Disclaimer thingy: Me no own YGO...if I did I'd be rich...but I'm not...oh well... Maybe one day someone will read my originals and publish them' maybe.

Chapter Three
Egyptian Nights and Knaves

As Bast made her way back to the Palace she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she had said to Omorose, though she'd had to, to keep her friend safe. Safe from Bast herself, the last time she'd seen Omorose was the day of their fight and the accident they'd had. The four of them had begun something that day and Bast wasn't sure if it was good or bad, she was sure though, that she could handle it on her own without any help from the others. Besides, Omorose herself had told her that she wanted nothing more to do with all that and it had seemed like the others felt the same no matter what Meskhenet said about Omorose not meaning it, Bast knew there was a definite truth in there somewhere, she just didn't know which part it was.

Bast also worried about why she hadn't recognized Omorose at first, just like when she'd run into Sanura and Meskhenet, was her memory fading? Or was that thing finally taking hold of her? The second possibility scared her, if that thing got out, it would be the end of Egypt as she knew it, what she didn't understand was why it was only happening to her. The other three should be feeling the effects of what had happened back then, so why weren't they? Or did they not remember as clearly as she?

Bast shook her head free of her troubles as she walked through the Palace gates with the basket of food from Meskhenet, she'd tried to pay her more but Meskhenet wouldn't have it, she'd said 'that she had no intention of robbing Bast blind'. Bast had laughed at this and mentioned that it was the Pharaoh's money which had made Meskhenet drop the price lower to Bast's disappointment, she worried about all her friends as she always had and bored her older brother to tears every night by telling him all her fears for the future, he knew little about what had happened that day, but understood that Bast had changed because of it. Jeram was your typical big brother, he teased Bast as much as possible and was incredibly protective at the same time which was infuriating to his little sister. Bast walked into the kitchen and was immediately yelled at by the cook who snatched the basket and bag off her and rushed the girl out into the hall slamming the door behind her, this where she found Sanura, frozen staring at a snake that had probably made its way inside from the gardens. Bast rolled her eyes and walked over picking the snake up by its tail and talking to it to sooth it, Sanura sighed in relief and Bast grinned at her showing her the snake which caused her to back off and go pail with fright. Bast took the snake outside and let it go into the bushes before going back to make sure Sanura hadn't gotten over her scare yet so she could annoy her about it.

Sanura it seemed was trying to act like the snake hadn't been a big deal, she was sweeping as she was supposed to be but Bast could tell she was still freaked out at least a little, she snuck up on her friend and stood behind her.
"Saaaaaanuuuuuuraaaaaaaa…" Bast said in a spooky voice right in Sanura's ear making her scream and jump half a mile into the air, this simple thing lightened Bast's mood and caused her to laugh freely. Sanura spun around panting from her fright and clutching her chest.
"BA-AST!!!!" She said loudly, this and her scream had drawn the attention of the cook who came out of his kitchen to tell both girls off for messing around and yelled at them more for making him get behind in his work for the new Pharaoh's coronation feast in which the girls would be on serving duty. Both girls sighed and walked off toward their quarters to get into their 'show garb' for serving duty as they were expected in the hall very soon.

Later that night after the speeches were done and the royals were winding down from their little party Bast and Sanura had managed to sneak outside to get away from the drunken men who were constantly hitting on them, though Bast found this amusing Sanura hated it and refused to stay inside any longer. As they walked on the large balcony they heard someone coming up behind them so, typically, Sanura bolted leaving Bast to hide behind a pillar and see the young Pharaoh walk out onto the balcony and lean on the railing looking up at the sky and its sea of stars. Bast wondered what he was doing outside, he hadn't wobbled at all when he walked and he had seemed as drunk as anyone else not a few moments before.

Sanura, after bolting and leaving Bast to fend for herself, found herself in a very dark and deserted hallway, now very jumpy Sanura walked along looking about her in a paranoid way, unfortunately for Sanura this time when she thought there was someone waiting in the shadows to jump out and grab her, she was right. A figure walked out of the shadows as she past him, he crept up behind her and put a hand over her mouth so she couldn't cry out and one around her middle to stop her from getting away, this of course didn't stop Sanura from screaming, in fact it only made her scream and panic more, she began kicking out and surprisingly one of the kicks connected with a shin making her assailant grunt and taking his arm that was around her waist he grabed his knife and his her over the head with the hilt knocking Sanura out cold. She went limp in his arms and he moved backward slightly from the sudden dead weight in his arms and into a ray of moonlight which was coming through a window this would have shown Sanura just who the man who intended to kill her was, fortunately for the both of them she was dead to the world, otherwise she would have really panicked. The man who had attacked Sanura was non-other than the Thief King Bakura, he was instantly recognizable by his white hair and a scar on his right cheek, he watched her for a moment before smirking unpleasantly, obviously not intending to kill her there and then as he threw her over his shoulder and withdrew from the palace grounds, content to wait for a better time to attack the new Pharaoh.

While this was going on Bast was still hidden behind the pillar watching the Pharaoh as he watched the sky, she couldn't help but feel that he was doing something else entirely, she just wasn't sure what.
"So, are you going to stay behind that pillar or are you going to come out and explain to me why you are spying on me?" He said suddenly, his deep voice making Bast blush for the first time in a long time. She stepped out into the moonlight and bowed deeply to him to show her respect, which he had not yet earned in her books but as it was expected and she didn't feel like spending the rest of the night in the dungeon or worse, she did. She kept her eyes to the ground as she was a servant that was also expected of her, though she didn't agree with it, but again, she didn't want to go to the dungeon.
"I apologise my Pharaoh, myself and my friend were out here moments before you yourself came out to escape the drunkenness of your highly esteemed comrades, she panicked when we heard footsteps and as she doesn't handle being hit on all that well she ran off leaving me with nothing to do but hide my presence from whomever was coming." She said eloquently and as politely as possible as she remained still and kept her eyes lowered waiting for his response. Bast didn't have to wait long, the Pharaoh chuckled slightly confusing Bast, she didn't think she'd said anything amusing at all, a small bubble of anger formed in Bast's middle, she didn't want to unleash it on the Pharaoh and get in trouble for yelling at him but if he kept up laughing at her then she would end up doing so.

"I also apologise, it wasn't my intention to scare anyone, as you said, I needed to get away from my 'esteemed comrades', they were getting a little too rambunctious for my taste." He said kindly but Bast didn't buy it, why would he be nice to a servant? The only answer she had was that he wanted something from her and she wasn't in the mood for dealing with spoiled palace brats like him.
"I see, well, if you'll excuse me your highness, I should be going to find my friend." She said curtly straightening up but keeping her eyes lowered she began to back away from him until;
"I don't believe I gave you leave to depart." He said sharply and Bast cursed herself for not waiting and that little bubble of anger grew that little bit bigger. She bowed again, not as low this time though, the little to no respect she'd had for him had vanished completely.
"Well…my Pharaoh…I would rather like to leave IF its ok with you…" She said through clenched teeth, he was getting on her nerves and she didn't even know what he looked like properly. The Pharaoh was silent for a moment but Bast heard him very softly sigh, she had an urge to look up but refrained, he was still the Pharaoh.
"I see….you don't like me very much do you?" He said surprising her and it didn't stop there either, "Please, speak plainly, I want to know what you really think of me…" He added, this, of all he had said made Bast laugh, it wasn't a pleasant one either, it was the laugh of the thing inside her and her anger combined. She took a moment to contain the thing, as she straightened up looking him right in the eye, though, when she did, the thing seemed to growl but become dormant almost as if it were submitting to him.

Bast had to admit that the Pharaoh wasn't all that bad looking, he was quite handsome really, of course, she would never admit that outright. His eyes were an amazing shade of violet and his hair was, unusual to say the least. This though, did not stop her anger, it fuelled it even more, now she thought he was a pretty boy who thought he could get any girl he wanted to.
"Well…your HIGHNESS…." She started and he smiled for some reason which infuriated her more, "I think….that you are….a stuck up palace brat pretty boy who thinks that anything and everything is going to be handed to you on a silver platter! You're an egotistical MORON and I do NOT think you are capable of running a kingdom!!! Not only that….but you wouldn't last a DAY in the real Egypt which is FAR harsher than your stupid palace life could ever be. The people only think you'll be a good king because of you father and they don't know you!" She said fuming but feeling much better after getting her feelings off her chest for once. The Pharaoh's smile had become a sad one sometime during her little speech and Bast didn't understand why he wasn't calling for his guards yet as she pondered this he turned back to the stars.
"Father…I think I may have met someone tonight who is going to help me become a great Pharaoh as you and your forefathers were…" He said smiling up at the diamond filled sky, Bast blinked in confusion, he seemed happy that she had just yelled at him, called him a number of names that would normally find her in the dungeon. And what in the name of Ra was he talking about?