The Eye of Horus
Neferi: Sorry for the late update, school's been a major pain in the neck for me. It's been keeping me busy and giving me a hard time. But here's a new chapter for all of you, please enjoy!
Author's Note: In ancient Egypt, when deities were celebrated or the Pharaoh, Egyptian women danced for them. The Queen was also included in the dancing. Also, Mera is one of my OCs and she is the daughter of Isis and Osiris, thereby sister of Horus, just so you know.
Announcement: I have some new fics coming up, three of them are Kaiba/OC fics so I would very much appreciate it if you checked them out when I put them on the site. Two are set in ancient Egypt and one is in the present. If you have read some of my fics you'll notice some known OCs there, including Tara or Tera.
Tara: Disclaimer: NeferNeferi doesn't own YGO but she however, owns a few other things, like the Horus Items, Mera, Nekhmet and me.
Chapter fifteen: Captured
Soon after losing the Rare Hunters in that oasis, Tara fell into a peaceful slumber, resting her head on the former Pharaoh's back. She also had a vision of her past, a feast taking place in the palace, in which she had been present.
-Flashback-
She observed her surroundings silently as she swirled the goblet in her left hand, the wine flowing gently inside. The priests and priestesses from the various Temples of Horus were there, all gathered inside the Great Hall of the Pharaoh's palace. There was a feast taking place, celebrating their deity Horus, announced by the Pharaoh a few weeks ago. Tera had to be there, not only because she had made a vow to her god, but because her superior, the High Priest, was also going to be there.
The Great Hall was looking as magnificent as always, though now some tables containing food were placed between the columns so their guests would have something to sate their hunger. A statue of Horus stood before the stairs leading to the thrones, silently watching over his faithful priests.
Tera smiled as she watched some of her priests conversing with others belonging to another Temple. She saw the figure of her superior walking towards her, also carrying a goblet full of wine. She allowed herself another smile before she took a sip of her wine.
"Good evening Tera, you are here as ordered" Set told her, as he stood at her right side, hidden in the shadow of the column nearby.
"Good evening High Priest" she replied, looking at him "I am not here because of an order, my God calls and I follow".
"I will let that comment pass High Priestess, though I do not like the tone you are using with me" he replied, looking at her with his blue eyes.
"Excuse me High Priest, I was not trying to insult you" Tera replied coolly, as she swirled her goblet again "I was merely commenting something".
Both of them heard some doors open and Yami walked in, hand in hand with Mera followed by some of the Priests holding the Millenium Items.
"Ah, her Majesty the Queen is here, I trust my patron is very pleased to have his sister in his presence" Tera commented as the young Queen followed her husband towards the thrones.
Mera sat down on her throne silently and gazed at the silent crowd of priests gathered there, apparently in search of someone. Her emotionless eyes landed on Tera and she smiled. Then they shifted to Set and she smiled again.
"Good evening priests and priestesses, High Priests, High Priestess" Yami said, his voice echoing throughout the Hall "Welcome to my palace for the feast in honor of our patron Horus. I do sincerely hope you enjoy it, as well as our God. Commence the celebration".
Music filled the Hall, a fast melody reaching everyone's ears. A few priestesses approached the statue of the God and started dancing for him and for the Pharaoh.
"Tera, good evening" a female voice said, distracting her from watching how her priestesses danced.
It was Mera, standing there before her accompanied by another young girl, much taller than she was.
"Good evening Mera, Nekhmet" Tera said, bowing her head at the first "How are you both tonight?".
"Quite well, yourself?" Nekhmet replied, glancing briefly at Set who was smirking at her.
"I'm also well, though debating whether I should dance for our God or not" Tera answered.
"You are the Eye of Horus, I believe you should dance" Mera stated, looking at her "You are his most faithful servant".
"Well then, you should also dance since you are his sister" Tera said, a light smirk curving on her lips.
She knew the Queen was a very shy young girl and she would probably refuse the offer. Though this time she was wrong.
"Very well, let's go" Mera grinned, taking Tera by the hand and dragging her towards the statue.
"Wait! I do not want to dance!" Tera exclaimed as Mera dragged her furthermore between the dancing priests.
"Oh, but you are going to dance" Mera grinned as she stood in front of the statue "It's not complicated".
The Queen spun around and started moving at the beat of the music, leaving the High Priestess quite incredulous. She had never seen Mera dance and most of all, she wasn't moving!
"Are you afraid of dancing?" Mera asked, as she stepped to the side followed by some priestesses.
"Of course I'm not! I just think I should go and get Nekhmet so she can also dance" Tera said quickly, trying to cover herself up from her fear to dance in public.
"Let her be with Set, I think they can enjoy bothering each other they way they do. Meanwhile, you and I are going to dance" Mera replied, taking Tera's hands and making her move.
The High Priestess soon let the music carry her and kept on dancing by herself, a smile gracing her lips. As Tera spun around, her eyes landed on a figure leaning against a column nearby. She smiled and called him out.
-End of Flashback-
Tara blinked and opened her eyes slowly to find herself still riding with Yami through the cold desert. Who was that guy she had called out? She didn't remember him or his name. She could only remember he seemed so familiar...
"You are awake" Yami's voice said from in front of her.
"Sorry for falling asleep, I guess I got tired" Tara replied, looking over Yami's right shoulder at the horse "The horse is tired, we should stop somewhere and let him rest".
"The distance we have crossed is short, I don't know why he's so tired" Yami commented as they kept on riding.
"He is carrying the weight of two people, plus you have him running at his fastest gallop" Tara said, looking at Yami somewhat incredulous "It's obvious he's tired. Let's stop here, even if it is in the middle of the desert at night".
So Yami made the horse come to a halt in the middle of the desert and both dismounted the animal. Tara sat down on the cold sands and searched through her backpack for something as Yami watched her. The girl suddenly grinned. Apparently she had found what she was looking for. She took out an apple and a bottle of water from her backpack, then looked at Yami.
"Here feed the horse with this" she said, throwing Yami the apple.
He caught it and looked at it, remembering she had taken it from the food that had been delivered to the room they had been sharing in the inn.
"It's only one apple but it's better than nothing" Tara commented as she poured the water in a plastic plate she had brought.
Then she stood up and walked over to the horse, placing the water on the sands. The horse lowered his head and started drinking the water as Tara sat down on the sand again.
"Feed the horse after he finishes drinking water" she told the Pharaoh as he sat down next to her.
"I got the message Tara" he replied looking at her.
"Just making sure" she smiled as she let herself fall on her back and gazed at the stars in the sky "The stars look so beautiful from here, it's been long since I've seen a view such as this".
Yami looked up at the starry night and smiled "Yes, they do look beautiful".
His smile faded and after a moment he glanced at Tara, who was folding her arms behind her head. She seemed rather content to be back there in Egypt; perhaps she liked it there more than in Japan?
"Tara, I have something to ask you" Yami said, after a brief moment.
"Ask" she said softly.
"Do you like it here more than in Japan?" he asked looking at her.
Tara seemed to think for a moment before answering "It's hard to say…this is my homeland and I love it but in Japan is where all my friends live, including yourself and the Queen. So I must say that I like both places".
"I see…" Yami murmured, looking at the sand.
"Why do you ask?" Tara said, looking at him with some curiosity.
"Just wondering" the former Pharaoh replied, looking at her "Nothing to worry about".
"If you say so" Tara said, looking at the sky again "I'm going to sleep, wake me up when you think we should part, alright?".
"Why me and not you? You're the one that needs my aid" Yami replied as Tara yawned.
"Because you're feeding the horse, now be quiet and let me sleep" she said grinning before she closed her eyes.
The sweet breeze of the desert caressed her face and soon made her fall asleep. Tara opened her eyes abruptly when she felt herself brought to her feet violently. She narrowed her eyes at the sight before her.
"You!" she bellowed as she glared at Yami Marik and tried to get away from the Rare Hunters grasping her arms.
Yami Marik stood in front of her smirking evilly. He took her chin in his right hand and made her rise her head at his head's level.
"Yes, me" he said, watching the hateful glare she was giving him.
"Where is my Pharaoh?" she yelled again, trying to run away to find it vain.
Yami Marik smiled darkly as he moved aside and motioned with a hand to the ground "There he is my dear".
Tara gasped as she saw Yugi lying motionless on the ground.
"What have you done?!" she yelled, hysteric.
"I just took the Pharaoh by surprise and separated him from little Yugi. Then I gave him a little something so he would shut up" Yami Marik smirked at her "What do you think my dear? I hold the Puzzle and you in my power, not to mention a harmed Yugi".
"You monster" Tara hissed, glaring at him again "You deserve to burn in the pits of -"
She fell on her knees as a punch connected to her stomach. She gasped for air as she clutched her stomach, pain visible in her eyes.
"Now that you're all quiet I think I will take this as my own" Tara heard the yami say, though she had not opened her eyes to see what he meant.
She felt her Chain being pulled from her neck and away from her. As she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw Yami Marik held it in his hand.
'No, he can't have my Chain…' she thought as she did her best to glare at him.
"You look pretty when you try to glare Tara" he said, smiling evilly "How pretty will you look if I use the Horus Chain on you?".
Tara narrowed her eyes but then decided to look at him seriously and say "You wouldn't dare!".
"Oh, but I do dare" Yami Marik focused on the Chain's power but nothing happened.
He looked down at the golden object in his hand and tried yet again, only to fail. He narrowed his eyes at the Chain and held it up at eye length.
"What's this!? Why is not working?!" he said, looking at the Chain.
He then looked at Tara to find her grimacing. She seemed to know something he didn't and he wanted to find out.
He grabbed her by the forearm and squeezed it hard while saying, "Why is the Chain not working? Answer me priestess!".
Tara chuckled softly until he squeezed her harder and made her quiver. He brought her closer to him and hissed the same words to her.
"The Chain isn't working because you can't use it" the girl answered, grimacing "Because it will only work on my hands".
"What?!" Yami Marik exclaimed, letting go of Tara.
He looked at the girl with fury and smacked her across the face. Tara rubbed her left cheek, stunned. It had been long since someone had smacked her.
"No matter if I can't use it, I'll keep it in my grasp because it will soon be useful" Yami Marik said, putting away the Chain inside the pocket of his pants "Meanwhile, you'll be coming with me so you can reveal the place of the temple".
"What will we do with Yugi Mutou?" Odion asked, looking down at the unconscious boy.
"Let him die in the desert" Yami Marik said, picking Tara up and putting her over his shoulder.
"If he stays here, I swear I won't lead you to the temple Yami Marik, I prefer to die before that happens" Tara said, trying to kick him only to find that he had grasped both her ankles to keep her from doing that.
"I could always use my Rod on you" Yami Marik replied as he placed her on his horse in a sitting position while two Rare Hunters tied her hands with a rope.
"As if it will work now, my patron is watching and he won't let any harm befall me nor any power be used against me" Tara retorted, glaring at him before he mounted his horse behind her.
'That's why the Chain isn't working, because Horus is nearby' Tara thought as she looked at the sky briefly 'He can only use his powers over the Chain but if all the Items are gathered, he won't have power over them. Of course, Yami Marik doesn't need to know this so I won't tell'.
She noticed a falcon flying over them and then saw it disappear. She hid a smile.
"I do believe your god watches over you, I have just seen him flying above us" Yami Marik said "So I will keep the boy and you will lead me to the temple, is that understood?".
"Yes" Tara nodded.
"Good" Yami Marik smirked darkly and then glanced at Odion "Take little Yugi with you to our hideout and don't lose him".
"Yes Master Marik" Odion nodded and turned around to pick Yugi up.
"You know Tara, you are a very pretty little girl" Yami Marik said to her as he pulled the hair clip away from her light brown hair and let it fall over her shoulders "I can understand why my hikari likes you so much. What I don't understand is why you like him".
"For starters he respects me entirely, unlike you" Tara retorted as she shrugged Yami Marik's hands off of her shoulders "I'm off limits to you".
"I'll let you be for the time being" he smiled wickedly as he took the reins of his horse.
When he made sure Odion had taken Yugi with him, he gave an order to part and rode in the same direction Tara and Yami had been riding towards to. A group of Rare Hunters followed him through the cold desert.
"Soon the Horus Items will be mine and I'll rule the world" Yami Marik said to Tara, the same wicked smile still on his lips "And you will stay with me".
Tara didn't reply, she simply gazed ahead, her semblance unnerved. Inward, she was smirking.
'That's what you think Yami Marik, you have yet to learn more about me and the temple of the Horus Items, there are a few surprises waiting for you' she thought 'I'm not about to give up these Items without a fight'.
Neferi: End of chapter and I think it's rather crappy.
Tara: Well, at least you went further into the story.
Neferi: Yeah that's true. Well, people, we're nearing the ending of this fic!
Tara: So soon?
Neferi: Yeah. Please review and keep reading!