oh, dear. It's been so very long :(I had some urgent things to take care of in reality, so I hope that you'll forgive me. Some of you may be glad to hear that I've recently acquired a hardworking beta reader, so my formatting skills should improve substantially.
Atemu awok soemtime later. He has been moved to a small damp cell like the one Marik had been held in. His wrists were unbonud but the marks on his skin still remainned. He whimpered in fear glancing about the darkness. Where was he?
A sudden kick to the soft flesh of his chest sent him reeling back.
"The little king awakes!" a twisted voice declared. "My master is waiting for you, sweetness."
A sound like an animal licking its lips filled the room.
"Waht...what are you doing?! Why are you doing this? Whos holds me against my will!?" Crystaline tears flowed over his face and even the shame of his nakedness failed to overcome the small and terrified king.
The little man cackled, and a hand connected with atemu's face. "Your brother, and my god's chosen avatar!" he declared. "You're to be the new vessel for our god. Tonight..."
"I dont WHAT to be a vessel, I WANT to go home!" Atemu declared, holding a hand over his bruised skin. He wipes his tears with the back of his hand and sniffled. "Please why is this so important to you? If you take me home, we can work out a solution, I can bring my brother back to the court and see that you people are properly cared for! Just take me home!" "I'm afraid that's impossible," the man said, his twisted giggling resounding in the room. "You will be the vessel of our god, or you will be made into a pleasure slave for our men. This is your decision."
The man's words brought a fresh wave of tears to Atemu. To become a vessel or a whore! What could he choose? He thought as he sobbed. If he...if he offered his body, then he would live free, and maybe he would be able to escape in time. But if he did such a dispicable act, would Seto accept him back? He was cold, scared and he longed for the warmth of a proper bath and the comfort of Seto's arms.
"And you look so sweet," the man chortled, running a figner of his tear-soaked cheek. "You will be an excellent toy for my master. He will fill you with his essence, and our god will live again."
A soft padding of feet, and Atemu was alone again, in the dark, with those cryptic words in his ears.
"LISTEN UP MEN, The young prince is missing, and its your job to find him!" Seto called, ridding back and forth across a batalion of smolders.
"The worst has happened, hasn't it?" a smooth, cold voice asked from behind Seto. Many of the soldiers gasped as Malik approached, no worse for wear after his beating.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU SCUM?" Seto yelled, his thick voice booming across the courtyard. Malik smiled and sauntered up to the the horse and found the tip of a sword stroking his thorat.
"I'm here to help you find your little sweetheart," Malik said, his expression unwavering. "Unless you want him dead, that is."
"You will LEAD me to the Pharaoh, and you will NOT make such inuations again unless you wish to be the subject of a public castration, mage!" Seto said, driving ghe point of the sword into Malik's throat and drawing a trickle of blood.
His sword flew to the side, embedding itself in a nearby tree as Malik smirked.
"And you will cool your temper, priest," he sneered, tossing a lock of hair over a browned shoulder. "Prepare me a horse, and I will lead."
"Do you take me for a fool, mage? You will be placed under lock and key so that you do not escape! You will be placed on a horse and I will have a man drive the horse for you. If you attack me or my men, I will have you tied alongside the horse." Seto threatened.
"You're awfully snide for one whose lover is in peril," Malik sneered, stepping around Seto, sizing him up. "Trusting me is your best bet."
"Watch your mouth, mage." Seto's eyes narrowed. "I trust you as far as one can trust a slimy snake such as you. If you prove yourself useful, then perhapse your traveling conditions will improve, but for now GUARDS, SEAIZE HIM!"
The guards rushed Malik, spears bristling. In a flash, they were knocked back by an unseen blast. Malik cackled, his violet eyes sparkling madly.
"Don't cross me, priest," he sneered. "I've offered you my services, and you should do your best to appreciate that kindness."
"Pft. Parlor tricks," Seto spat. He made a motion to one of his men. "Very well. You may have your horse. Though should you betray my trust, I will have you locked away - never again to feel the light of the sun!" Seto's man returned with a brilliant white horse whose reigns were quickly handed to Malik. The man darted back into the ranks, almost as if he was afriad of the blond-haired mage's overwhelming magic.
The mage spurred his horse into motion, and was off ahead of them in a split second. He turned to wave at Seto as he rushed ahead, laughing heartily.
"Follow, priest!" he called. "I can take you there right away!"
"The desert sands have addled your brains, mage!" Seto called after him. He turned to the batallion behind him. "You heard him men. Follow and don't let him escape!"
"Yes," the mage thought to himself as his horse bolted into the desert, his platinum hair fluttering in the gusting wind. "Follow, priest. If I can't persuade you, I'll trick you."
Seto followed the sorcerer closely, but protected by a line of his men on horseback, He would not be taken by surprise if the mage turned and ambushed him. They quickly left behind the walls of the palace and even the city. The current of the Nile ran strong beside them but soon the ribbon of life grew small as Malik lead then into the hills and past the camps used by thieves.
"Where are you taking us?!" He demanded firmly as a chill settled over the cold rocks that rose from the burning sands.
"To a place older than even your precious palace," Malik shouted back. His lavender eyes sparkled with eager anxiety as he spurred his horse ahead of them, into the cold night.
"The palace is as old as our people! How can you take us back before time began!?" Seto responded with great loathing.
The mage chuckled darkly and tossed his head back to stare into the stars above them. "Your concept of time is feeble and stinted, priest," he said. "You will see when we arrive. That, and so very much more."
"Hmph." Was all Seto could respond with as he rode on.
Meanwhile, far across the desert, Atemu lay prostate in his brother's dungeon. His eyes stung from the torrent of tears, and his cheeks had become streaked and filthy. He snivelled pitifully and got to his feet, searching for any means of escape.
Suddenly, the door to his cell swung open, and that man, his... his twin, stepped in. Two burly guards flanked him. Atemu shrank back against the wall and cringed. "What brings you here?!" he snapped.
"You," his brother replied coolly. He nodded emphatically to his guards. "Dress him appropriately and have him brought to the circle. Our ritual awaits."
"Ritual?" Atemu stammered as he pressed harder agaisnt the chilled stone walls of his prison. The guards advanced on him and quickly subdued him, holding his tight in their bulky arms. "Unhand me!"
The guards only laughed and carried him out following his twin. They set Atemu down in a darkened bedroom and held his quaking body against a table. He kicked futilly at them, but eventually lie still as they devested him. He had cried all his tears, now. He had to retain his dignity.
In the darkened room, he could barely tell just what they dressed his trembling form in. It didn't feel like an awful lot. One silky strip of cloth around his waist, and a cool metal choker around his neck. Several small bits of jewelry, much of it bone or gold, followed. Then the guards started to laugh.
"You should do it," one said, planted his huge hands on Atemu's shoulders and holding him in place. The other guard grinned a grin that Atemu could see glinting in the dim light, and approached the table.
Atemu tried in vain to slip away, staring up at the man in horror. "What are you doing?" he demanded, running each and every ghastly scenerio through his mind.
The man chuckled and reach out both hands, each holding something small and glinting. "Just accessorising your outfit, little love," he said.
Atemu cried out in agony as the little gold clamps closed tightly on his nipples, sending tingling pain through his entire body. The guards laughed uproriously, and released him. Atemu bolted upright, trembling even more intensely. The pain did not fade.
"Don't try and take them off," one said.
Atemu could only shudder and sneer, wishing death on them both. He was lifted from the table before he could even speak, and carried off.
Atemu was marched through a dark hallway and into a brightly lit room. Candles, floating in the air, surrounded a man cloaked in a thick black robe. Atemu was shoved roughly and he fell forward. He handed prostrate on his hands and knees. He glanced about wildly, catching glimpses of deeply-hooded figures just out of the light of the floating candles. He whimpered, his entire body wracked with fear but unable to move.
"Sssh, calm yourself little one." A nearly-white hand reached out from the figure before him. The other reached up and pulled back its hood. The crowd was silent as a clone of Atemu's own form was reveled. Atemu gasped as he looked at the other. His skin was so pale; his hair mimicked Atemu's own style but was jet black; and his eyes flashed blood red, peering down lecherously at Atemu's nearly naked form.
His brother. Atemu curled into himself and starred up at the face towering over his trembling form, drawing his slender legs up to his aching chest and sobbing.
"What do you want?" he demanded trying to remain defiant even in his bone-quaking terror.
Atemu's brother chortled and ran a hand over the jagged scar around his pale throat. "Oh, you already know, sweet one," the man purred.
The candles around Atemu suddenly burst into brilliant, blinding flame as the man who called himself his brother raised his arms to the sky and cackled maniacally. The sizzling flames illuminated hooded face crowded around the circle, all staring intently at Atemu.
"Come, servants!" Atemu's brother cried, arms spread and head thrown back in an inhuman laugh. One man came forward to hand him a glistening glass bottle, and two others grabbed Atemu's arms to hold him down.
Atemu struggled futilely under their meaty arms, tears stinging his eyes as his brother approached him with the bottle. The cork flew off in a foamy arc as he uncapped it. The heady, acrid aroma of alcohol filled the small space around them.
"No..." Atemu murmured, just as the neck of the bottle was forced into his mouth. He swallowed on impulse, gagging as the burning liquid poured down his narrow throat.
"That's it brother. Drink up." The other man practically purred against his ear. Hands brushed over Atemu's cheek, his neck, and he thrashed violently as rough fingertips closed over the clamp on his nipple. His brother pinched the clamp, causing it to bite further into Atemu's skin.
"Please...stop this," Atemu pleaded weakly, his throat stinging. "Brother, please. You don't need to do this. I can help you."
"You know nothing of my needs!" his brother bellowed, flinging the bottle to the side and causing it to shatter against the floor.
In a flurry of motion what little clothing Atemu had been wearing was shredded away. The men holding his arms released him, and he toppled to the ground. His brother was upon him immediately, raking his hands sinisterly over his body.
Atemu screamed as his skin was scratched and torn. He was flipped onto his stomach and the robed figures came forward again. Hands pinned his arms and legs to the cold stone and Atemu screamed again as two fingers were rammed into his virgin opening.
"You're so delicously soft, brother," the man purred as he forced Atemu's face into the floor.
"Please sto-" Atemu's voice trailed off into a desperate scream as he was suddenly and forcefully taken. His screechings soon devolved into soft shaky mewls as whatever had been mixed into the liquor started to work at his mind. He went still, his body jerking from time to time as powerful sensatiosn coursed through him.
"Seto..." he murmured. "Forgive me..."