Hey everyone! I'm back and with chapter two. I seriously couldn't stop writing after chapter one so I started chapter two a little earlier than expected but that's good news for all of us. YAY!
!MUST READ!
Some translations for some words:
"sA nsw" means prince and since Mana doesn't use his name for several reasons which I will explain in the future, she uses this word. It means the same thing, but I just got tired of using "prince" all the time so I decided to mix it up a bit.
"Sn" means brother and it's pretty used in extremely close friendships, family relations, and/or when the two are lovers.
Okay enough of that and let's continue on with Chapter two.
Boy to Man, Memories to Visions
The sound of the door opening filled the quiet and dark room. A maid slowly entered the room, checking her surroundings before glancing at the bed whose occupant was still sleeping soundly, his quiet and rhythmic breathing a calming sound to the maid's ears. She quietly walked over to the large windows and grabbed a handful of the thick but beautifully designed curtains that blocked Re from filling the room with its warmth and light. Swiftly she separated the curtains, filling the room with light in even the darkest corners. A smile was drawn to her lips as she saw the beautiful view that the room provided with but it quickly went away, keeping a professional demeanor.
The figure in the large and luxurious bed stirred and slowly opening his eyes, blinking rapidly, trying to adjust his eyes to the light. Slowly he sat up, stretching his arms above his head, a yawn escaped his lips. After rolling his shoulders to wake the tired muscles, he glanced out the window.
"Is there anything you need, my highness?" the maid asked the tired prince. The prince turned his head in the maid's direction. He smiled kindly at her.
"No thank you," he politely stated. With a bow of her head, the maid left the prince and his quarters.
Sighing, the prince slowly got out of bed and walked to the window that gave him a beautiful view of the palace and its surroundings. Resting his arms on the window sill, he got a much better view of what lay before him.
Beautiful clouds hovered above him, allowing a comforting shade for those beneath their massive forms but they didn't overpower the great beams of Re that made Egypt what the kingdom was known for. Re was shining brightly even though it was still in rising; a start of a new day. It beams caused many to rise to begin their normal activities-even the occupants of the palace-and with its wings of light, life was able to flourish in the great land of Egypt.
The prince glanced down and smiled at the sight of the tops of the trees gently swaying with the breeze, there leaves making a quiet, rustling sound that was relaxing to the prince. Servants were calmly working on the grounds, some carrying baskets with multiple assortments of food that were going to be used for tonight's celebration.
The prince's tenth year of birth.
The prince smiled to himself. This was the age where he was no longer consider a innocent child but instead a young man who will one day take the throne after his father. He would now be standing next to his father while Aknamkanon would be ruling, him learning the ways of the pharaoh from observing and experiencing. To Egypt, this was the time that the prince could truly be called the future ruler of Egypt and not just a prince.
The prince removed himself from the sight of the palace's features so he could start preparing himself for the day. Walking over to a basket, he grabbed his robe and left his room, heading towards the male royal washrooms where only people of the royal family and the highest ranking officials could bathe. Opening the door he walked in and was immediately surrounded by the aromas of sweet smelling oils and colognes. Scanning the area to make sure no one else was with him; he closed the door and began removing his kilt that he wore to bed. He stepped into the large, in-ground tub; checking its temperature. Satisfied, he slowly submerged his entire body into the water, closing his eyes at the relaxing water and the solitude he enjoyed quite immensely.
Deciding that he had wasted enough time just relaxing, he began rubbing the oils that protected his skin from the harsh rays of the sun over his body and was pleased that the oils scent wouldn't mask his own scent, which Mana said was very warm and earthy.
'You smell as if you were wrapped in Re's wings and covered with the scent of Egypt itself,' she told him one afternoon. The prince was confused by her words but he just went along with it, deciding to not mask his 'Egyptian scent' with the oils.
Finished with his bath, he emerged from the waters and grabbed his robe, wrapping the sash tightly around his body, hoping to not let anything come loose like last month.
Flashback
The prince was finished with his bath, which he didn't have much time to enjoy its comforts due to the fact that he was running later than usual. Rushing to put his robe on, he wasn't able to tie the sash as tightly like he normally would. Carefully walking across the slippery floors, he exited from the bathing room and into the hallway where many servants and guards were making their presence known in the palace. Walking quicker than normal, he was rushing to where his room was which inconveniently on the other end of the hall way. Focused on making to his destination, he didn't notice his sash becoming loose, before falling off the robe entirely.
Suddenly feeling a breeze on the front part of his body, he looked down and noticed that his robe wasn't covering him as much as he had hoped. Surprised, the prince looked behind him in hopes of finding his sash but instead was face to face with a young maid and guard who were shocked to be seeing the prince's almost naked self. Blushing until his face was redder than the goddess Neith's crown; he quickly closed his robes and ran off to his room where he could hide in embarrassment for the rest of the hour.
End of Flashback
Blushing slightly at the memory, the prince opened the door to his room and entered. Glancing at his bed, he found his clothes which he were to wear today with his polished crown which he was to wear for the last time. Tonight he was to be gifted with a more mature and beautiful crown that would show his coming of pharaoh after his father's death which no one was looking forward to, especially the prince. Pushing back the depressing thought, the prince began putting on his clothes and jewelry, lastly his crown which gleamed under Re's embrace. He smiled to himself before walking to a table which held a bowl that contained kohl that every Egyptian wore to reduce the sun's glare. No one was without their weakness, even the sons of Re.
After finishing putting the kohl around his eyes, which he was glad that he didn't need the assistance of the maids anymore because they took forever trying to perfect the simple designs of kohl, he made his way to the palace gardens. Today he wasn't required to attend his lessons which put both him and Shimon in a better mood. Shimon was becoming frustrated with the prince's lacking in attentiveness when it didn't involve magic or shadow monsters. Sure the prince was a quick learner and ahead of his studies by several years, which his father boasted out proudly. It was just that the prince just needed to put in more effort with the other important matters dealing with Egypt instead of the more…exciting topics. Sometimes the prince's behavior worried the old man. It wasn't because the prince was reckless and behaved as if he was a spoiled brat, thankfully. But it was more that the prince was almost…unwilling to become pharaoh or at least doesn't take the time to even consider putting in more effort in his studies.
Shimon sighed. No one knew what was going on through the prince's head or what the meanings are behind his actions. That boy is going to be giving me a lot of trouble in the future when he is pharaoh, Shimon thought while frowning. Closing his eyes and sighing, he left the comfy confinements of his room and headed off to the throne room where he would be needed for the day.
As the holder of the millennium key was walking towards the throne room, he noticed a room with its door slightly ajar. Curious, he walked over and slowly peeked inside where he found a boy bent over a desk, writing under a small candle light so he could see the words on the parchment in the dark room. Glancing closer, Shimon saw that the boy was in fact Seto, a future priest who constantly over worked himself. Shimon always wished that the boy would at least show at least some immaturity every now and then but ever since he was accepted by the palace, the boy immersed himself into his studies.
If only the prince would put in at least a fraction of Seto's effort, thought the old man as he left the boy to his scrolls. It would save me a head ache from searching everywhere for the royal pain in the neck.
Walking forward, he rounded a corner before almost walking into Shada who seemed wet for some odd reason. Shada's eyes widened just a fraction when he realized who he almost ran into and began apologizing.
"I'm terribly sorry for being in your way, Advisor Shimon," he apologized, bowing his head in much respect. The old man just laughed and clasped his hand on the young man's damp shoulder.
"There's no need to apologize, young Shada," he told him kindly. "I should have watched where I was going," he mused. Shada gave the old man a small smile before thanking him for his kindness.
"There is no need for any apologizing or thanking, Shada," Shimon jokingly scolded. "Though you may need to go to your room for a change of drier clothes." Shada blushed slightly at the comment before bowing his head once again to Shimon before dismissing himself. Shimon smiled at the sight of the hurried Shada who recently turned the age of twelve springs. Glancing down at his chest, he suddenly felt the warmth that the millennium key was giving not to long ago, suddenly fade away to its normal temperature. He grabbed the twine that was holding the key around his neck and brought the golden piece of magic close to his face for closer observation. His dark violet eyes studied the millennium key for anything that appeared out of the ordinary, but he found none. Looking in the direction that Shada ran, Shimon kept thinking of all the times he has been near Shada and his millennium key would give off a strange feeling. It was almost as if the key was slightly calling out to Shada.
Hmmm, thought Shimon. Is Shada to be the next holder of the millennium key? he wondered. He continued his way to the throne room with much on his mind but when he took his place next to the empty throne, he banished the thoughts away; focusing on the importance of here and now. Here he was in the most important place in the entire empire. Now…he was standing next to an empty throne where the pharaoh should be.
Shimon looked around in hopes of seeing the pharaoh but he was no where to be found. This is strange, Shimon thought. King Aknamkanon is usually here by now… A thought occurred to the old advisor. Don't tell me he decided to skip his duties as pharaoh this morning! The advisor mentally groaned in frustration. Just great…now I know who influences the prince to continually skip his lessons. He sighed. A son is the younger image of the father himself…though these two need to learn the word responsibility every now and then, he grumbled. Sighing once again, Shimon waited for the other sacred guardians to arrive and hopefully the King would decide to come this morning for his duties…
As a matter of fact, the King was on his way to the throne room. He just had some important matters he had to deal with that concerned his son and the prince's rule as pharaoh when he took his father's throne like Aknamkanon did with his father.
The pharaoh sighed and stopped walking. He looked down at his millennium item and frowned. If only he knew that these powerful and sacred items that he thought would save and protect Egypt were actually a dark and powerful magic that was made from the death of an entire village. His heart ached for the souls that were stolen to make these millennium items, even if they were thieves who've stolen from his ancestry. They were still his people and he should have paid more attention to what his brother, Aknadin, did to possess the powerful magic. The eye on the item gleamed at him.
No.
The pharaoh shook his head and tried to rid the dark thoughts that plagued his mind. He huffed. He took care of this a year ago and his son should be safe, now that he had the gods on his side and not against. But…it was exactly one year ago when he took his son to the secret but sacred underground temple in hopes of sacrificing himself for his son's future. He could only hope that the streaks of lightening that appeared within the temple itself was an approval from the gods.
Suddenly he heard a crash.
He tensed at the possible chance of someone trying to attack anyone. Even though the chances were slim to none, it has happened before and this time, the king wasn't going to allow anything to get pass him. He walked over to the corner that lead to the hallway where the crash seemed to have came from. Carefully, he looked over and what he saw wasn't what he was expecting.
There were a couple of pots that were once standing proudly, but now some laid broken while others were rolling from their previous spot. The dirt they held was just about everywhere and the plants that they used to hold were now bent and on the floor with the dirt.
Who could have created this mess?! The king thought angrily. And especially today of all days! Soon his ears heard a yell coming from one of the rooms; glancing towards the door, he realized someone was in there and was probably being attacked. Quickly walking to the door he was just about to reach for the door knob until the door swung open, revealing his son who had his eyes closed and was running, his hands covering his unique head.
The prince ran past him, who didn't know there was a single soul in the hallway, and was yelling at the top of his small lungs. The prince ran down the hallway, not even tripping over the mess that he must have made earlier.
"What in Re's name-" the king wondered out loud before he felt something flew over his head and knock his crown over his eyes. Fumbling to fix his crown he heard a squawk, and flapping of wings. When he adjusted his crown to its proper place, he saw the prince make a left at the end of the hallway with a beautifully colorful bird following him. When they disappeared from his sight, Aknamkanon stood there, blinking his eyes in shock. Was his son, the almighty prince of Egypt and a son of Re, running away in terror…from…a small bird?
He blinked a few times until he heard a yelp in pain.
"OW!"
He quickly gathered his senses and turned towards a short cut that allowed the king to catch up with his son without having to run after him, which would tire him out for the rest of the day thanks to his older age.
When he entered one of the many hallways of the palace, he only had to wait for a moment before he heard a crescendo of someone yelling in terror and pain towards him. Standing at the end of the hallway, he saw the prince round the corner that lead to the hallway but the prince wasn't alone. A bird was flying after him and was using his sharp beak against the prince's head, causing the prince to yelp in pain whenever the beak made contact with him. The prince stopped running for a moment and tried to unsuccessfully shoo the bird away with his arms but whenever the bird found an opening, it would only peck the prince back.
"Ow!" the prince cried out. "Go away you stupid bird!" The insult to the bird only seemed to fuel its rage against the boy. It pecked harder and with much more speed than before, the bird continued to cause the prince pain.
The kind just stood there, bewildered by the situation that had laid itself before him.
In front of him, his son was waving his arms frantically, trying to get rid of the bird that was attacking him for who know what reason. And the bird was doing a very successful job as well. Having enough of this strange yet humorous situation, the King put a stop to it. Besides, the palace had suffered enough damage from the prince and the… small…bird.
"What in the world is going on?" he questioned loudly, pausing the bird's attack on the prince and the prince's frantic attempts of protecting himself from the sharp beak. The prince looked behind him and saw his father staring at him with eyes filled with disbelief and humor yet the stern voice clouded the light emotions out.
"Father?" he asked in disbelief and in embarrassment. There he was trying to defend himself (and failing miserably and painfully) against a small bird that he had only tried to feed a bread crumb an hour ago. Now look at him. His once clean and cared for clothes were now wrinkled and dirty with several rough spots that made the royal prince look like the exact opposite of what his rank was.
And with his father, who was dressed in his some of his finest attire that was especially chosen for today, standing in front of him only made the prince look even more like a peasant boy who hadn't bathed in a week.
The bird, sensing a great power in the room, let out one last squawk and a hard peck at the prince's head, who yelped in pain, and quickly flew away. The prince rubbed his head where the bird had pecked him but quickly withdrew his hand when remembered that his father was still watching him.
"Um…Hello father…" the prince said, trying to at least lessen the intensity of his father's gaze upon him. "Uh…what are you doing here?" he asked.
The King just stared at him for a long moment before his eyes blinked. Never before had he witnessed such an occurrence in his many years of being pharaoh. He has seen war, sickness, love, jealousy, and a variety of amusing events but this…this was something that he could never forget, even if he wanted to.
Guards suddenly interrupted the silence and when they spotted the king and prince, they immediately stopped their running and bowed in deep respect.
"Your highness," one of the guards spoke, his voice drenched with deep regret of interrupting. "I am sorry to interrupt you but it seems that there has been an intrusion on the palace and we have found that they have attacked many areas, causing much disturbance and destruction throughout the palace." The guard looked up at the King who was just staring blankly at him before, to much of everyone's surprise, the King let out a booming laugh.
The sight of his son being attacked by a small bird and witnessing some of the destruction and desperate attempts getting rid of the bird…and now with the guards suspecting someone had entered the palace from the outside and attacked the palace was almost too much for the old king to hold in. With the guards surprised looks on their face of the king's sudden action and the prince blushing in much embarrassment only fueled the King to laugh even harder. The son let out a chuckle of his own before rubbing his head in comfort and in embarrassment. The guards just stood their not knowing what to do.
"Your…highness…" the guard managed to stutter his words out. The king's laughter died down and only a smile and a twinkle in his eye remained.
"There is no need for panic," the king spoke kindly, laughter still evident in his voice. "Return to your normal duties after you tell the servants to clean up the mess that's throughout the palace." And with that, the guards scrambled off to do the king's bidding, leaving the dirty son and amused King alone. There was a silence.
"I'm terribly sorry, father," the prince quietly apologized, his head hung in shame. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble to you or to the-"The king interrupted the prince's rambling.
"I would suggest that you clean yourself up before going about the palace," the king said. The prince looked up in disbelief and the king just looked at him, his face back to its normal demeanor; emotionless. But the prince knew his father well and was surprised that his father had forgiven him without a punishment. Nodding his head, a smile growing on his face, the prince complied with a 'yes sir and thank you' before running off to clean himself from the day's previous activities.
The King just shook his head at the sight of his dirty son before he too left for his duties where an upset and anxious Shimon was waiting.
Once the prince left his room with new clothes and freshly washed, again, the spiky haired boy made his way down the hallway in search of his closest yet unusual friend; Mana. A he walked, he noticed a couple of damp areas on the floor that seemed to lead to the other end of the palace where most of the priests and priestess were in training, including Shada. The prince immediately started giggling at the thought of Shada walking around the palace drenched from the prince's previous encounter with the usually calm and collected young man.
Flashback (About one and a half hours ago)
A young prince was glancing at a small but sturdy peach tree that had made a residence in the palace's courtyard before even his father's reign. The peach tree that stood beautifully before him was the essence of his childhood. Constantly blooming with new and wonderful things and yet beneath all of its fruit and bark; it held a complex mind of its own, even for a tree.
It was one of the few fruit trees-well tree in general-that could withstand the constant beating of the Sun during the day and the extreme temperature difference when Re had set for the night. To the prince, it was a tree that held memories and accomplishments for the young boy and he would continue to have a soft spot for the tree that towered over him. Besides, peaches were one of his favorite fruits and when the tree provided the sweet treat, he would be able to pluck one of its creations and bite into it, always savoring the delicious taste. Though after being caught hanging upside down from one of the branches, the prince was forbidden from even thinking of climbing the tree thanks to his father. Servants were to be called over for him and they would have to pluck one of the fruits; ruining some of the fun for the prince.
Shada was walking past he courtyard when he noticed the young prince lying on the grass, his head towards the peach tree that inhabited the middle of the courtyard. Curious, Shada began making his way over to the prince.
"What are you doing, my prince?" Shada asked the boy when he approached him. Snapping the boy out of his thoughts, the prince turned his head over to Shada and smiled at him. Sitting up, the prince motioned the priest in training to sit next to him which Shada complied.
"Shada…why do you want to become priest?" the prince asked, ignoring Shada's question. Shada was surprised by the prince's sudden question and Shada wasn't able to answer the prince for a while. The prince looked over at him, waiting for Shada's answer. Shada blinked his eyes for a moment before answering.
"Well…"Shada paused, thinking over his answer. "I suppose you could say that I owe a debt to Shimon and I need to repay it for my sake." The prince stared at him with a confused expression on his face.
"When I was younger," Shada began," I was out casted from many people since I felt uncomfortable around people who weren't…hm…I guess you could say that I felt uncomfortable around people who I believed weren't perfect." Shada paused before a small smile began making an appearance on his face. "It wasn't till after my sixth summer that I finally began accepting people of any standard into my life.
"I was walking around the village taking in the sights of people's everyday and imperfect lives that I held a great distaste for when I heard a loud eruption of cheering and praising. I went to the source of the noise and that's when I saw Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Master Shimon for the first time. The two had decided to make an unsurprised visit to the village so they could see if the village was in poor condition or not, which thankfully, the village needed only minor repairs to a nearby temple.
"I was dumbstruck by the two great men and luckily, I wasn't the only one who looked like a fool staring an insignificant object of little value." Shada paused to chuckle at himself for his foolishness. The prince just stared at Shada, waiting for him to continue with his story. Shada calmed down and smiled.
"My staring was interrupted when a servant of the king stumbled unexpectedly and fell on Master Shimon who was walking bedside the King's sedan causing him to land underneath the servant girl. I was enraged at the servant girl and a few others around me were quite upset as well but my feeling of anger was almost overwhelming for my small body. I began making my way over to them but what I saw before me made me stop. There was the powerful priest, a holder of the millennium key, and advisor to the pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt himself, laughing about the whole ordeal. The servant girl was apologizing and bowing to him but Shimon just helped the girl up while he was laughing and then told her it was alright.
"I was appalled by the whole thing. There was the advisor to the pharaoh laughing about a measly servant girl tripping and landing on top of him. But what Master Shimon said to the girl made me rethink my life.
"He told her that everyone of every class made mistakes and accidents and that is what makes us great. Everything would be okay if you just thought positively about what happened and learned from it." Shada paused and sighed happily to himself.
"After he said that, he went over to a market stand and bought a piece of fruit and gave it to the girl who took it with a smile. He just laughed and said that he had a great opportunity of having such a beautiful women fall onto him. The girl laughed with him and began eating the piece of fruit."
"But how does that make you feel like you have a debt to Shimon?" the confused prince asked Shada. Shada smiled at the prince.
"Well, he opened my eyes to the fact that no one is perfect and yet we should try to learn our mistakes so we can try to be the best that we can be. I was a fool to think that I could only befriend people who are perfect and thanks to Shimon… don't believe that anymore and now I have friends who do have flaws but instead them turning me away, their flaws are what make me treasure and trust them even more," Shada answered.
"Oh."
There was a pause of silence. Shada's being was relaxed and at peace while the prince was thinking about what Shada had just said.
"Shada…"
"Yes, my prince?" Shada asked, giving the prince his attention. The prince fiddled with his fingers for a moment before asking Shada his question.
"Are…well…are we…friends?" the prince shyly asked him. Shada blinked at the prince for a moment before smiling at the prince's question.
"I believe us to be close friends, my prince," Shada truthfully told the prince. The prince looked up at Shada with a grin on his face.
"Really?"
"Of course."
With that, the prince stood up abruptly. He looked down at the surprised Shada and smiled down at him.
"Since we are friends," the prince told Shada," we should play a game."
Shada smiled at the prince and chuckled at his enthusiasm. The prince was always a person who loved games and could never back out of a challenge. And he would always win too, even if it was a game he was unfamiliar with. Shada got up from his previous sitting position.
"Okay. What would you like to do, your highness?" he asked. The prince thought for a moment, thinking of multiple games that they could play. An idea came to him.
"I know!" he exclaimed. "I received a gift a couple days ago from a noble from Babylonia and he said that it was popular there and it was fun. I haven't tried it yet but now is the perfect time to try it out!"
"Okay. Where is it?"
"It's in my room but I can get," the prince eagerly told Shada. Shada nodded.
"Okay. I'll go with you."
The prince nodded his head in agreement and the two began making their way to the prince's room.
The prince was walking as fast as he could to his room and Shada only had to pick his pace up slightly to match the prince's eager speed. They were passing many rooms at a quick speed, almost running into many servants in their quick haste but luckily no damage was caused. Yet.
Since Shada had never been to the prince's room, he was trying to note some of the directions that lead to the room so his concentration wasn't completely on the prince and his surroundings. The prince took a sharp turn to the left and Shada followed suite.
Hmm…I don't recall this area of the palace very well…Shada thought. I wonder if this is-
His train of thought was cut off.
Since Shada wasn't paying close enough attention to the prince and his surrondings, he didn't here the prince's warning off an abnormally large uplift off one of the tiles on the floor. Shada's foot caught the tile and he began falling, his arms trying to grab something to hold on to stop his falling. A servant was walking by the two with a large bowl of water but she or Shada had expected Shada to fall. The young Shada accidently knocked the bowl of water out of the servant's arms while he was falling.
Behind him, the prince heard a large thump and what sounded like a crash. The prince stopped and turned around, surprised at the sight.
There was a servant who was apologizing profusely to Shada who was getting up from the floor. Shada had pieces of what looked like a bowl surrounding him and Shada was soaked. What the happened? The prince thought. He quickly made his way over to the fallen Shada.
"Are you okay?" the prince quickly asked.
"I'm alright," Shada told the prince. His attention was then taken by the servant who was still apologizing to the now drenched Shada.
The prince finally took in Shada's appearance.
Shada's clothes that used to flow with ease were now sticking to his body, making his form look awkward and disfigured. His kohl that he had around his eyes was now running down his face, causing him to look like he was one of the palace's pets: a lemur. There was a patch of dirt on his face but what the prince saw next made him almost fall on the ground from laughing.
Shada had a large red dot that was between his eyes, making it seem that he had a third eye. But when the prince took a closer look, it noticed that it was a pimple; a large and disturbing pimple that seemed that it could rival the size of Egypt itself.
The prince laughed, causing the servant and Shada to look at him strangely before Shada began looking at himself. Sure he was drenched and slightly dirty, but it wasn't that funny…
Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, he began thinking. But when he scrunched his eyebrows, he felt an odd discomfort between his eyes. Horror washed over him.
The makeup that he put on earlier this morning had been washed away and now…
His pimple was exposed.
His eyes widened and his cheeks became flushed. He took his hand and placed it over the large…thing and began making his way towards his room, running away from the shocked servant and hysterical prince.
When the prince noticed Shada was gone and the servant was looking around nervously, avoiding the prince's gaze, the prince calmed down with only an occasion giggle escaping his lips. The servant bowed her head in respect for the prince but the prince dismissed her, telling her that it wasn't her fault. The servant smiled at him and began picking up the broken pieces of the bowl, the prince leaving her with her duties.
End of Flashback
The prince avoided the still moist floor while he was walking but he suddenly felt something jump on his back, causing him to fall onto the floor, bringing the thing with him.
When the prince opened his eyes, he began hearing giggling coming from on top of him.
"Mana…" he groaned.
The giggling continued but the enthusiastic girl got off of him and offered her hand to help him up. Her other hand was over her mouth to try to hide her giggles but her effort was a wasted attempt. The prince looked at her hand and shook his head, getting up off the floor on his own. Luckily Mana was used to the prince's "on his own" behavior and wasn't hurt by the prince's actions.
"You know," the prince began, while trying to dust himself off. "One of these days I might mistake you for an assassin and use my training on you." The prince stared pointedly at her. Mana rolled her eyes at him.
"Sure you will, almighty prince," she agreed sarcastically. The prince was about to stick his tongue at her but quickly thought otherwise. One of his teachers scolded him for using such a childish gesture for a future pharaoh and since today was the day that the prince was to be an official young man, he had to act his age. The prince just shook his head at her instead though Mana noticed a hesitation in the prince's actions.
"What's wrong, sA nsw?" Mana questioned the prince. The prince shook his head and began walking. Mana paused a second before catching up with the prince, her steps matching his.
"Sn…" Mana pouted. The prince sighed and stopped walking, surprising Mana with the sudden cease in movement. She waited patiently.
"I'm now ten summers of age, Mana," the prince quietly told her, but his words held a deep meaning. "This is the day where I will become a young man and the true future King of Egypt once my father…" he trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Mana's eyes down casted at his words and sudden realization came to her.
Today was the day where he would become a young man and in several years, his father will travel to the Afterlife and leave his legacy to his son. She always knew that he was to be pharaoh, but today…right now…she felt as if the prince was one step closer to his destiny…his gift…his curse.
The prince was always taking lessons on subjects that he would need in the future when he would rule but after today; he would be taking more lessons and training, leaving less time for him to spend time with her.
She felt like she was losing her best friend.
"I'll need to act my age and part for now on. I'm prince of Egypt and future ruler and I need to take more responsibility so I can learn to be the best pharaoh that I can be. Otherwise, I would let my people, friends, and my father down…And I can't allow that," he said, his voice filled with determination. Mana lifted her head at the future pharaoh's powerful words and was almost taken back by what she saw.
He stood with power and confidence, as if he was facing the future conflicts that would try to bring him down. He seemed powerful and yet mysterious at the same time. As if a new power that was deep within his soul was brewing; an unknown and extremely powerful force that was ready to face any enemy that stood in the way. But what made her almost made her gasp were the prince's eyes.
His eyes were filled with determination and confidence, causing her to want to crumble beneath his gaze. His determined and confident eyes made him seem as if he was several years older…as if he was the mighty pharaoh right now, readying himself for anything that opposed him.
Mana felt as if she was seeing a vision of what he would be in the future; a powerful and wise pharaoh that was daring anything and anyone to challenge his greatness. But instead of cowering in fear of what she saw…she welcomed it. An epiphany came to her.
The prince would slowly turn into the figure before her and there was no way she could stop it. This was his destiny and she couldn't even attempt to stop what was meant to be. This was who he was and will be and instead of allowing the troubles to separate them; she would need to be there for him and overcome the conflicts. No matter if it meant losing her life in the process, she needed to be there for him no matter how horrible the situation was.
Even if he would try to push her away, she will just hold him closer and not let him go.
Even if they weren't there together, they would be in each other's hearts.
Instead of turning away from the conflicts that will arise, Mana welcomed them. The two of them will overcome them and their friendship would never weaken but instead grow stronger.
Mana blinked her eyes and suddenly the future pharaoh disappeared. There was only a young prince who made a promise to become a great pharaoh, even if it meant his childhood in front of her.
She mentally shook her head and closed her eyes once again, calming herself, before opening them to the present. She suddenly enclosed the prince in a tight hug with a smile on her face. Taken back by her gesture, the prince was frozen for a moment before he hesitantly brought his arms around Mana, returning the gesture.
After what seemed like hours, Mana let the prince go and gave him a warm smile. The prince just gave her a confused look in return.
"What was that for-"
Mana interrupted the prince by giggling and ran off, rounding the corner with her laughter following her.
The prince, confused, shook off the random act and began chasing after the giggling Mana. Laughing as he ran, he allowed his childhood to stay for now before he would soon need to abandon it for his future duties as future King of Egypt.
"Shimon…" The prince whispered. The old man didn't hear his name being called.
"Shimon…" He whispered louder. The prince groaned in frustration when the old man didn't respond. If the prince wasn't sitting next to his father and was practically the center of attention tonight, he would be hitting his head against the throne in frustration. The prince has been trying to get Shimon's attention for the past ten minutes and so far, Shimon hasn't acknowledge him at all whatsoever.
Darn old man hasn't even waved his hand as if to dismiss me, the prince mentally grumbled. He needs his hearing checked…
King Aknamkanon overheard his son trying to get his advisor's attention and had to contain his chuckle. Obviously the prince was getting quite annoyed with the lack of Shimon's attention and after the prince's last attempt; the prince seemed as if he was ready to bang his head on something hard in frustration. King Aknamkanon turned his head to his son.
"Is something wrong, my son?" he asked the frustrated prince. The prince quickly fixed his slumped posture and shook his head.
"No father," he replied.
The king only nodded his head, though he wasn't satisfied with the prince's answer. He felt the corners of his mouth twitching upwards even though he was trying not to show much emotion. He leaned to his right and propped his elbow on the arm of the throne, bringing his hand to hold his face in position but carefully and sneakily used his fingers to hide his failing attempt of controlling his smile. He looked as if he was intent on watching the beautiful women twirl in a seductive dance but when Shimon glanced behind him, since he was one of the upper steps that lead to the throne, he knew that his old friend was trying to hide some kind of emotion that was breaking through his emotionless façade.
Shimon's eyebrows scrunched in confusion and he looked around him for something that was amusing for the pharaoh but he found none. Mentally shrugging his shoulders in defeat, his attention returned to the beautiful dancers that were elegantly moving about on the palace floors.
The prince, being fooled by his father's fake attention to the dancers, began thinking of a way to capture Shimon's attention without bringing the attention on himself. He noticed a bowl of grapes next to him and an idea suddenly occurred to him. Without anyone knowing, he grabbed one of the grapes and adjusted it till it was properly positioned in his scrawny but strong fingers. He carefully aimed with his hand and shot the grape at Shimon's head.
Shimon felt something hit his head and he stiffened. Not wanting to draw attention on himself, he slowly around with his head. Not sensing or seeing any danger, he stopped looking but kept a keen eye out for anything suspicious; just in case.
The prince sighed in frustration. He began resorting back to his original plan.
"Shimon…"the prince whispered.
"Master Shimon…" he whispered a little bit more loudly.
"Master Shimon…" the prince hissed at Shimon harshly, frustrated with Shimon's lacking ability of being able to hear at a short distance.
Shimon's ears perked at the sound of his name and recognized the annoyed voice. He turned around and walked up the last step to platform, bowing his head in respect. He walked over to the successful prince and brought his head closer to the prince's.
"Yes, my prince?"
Finally…the prince thought, glad to be done of the annoying failures of Shimon not hearing his name being called.
"Shimon, who are those people over there? The ones who are near the door wearing white," he asked, nodding his head over to where a group of people were who appeared to be around the prince's age and somewhat older. Shimon's eyes scanned the area to where the prince was nodding his head to until he found what the prince was asking about. His eyes gleamed.
"Those are future priests, my prince. They have been training at the temples in other villages since early childhood and have been brought here so they could continue on with their training and studying," Shimon explained.
"So they are training to be priests like Shada and Mahaad?" the prince asked.
"Not quite. Mahaad is training to be a sorcerer but he still made an oath to the gods to be a priest. Shada is training to be a priest but he is to be serving you at the palace, if everything goes according to plan," Shimon explained.
"Oh. So who are they?" he asked, somewhat eager to find the new peoples' names. Shimon scratched his chin for a moment, trying to remember some of the names.
"Hmmm…if I remember right…see the young woman with her black hair that isn't braided? She's standing next to a girl that has her hair braided, Cena I believe," the advisor pointed out. The prince nodded his head when he noticed her. "Well her name is Isis and she was the daughter of a merchant who died not too long ago. In fact, she came to the palace when she was a young girl and she met you but you were only an infant at the time." The prince nodded but didn't recall ever meeting the girl.
"What about him?" the prince asked, nodding over to a person who looked his age. He was bald and scrawny, like the prince but he looked oddly familiar. When Shimon noticed who the prince was asking about, he felt a pang in his heart.
"That is Karim," he answered. The prince looked confusedly at him. Shimon sighed.
"His father was the previous holder of the millennium scale," he informed the prince. The prince's eyes widened and he looked at the boy once again in disbelief. No wonder Karim seemed so familiar! The prince had never met him but he was practically the spitting image of his father only younger.
"Poor Karim," he whispered with sympathy.
The holder of the millennium scale was very ill with an unknown disease that made the man unable to get up from his bed and perform his duties as one of the six sacred guardians of the pharaoh. He has been sick for about a month now and with his weakened state, the chances of him surviving didn't look very good despite the prayers and medicines.
Shimon nodded gravely and silently sent another prayer to the gods in hopes of his friend to be better soon. The prince watched Karim intently before a flash of blue captured his attention. He immediately saw a young man wearing blue and white robes leaning against a wall in a corner, allowing him to see all and be hidden but with his piercing blue eyes, it gave him away. The prince's posture immediately stiffened for unknown reasons and he turned his head over to Shimon but his eyes still intently watching the quiet and elusive boy.
"Shimon, who is the one that is wearing blue and white robes," he asked. Shimon followed the prince's fierce gaze and immediately saw who he was staring at.
"Ah…" Shimon mused. "Now that is Seto. A young man who is about fourteen winters yet his intelligence and maturity is of a much greater age which has allowed him to become a priest already despite his young age." The prince held no surprise or any emotion, in fact, for the young priest. Shimon was confused about the prince's more…unwelcomed attitude towards the young priest but he continued.
"Seto came from a village that was attacked by criminals which caused him to lose his home and mother. He found his way here and began studying-"the prince cut him off.
"What about his father?" the prince asked, releasing his intense gaze with the priest.
"Even he doesn't know. He holds no memories of him and so we have come up with the conclusion that he is an orphan," the old advisor told him darkly. The prince felt a small pang in his heart for the priest, unable to even imagine a life without his father guiding and protecting him. He gazed at the young priest once more but as soon as he looked at him, all the feelings of remorse and sorrow that he held for Seto were suddenly forgotten.
Seto had looked over to the prince when he felt as if he was being watched and had caught the gaze of the prince. They held eye contact for what seemed like an eternity. Seto could see the sorrow and pity that the prince held for him but instead of ignoring it or welcoming it; he sent a message of his own. His piercing, Nile blue eyes became harder and fiercer at the prince and he could sense the prince recalling all the sorrow he felt for him. And to Seto's surprise, the prince sent a gaze of his own that would have taken the priest back, if he were softer. The prince's gaze held power and mystery that made Seto curious of the prince's true inner power. The prince's gaze fought back against Seto's harsh glare, which was new to Seto. Normally others would bow their heads or cower away but this prince…he seemed accepting of any challenge that Seto would throw at him.
And for the first time in his life, Seto felt as if he was in the presence of a worthy rival who would challenge who Seto was and the extent of his inner and outer power.
The two of them continued to gaze back at each other, unwilling to back down from the other until a sudden silence made them break apart at the same time, their eyes trained on the person who was standing proudly and god-like, waiting for everyone to give their undivided attention to him.
The great and powerful pharaoh of Egypt.
Everyone froze what they were doing and respectively gave their king their attention that he was patiently waiting for.
"My friends and people, I welcome you to my palace where my ancestors have continued to rule for generations. And today, my son will be written down as one of the successors of the great line of kings since now he is now a young man.
"He has been through multiple lessons that have expanded his knowledge so he can become a successful and great ruler but now…He is of age where he can learn the true lesson of being a pharaoh.
"Today my son is now a young man and the acknowledgeable prince of Egypt; the future king of our golden empire." There was a cheer for the prince and the prince calmly stood their, carefully understanding the deep meaning of his father's words that were meant for him only. The king waited until the cheering was done.
"I can only wish that the gods will allow my son a safe yet majestic rule through his dynasty as pharaoh. May the great God Re be at the side of my son during his rule and allow him to be successful." Aknamkanon paused before he faced his son.
"My son," he called over to him. The prince froze for a moment before he made his way over to his awaiting father. King Aknamkanon gently put his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Soon one day this will all be yours," he told him, his voice barely audible to the people that were around him.
"Once I make my passage to the Afterlife, you will sit in the throne that our ancestors have sat in countless times before and like them, you will rule Egypt. You will have power that many will bow down to but you will also have many who will oppose you and your rule. Every great king will have their battles that will be settled on the battlefield with your sword gleaming under Re's wings but you will have more battles that will need to be settled off the battle field.
"You are now a young man and you have been gifted with the power that was gifted by the gods their selves and you will need to control and respect it. My son, you are now of the age when a boy becomes a young man and you will be given more responsibilities that will want you to turn against what you have been born with and have been taught." The prince nodded in understanding and the King was beaming with pride. Unlike him, his son was able to accept the curse and gift that he had been born with without hesitance. When Aknamkanon's father gave him the same speech when Aknamkanon turned ten falls old, Aknamkanon hesitated for such a long period of time that his father was actually sweating in confusion and worry. But unlike now, Aknamkanon's son was ready to face his destiny as future pharaoh without any hesitance. The king spoke louder so everyone could hear.
"My son, you are now ten summers old and are now the official future pharaoh of Egypt. Will you accept what the gods have blessed you with and will you honor your title? Do you understand you are now the true Prince of Egypt?" he paused.
"My son…will you go through the conflicts that you will face as my future successor and will you handle them with pride and honor?
Silence seemed to cast itself across Egypt.
The prince stood with pride, confidence, his stance marking him as a future king and god. His eyes blazed with determination that was unusual for someone of his age. His very spirit suddenly began to make itself known to those who could sense powers of what lay before them and everyone who was a holder and future holder of the millennium items could sense a great and mysterious presence that blazed within the prince.
It seemed as if the very gods of Egypt were in the room, their mystic beings infused with the future pharaoh and they too were awaiting the prince's answer.
Though, unlike his father that stood before him, the prince did not hesitate. He did not question who he was or what he was born as.
He knew who he was and was meant to be. He was not about to deny it.
The prince stood with a confidence that was unknown to all that knew him and they had the urge to fall to their knees and bow down to his power.
"Yes."
His answer seemed to spread across Egypt.
To the tops of the great pyramids to the deep, murky depths of the Nile.
Gods of above could hear him and those who lay beneath his feet heard him.
His enemies heard his challenge and his friends prepared themselves.
But here and now, people heard his promise and they knew that his words had sealed his destiny.
But this time, unknown to most, Re, the greatest God of them all, was engulfing the prince in his wings.
The future pharaoh had Re on his side and those who opposed him were going to fall.
The people rejoiced and the King never felt such pride before.
The prince faced the people within the palace and gazed upon their faces.
For he was now the future King of Egypt.