Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.
Enjoy!
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Chapter 3
He was forced out of the broken side of the palace; the rubble was piled so unevenly that Atem fell. He tumbled to the ground; his hands were still tied behind this back so he was unable to save himself and the Romans around him just laughed rather than helping him. Atem struggled to kneel upright, this proved difficult as pushing oneself upright usually involved the use of hands but somehow he managed it. There was Romans all around him, far too many to count. He stared around, the side of the Palace which was in ruins. He could also see some of the people, hiding behinds doors or rubble. All were watching the Romans, fear clear in their faces. When they saw their Prince, on his knees and hands bounds, they look even more scared. The Roman General jumped down and looked at the bound Prince. He smirked; walked over to the Prince he dragged him to his feet before handing him to a nearby commander.
"Rebind him." Potitus turned to face the rest of the Legions, "We are done here, we match to the boats. Rome is calling us home."
There was a cheer for the Legions, who were forming a marching line. Atem's hands were retied in front of him; the rope was now tied to the side of the saddle on the General's horse. He tried to look back at the palace, but the pull on the rope tied to his hands pulled him forward. The Legions marched behind them; their feet beat up a marching rhythm as they marched out of the city. Atem stumbled along behind the General's horse. He felt the ropes cutting into his wrists, but he did not let any noise escape his lips. Around them the people of the city stared as the Romans left but they wept when they saw their Prince being dragged along with them. As the last soldiers left the city, a middle aged man emerged from his hiding spot and stood by the broken gates watching the soliders.
"They are gone but with the Prince! By the Gods, I pray that he is returned safely."
"You must gather every man you can!" Aknamkanon said, pacing, "I want you to catch up with these Romans and return my son to me."
The Palace was in chaos, with men rushing around. The guards were trying to make some sort of organisation of the men but they were not doing well. Aknamkanon paced up and down becoming more and more frustrated at the lack of movement.
"You must not worry my King." A man next to him said.
The man was the advisor to the Pharaoh, named Shimon. He stood close by watching his King; he too was worried about the Prince. He had seen him grow up and it worried him immensely that the boy had been taken by the Romans.
"Don't worry." Aknamkanon snapped, "My son is kidnapped! I can do nothing but worry."
Shimon said nothing, just continued to watch as the King paced. There were sounds of hurrying footsteps, looking round he saw the guards hurrying away. The Pharaoh had seen it too; he hurried out to the nearest balcony. He could just about see the retreating Romans on the horizon and he could see his men on horseback giving chase. But their numbers were far fewer than that of the Romans. He watched the many horses race after the Romans, he could not bear it. He must accompany them; he must ensure that his son was rescued. His mind made up, Aknamkanon hurried off towards the stables. Alarmed by his King's sudden movement, Shimon rushed after him although with his shorter legs it took a while to catch up. When he did catch up he saw the Pharaoh demanding his horse be saddled.
"My King, may I ask what are you doing?" He asked, panting slightly.
"I must join the men; I must ensure that my son is safe."
"My King, you have to stay safe." Shimon pleaded, "The men will bring him home safe."
Aknamkanon was climbing on to his horse, there was another two men mounting up to protect their King.
"I thank you for your concern Shimon, but I must go to my son."
Without another word Aknamkanon galloped away, his two guards raced after him. Shimon watched his King go, he could not help but wonder whether they were to lose both the King and Prince in one day. How had it all come to this?
"General! The Egyptian's are launching an attack. Their men come by horse back."
Potitus turned to face the scout knelt before him. Although he would never admit it verbally, he was surprised by this. He had not expected them to do anything. Looking back over his shoulder, the bound Prince behind him had a hopeful look in his eye.
"How many men?" Potitus replied.
"None to match our numbers, they are outnumbered."
Potitus knew what to do without a moment's thought. "One of the legions is to assume the formation to repel cavalry, hold one legion in reserve if, by some dumb luck, they break through."
The scout nodded and hurried away to relay orders. Potitus turned to look at the Prince who, in defiance, stared straight back at him.
"I suppose you heard all that Little Rat."
The Prince's expression became smug, "I did. My people come for me and they will not let you take me."
Potitus towered over the Prince, "Your people are outnumbered, and we are far superior to yours."
Grabbing the Prince by his bound hands, the General dragged him behind him. The General dragged the Prince to a position where they could see what was about to unfold. Regaining his footing Atem looked out over what would become a battlefield. He saw the Romans soldiers forming up into a formation that he had never seen before. In the distance he could see what appeared to be a sandstorm but he knew it was approach of his people, the horses where moving so quickly that the sand was being thrown into air. The Roman General still had hold on to his bindings so he couldn't really go anywhere without attracting his attention but perhaps there would be a way to wriggle out of his grasp. Atem saw the horses approach and the devastation that unfolded. The Egyptians charged into the Romans, but the formation the Romans had adopted was far too superior for them to handle. Atem heard the cries of the horses and men. The General was distracted now, he was issuing orders to his men. It was now or never. Atem twisted his hands and pulled them away, the General who was engaged in conversation had loosed his grip so when the Prince pulled away he could not grab him. Atem raced away from him, running as far as he could. If he could sprint round the ranks of the Romans then he could be able to reach the people who had come to save him. But it was not to be. Someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and forced him to the ground. He caught a glimpse of the Roman Centurion who had caught him. He writhed, trying to throw the man off but it was in vain. Not a moment later the General had approached them and ordered that the Prince be on his knees. Atem looked up at the man whose expression was one of amusement and anger.
"You thought you could get away Little Rat." He said, "Really? With nearly five thousand men at my command, you thought you would slip by them."
The Prince said nothing, just glared back at him. Potitus drew back a fist and delivered a hard punch to the Prince's face. The Prince felt the blood pouring from both lip and nose.
"Get him into the cell in the boat, this battle is over. We set sail now." Potitus ordered, strolling away.
The Centurion forced Atem to his feet and marched him towards the large boats which were waiting for them. It took two of the Romans to get the bound Prince on to the boat, seeing as the captive resisted. But they managed it. Atem to lead – or rather dragged – to a cell below the deck of the ship. There he was thrown into a cell; this cell had no windows or anything. In fact the only light source was coming from outside the door which was being slammed shut. Atem launched himself at the door in a desperate attempt to escape but he was too late. The door had closed and he was plunged into complete darkness.
Aknamkanon sat astride his horse, looking in horror at the scene in front of him. Barely any of the men send out had returned, and those how did had various injured. Littered on the battle field were the remains of the horses and men who had fallen. Nekht approached the King; his pervious wounds had been worsened by this encounter. He knelt, his left knee pointing forwards.
"My Pharaoh, we failed. They were too powerful for us."
Aknamkanon slid off his horse; he had spotted something in the distance. Those around him stepped back, they were unsure whether their King was angry or not. But Aknamkanon said nothing to them; he had spotted boats in the distance. He fell to his knees in the sand. Tears streamed down his face as he watched the Roman boats sail away, with his son held captive.
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Thanks for Reviewing: Guest, Atem no koibito
Are you even more infruated? Haha!
Sorry about the delay, I have had issues in my personal life.
I will try to get the next chapter out soon, I am writing it at the moment.
Please Review!
See you soon!
~RedRosePetal
