very strong influence on him and his morals: anyone wanna guess why?
As always review, comment, critique, ask questions, go nuts! i can't wait to see the feedback for this one!
Next Time: Pas' reaction to Timaeus' request; Yugi and Mut's reunion and an interesting proposal comes to mind.