V.E.: Oh boy, I couldn't sleep at all really. You see, I had this project due on Friday and I know I did pretty badly so I've been worrying about it. Oh please Lord, do not let my quarter grade fall below a C!
Sorry, personal drama. Then again, if not here where am I going to complain about it? I don't think my parents are going to be particularly sympathetic. It's the end of senior year and I was ready to leave up, now I'm scared about moving on.
I'm pretty sure that's normal behavior for a senior though.
Well, we should probably get back to the story though.
The expression of "To escape slavers to be caught by the pharaoh's guard"(which would later morph into the more famous "Out of the frying pan into the fire") was certainly an apt and summarizing way to describe Kisara's position at the moment.
After being caught by the guards and dragged to an underground holding cell, she was pacing in her cell having nothing else to do aside from think. Luckily, they had not removed her rags and she closely still kept herself covered.
Kisara sighed.
If this is how they treat the person who saved their king's life, I'd hate to see the way they treat their enemies. Like that assassin. Then again, they might think I was part of the assassination attempt. Or maybe I'm just some unfortunate bystander that got mixed up in all the chaos and I'll be let out later.
Kisara felt herself grunt. She was pretty it was not the last one.
She felt the prison guards watch her closely at a distance, they seemed to be in a very intense game involving coins and a cup. One of them called to her a mocking fashion.
"Hey girl! Aren't those rags making you hot? You won't get by pacing!"
She didn't pay any attention. The guard just scoffed and turned to his game.
Kisara was struck by the sudden feeling of déjà vu between her past and present situations. Her captors thought she was just some girl whose only good feature was her stunning and unusual looks. They didn't realize that she listened to everything, often absorbing certain information. Who would be sold next, what direction they were heading, what was going on in Egypt politically(mostly she heard about this in complaints).
Although most slaves needed awhile to pick up unfamiliar tongues, Kisara had understood any language she had come across in her travels. She just pretended to be mute and understanding most of the time. It was something she had picked up from an older slave woman she met shortly after being sold the first time.
"Don't every let on you know what they are talking about, you'd be surprised how much these people drop their guard when they think someone can't understand them. You need to listen the way a cat listen, paying attention to everything and revealing nothing."
It was good advice and it had served Kisara well enough, but when she was often thinking to herself, she'd wonder how she was able to understand everything. She had no education aside from herbs and that was strictly to the plants of her home.
Kisara shook these thoughts out of her head, none of this was helping her get out of this cell.
She wandered what was going to happen next. Was she going to rot here for gods' knows how long? Sent back to the slave system? That would have been back in the situation she previously escaped from.
But before she could ponder on these thoughts any more, she heard a noise that seemed to be a person shrieking.
"YOU USELESS, STUPID…."
Kisara cringed along with the guards in the distance, pitying the poor unfortunate fool that wrath was unleashed on. Unfortunately, the volume was rising as it seemed that the person that belonged to that voice was getting closer.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF SUCH INCOMPETENCE! THE PHARAOH WILL HEAR OF THIS!"
The door to the dungeon was banged open and Kisara felt herself crane her head to get a better look.
It was woman that seemed be in her middle years, dressed in a white robe and gold. She also had a headdress crowned with gold that hid almost all of her graying hair. Her features were rather stern, her air of command gave Kisara the impression that this was someone of great importance in this palace.
But what really drew Kisara's blue eyes was the necklace around her slightly tanned neck. It seemed to be a golden eye, shining even in the shadows of this dungeon. And for some reason, Kisara felt a shiver go down her back. It felt like the thing was watching her.
Unaware of the impression she was having on the young girl as she was attended by the head prison guard who was currently bowing his head in fear.
"Lady Nephthys, what a great pleasure that your beauty has graced our…"
Those dark eyes narrowed more as she spoke.
"Do not give me any of that Warden. You and your guards have allowed that assassin to commit suicide! Now we have no clue to who was behind the assassination attempt."
The guard aptly gulped and bowed harder. He looked at the eye necklace only briefly.
"My greatest apologies, my Lady. We tried very hard to capture him alive. However, could you not use the Millennium Necklace to…"
That was obviously a taboo topic as Nephthys' features sharpened even more, reminding Kisara of a hawk.
"One should not presume to question the workings of the Millennium Items and their bearers."
This got the warden to cringe, bowing even lower, almost falling to the ground.
"No disrespect my Lady, to you or the Pharaoh!"
Nephthys side, her features softening. Her worry line seemed to retract as the complete anger irritation was fading.
"I'll let Rashidi deal with you, he's the one in charge of palace security. Any way, it is not for the assassin I came."
Her darker eyes went past the warden, finally meeting Kisara's beautiful blue ones for the first time.
"Is this the girl?"
The warden seemed to gain some of his normal composure back as he answered.
"Yes my Lady."
"Release her."
"What?! But my Lady.."
A glare from the older woman silenced the protests on his lips.
"You heard me, Pharaoh wishes it."
Those were the magic words as the warden hastily unlocked the cell lock, the bars swinging way for Kisara to make her way through. Hesitatingly, Kisara began to step out of the cell, still making sure she was covered. She made her way over to the Egyptian woman and stopped.
The woman glanced her up and down, which only made Kisara more self-conscious. Finally, the woman spoke.
"Follow me Girl."
Kisara merely nodded as she did as the woman asked, following her out of the dark dungeon and into sunlight.
The palace really was enormous, a fact Kisara found to be true as she followed Lady Nephthys through it. It all seemed like a complicated maze to her. But this maze had beautiful pictures of what looked like gods and goddesses on its walls, green gardens throughout it. She had never seen anything so grand in her life! She wished she had three more pairs of eyes to see everything.
As the two females passed by other people, be it gossiping servants or guards or other people Kisara didn't know what they did, they would immediately stop their chatting and bow while parting the way, some saying "Lady Nephthys". Kisara stole another glance at the woman she was with, her first impression must be correct that she was someone of importance here.
Finally, Kisara almost ran into Nephthys as the woman stopped before two gigantic doors. This caused the Priestess to glance back at her at the moment charge with an annoyed expression.
Kisara immediately felt like shrinking if she could.
"I'm sorry."
This didn't change the Egyptian's expression as she looked over the girl once more before speaking.
"You will do as I say. Understood?"
Kisara nodded. Nephthys relaxed(as much as she could really, Kisara was starting to think this woman was constantly serious.). She opened the golden door, to a sight that caused Kisara's jaw to drop in wonder. It was the most beautiful room she had ever seen. So big and vast with the high ceilings and many pillars, even a upper balcony. Up ahead, to the sides were painted two eyes as to give the impression of constantly being watched.
They were parted for a throne, which Kisara could tell even at a distance was occupied. Also close to the throne, was a gaggle of people clothed similar to how Nephthys was, though she couldn't get all the details at a distance.
Kisara wanted to look around a bit more, but Nephthys had started moving toward the direction of the throne and Kisara hastily tried to follow her. For once, she wished she could take off these rags.
Nephthys came closer and stopped in front of the throne. She looked at Kisara and gestured to the man on the golden seat.
"Bow to the Pharaoh, Foreign Girl."
The pronunciation she was a foreigner somewhat relaxed the tension a little. Slowly, Kisara lowered her leg to do so before being stopped by Nephthys' sharp gaze. Her reply was quieter than the first.
"No Girl! With your left leg!"
Kisara corrected herself and faced her head firmly to the ground.
A calm reassuring voice spoke after some moments.
"Yes, this is the one from the crowd. Where was she being kept?"
Nephthys' voice answered.
"In the dungeons apparently. Also, our assassin decided to take his own life rather than our judgment."
Another voice answered this time, authoritative and scornful.
"Figures."
"Now Khalid, it's just as well. Let him take his chances with the gods in the afterlife, his heart will outweigh the feather."
The first voice grunted to the voice who had joined in the conversation.
"I would have preferred that we sent that criminal to the gods personally. And now, we have no idea who was responsible for the attempt."
Another voice joined the conversation, his was smooth and deep.
"Could the man have acted on his own?"
"Possibly. I suppose we may never know."
This time an older voice joined in the discussion bringing them back to the present.
"The Pharaoh has already stated the subject is to rest for now. We can discuss this later."
If Kisara could have seen it, a nod was given to the older man and the older voice resumed after the discussion was concluded.
"Thank you, Shimon. Raise your head, Young One."
Kisara slowly lifted head, her neck creeping up, giving her a better view of who she was dealing with.
She had seen the pharaoh at a distance, but that was just a pale sketch at what she was seeing. His face was as stern as Nephthys, but his seemed slightly kinder and gave off an air of more power. His purple eyes were looking at her searchingly. And hanging down his neck was a golden upside down pyramid, with the same eye symbol.
It seemed as all the members of this court possessed an Item with that symbol as Kisara got a better look at them.
An older man who was at the left of the pharaoh was dressed in stunning white robes and dark cloak. He also had a purple headdress with a golden cobra symbol on it. He had a silver gray beard and mustache with purple eyes(was that eye color common in this country?). From his neck hung a golden ankh with a groove to the side.
The rest of the group was lined up on the other side of the pharaoh. The farthest from the god king was a man with black hair, green eyes, and lots of muscle who carried a golden set of scales. The one next to him was a tan man with black facial hair and a headdress who carried a rod or scepter. The next was man covered by a hood with not as much tan, a mustache, and possessed some unusual Ring of sorts.
The last was the closest to the Pharaoh, also covered by a hood. His beard was pure white and Kisara felt her eyes' widened at the other part of his face. His right eye was fine, but his left was replaced by a golden eye. For some reason, she was getting a strange feeling about this man. Something familiar.
Kisara snapped herself back to the moment as she looked back at the ground before looking up again a few moments later.
The Pharaoh seemed to notice her nervousness as he gave a small chuckle.
"It's all right Young One. You're not trouble."
The man with the golden eye stepped forward slightly.
"That has yet to be determined your Majesty."
"Aknadin…."
"With all due respect, you were nearly killed this afternoon. This girl may be a an accomplice."
The one with the Rod glanced at Kisara before turning back to the one with the Eye.
"Aknadin, I may not necessarily be the most merciful of the Sacred Guardians, but do you really believe a small girl is guilty of treason?"
Aknadin was not deterred.
"She is a foreigner, why would one be in Egypt at the place of an assassination attempt? At the very least, let her be tested."
The pharaoh thought for a moment before sighing. After this, he caught Kisara's eyes.
"I don't like this, but he carries a point. She'll be tested. Child, remove your rags."
Kisara's hand clenched as she let out a gasp. She started to back slowly up to be stopped by Nephthys who nodded at her to do so.
Aknamkamon looked resolutely at her.
"Please. You won't be harmed for showing your face."
Kisara gulped as she slowly removed her clothes. She went for the ones around her arms first, then shrugged the ones that covered her own dress. Finally, she slowly unwrapped the headdress rag, allowing her hair to go loose.
Her appearance was there for all to see and it caused quite the reaction. The Guardians all gasped in shock, the Pharaoh got off his throne. Never before had they seen someone with such looks. They were no strangers in dealing with foreigners, but none that had Kisara's appearance. Silver white hair, pale almost translucent skin, and deep lapis lazuli blue eyes. Even though she was a child, this girl's looks were a rare beauty.
They would have continued staring at her probably had Shimon not broken the moment.
"What is this?!"
This caused all the Millennium Item wielders to turn to their senior, to be surprised once more. In Shimon's hands, the Millennium Key was reacting violently, glowing brighter than they had ever seen before.
Shimon's eyes flashed as the Key revealed to him what was causing the reaction. From the girl, came a white light in the form of a great beast. Such power Shimon had never felt before as he seemed like he was having a panic attack as the dragon's roar echoed in his ears.
He almost collapsed as he leaned over and the Key drop to the floor with a clang. The Pharaoh and Aknadin rushed to the trusted adviser's side. The king's voice carried great worry.
"Shimon, are you alright?!"
The old man tried to catch his breath as he answered.
"I have never felt….such a powerful Ka….in all my time in possessing the Millennium Key. Even some of the oldest Kas we have in the shrines pale in comparison. If I may say so Pharaoh, it might….even rival the Egyptian Gods."
This caused all of them to look at her, degrees of some shock and interest evident in all their eyes. Kisara suddenly felt like backing up again.
The one with the Rod came forward before turning back to the pharaoh.
"In that case, should I preform the sealing ceremony right now?"
The hooded man with the Ring stepped forward, putting an arm in front of the man to stop him.
"Just a moment, Khalid. Allow me to check something."
He raised the Ring toward Kisara's direction. The Ring lit up, the instruments to the side clinking wildly before pointing directly at the pale girl, who was uncertain of what exactly was going on.
After a few moments. The Ring was lowered back to his chest as the man sighed.
"Just as I thought."
Khalid looked at his fellow priest questioningly.
"What is it Rashidi?"
Rashidi gestured to Kisara.
"This girl's Ba is tied to her Ka. If you attempted to separate the Shadow Creature she possesses, it would kill her. And powerful Ka or not, that's hardly the way to repay the girl who saved our pharaoh by killing her."
Kisara gulped at the words, somehow putting some things together.
They don't mean…the beast I summoned, do they?
Aknadin questioned Rashidi.
"How do you know this?"
"Other than the Pharaoh's words, I sensed through the Ring that girl's ba. It was powerful and purer than anything I'd ever felt."
He looked at the man carrying the golden Scales.
"Thabit, weigh her heart. If evil outweighs it, then I am not fit to be a priest."
Thabit nodded as he held up the Scales. It fluctuated as it moved by itself for several moments, its owner's eyes closed in concentration. Finally, the scales stopped in an uneven position and the eyes opened in amazement.
"Incredible…"
Rashidi looked at his friend in expectation.
"Well?"
Thabit's head was shaking slightly as he spoke, looking in awe at Kisara.
"This girl's heart is spotless and pure, devoid of malice and darkness. There is no evil in this girl's heart. Never have I weighed such a purer heart."
Rashidi turned to Aknadin, Aknamkamon, and Shimon(who had regained his footing).
"I think it's safe to say the girl is innocent."
Though Kisara was told otherwise, she felt her voice break through.
"Umm, excuse me…"
This caused the entire group to look at her, never before had a prisoner interrupted the pharaoh so unsure of themselves.
"Do you mean…by Ka…you're talking about…the monster inside me?"
The room was deathly silent as the Inner Court stared at the young girl with incredulous expressions on their faces. Kisara felt another urge for the ground to swallow her up.
Eventually, the pharaoh's voice spoke up softly.
"Yes. You know about your Ka?"
Kisara twiddled her fingers with nervousness.
"Amma said I had special...power."
"Amma?"
"The old woman who take care of me, my grandma you would say."
Aknamkamon looked at this strange girl questioningly.
"What happened to her? And your parents?"
Kisara shook her head before she answered.
"My Amma died on the day I was taken from my home. I never had parents."
Aknamkamon took this all with a thoughtful expression.
Nephthys stepped forward and addressed Kisara. Her voice was somewhat different from before.
"How far north are you from?"
Kisara answered without realizing her voice had changed as well.
"I only knew where I was to a distance. I only know that this is far south from where I lived."
The men's eyes were widening in surprise, but Kisara couldn't understand why they were doing so.
Nephthys responded again, the voice taking on another tone.
"How long have you been traveling?"
Kisara felt her voice take on the same tone as the priestess'.
"At least a year, I think. I haven't really kept track of dates. The last time that time meant something to me was when there was a festival going on in a city of boats. I think it was a festival to some patron god or goddess."
Once more the stern yet softening voice of Nephthys came out again.
"You are a slave, yes? How did you learn to speak Egyptian and the other languages?"
Kisara felt herself incredibly confused, before realizing what was different about Nephthys's voice, she had been talking in different languages. And she had answered them exactly like a native would have. She seemed to will her voice back to Egyptian.
"I don't know, I never found a language while traveling that I couldn't understand. I can't quite explain it."
Aknadin cleared his throat, regaining the composure that his other male Guardians had yet to find. He returned his attention to the Pharaoh.
"Pharaoh, your decision? There must be something done about this girl."
Aknamkamon's expression deepened more until finally he raised his head and resolutely mad eye contact with the young girl.
"What is your name?"
Kisara felt herself slightly more sure of herself as she replied in her soft voice.
"Kisara."
This prompted another bout of thinking, all the guardians looking at the Pharaoh trying to guage what he was thinking.
Finally, he looked up and directed his attention to the guard near the throne.
"Bring my son here."
The guard seemed surprised at being addressed by his king, he was incredibly nervous and stuttering, and the request.
"The..the…Crow..n..Pri…Pri..nce?"
Aknamkamon was direct as he nodded.
"Yes, go get him. NOW."
The solider immediately bowed and rushed out of the room, a wind carried behind him.
The room was silent as they were looking at their king questioningly. Even Kisara was confused, why did he summon his son here?
Aknadin looked at his king for a moment before his face changed, obviously guessing what was behind the intentions.
"Pharaoh…."
He was silenced from a look by Aknamkamon, but his normal eye seemed to say plainly to him 'This is going to go badly.'
The doors were thrown open quickly as blur of speed ran through the Audience Hall and glomped the king as he stood up to greet him.
"FATHER!"
Aknamkamon let out a small smile as he stroked the young prince's back as he let the boy empty out his thoughts.
"They said you had been…that you were almost killed!"
Father responded to his son in a gentle tone.
"I'm sorry my son, I should have come to you earlier."
The worried tone turned petulant as the eyes narrowed at his father.
"Why didn't you?"
Aknamkamon gestured to Kisara nearby.
"I've been dealing with some….business."
With that said, the young prince turned around and allowed Kisara to get a first good look at him.
Kisara had thought she would never meet someone stranger looking than her. This prince was like no one she had even thought possible. It wasn't the tan skin, or regal clothes, or the golden crown which was not the only gold jewelry he wore. It was the hair; it was tricolored. Black hair, tipped red, and blonde bangs; three of which were styled in a spiky way that gave the impression of a second crown.
It seemed that the prince was observing her just as much interest though he clung to his father to reassure himself. He was uncertain of her, wary of her.
Aknamkamon gestured To the young boy.
"This is my son, the Crown Prince Atem."
Kisara nodded to him to which Atem spoke unsure.
"Hello…who are you?"
Aknamkamon answered before Kisara could.
"This is Kisara. She is to be your sister."
Silence reigned in the room for several seconds, as if time itself was unsure of what the pharaoh had even said. Akandin was the only Guardian not frozen, he looked like he was ready to smack himself.
This silence was broken by the two soon-to-be siblings' shared reaction.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHH!"
V.E.: Okay…forget about the longest chapter in this story so far, this has got to be one of the longest things I've written PERIOD. Glad I was able to make the deadline for this, my self-imposed deadline.
As a result, I expect some feedback. Reviews are love! Even criticism I take gratefully. Flames will be disposed of.
To those just joining us, there is a poll on my page. It will close right before I update my Mummy Reborn where I will announce the results.
Over 4000 words? Wow….
Review
Puzzle: Pharaoh Aknamkamon, Father to Crown Prince Atem
Ring: Rashidi, Master to Mahad
Eye: Aknadin, Brother to Aknamkamon, Uncle to Prince Atem (Father To Seto, but this is a secret)
Rod: Khalid, Seto's Predecessor and Master
Necklace: Nephthys, Isis' Aunt and Master
Key: Vizier Shimon, Shada's Master
Scales: Thabit, Karim's Father and Master
I will get more into their background later, I can't wait to mess with them. Since I know so little about the previous Guardians, I can totally let my imagination run wild.
Until next time peoples!