Where There's a King There's Always a Queen
Ch 13: The Ninth Key
"Marry him?" Tea looked at Lieghl'ah. Lieghl'ah nodded.
"You turned him down, why?" Duke's loose hair hung around his shoulders.
"I'll tell you." Lieghl'ah said.
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He laughed as he placed one of the items in the stone. "One step closer to the ultimate goal." A shadow hand grabbed him from the stone, "What have I done to anger you?"
"Bakura, find me the ninth key, without this I cannot arise. Find the ninth key." The arm disappeared back into the stone.
"The ninth key? The seven Millennium items, the pharaoh's secret name, and… of course I have completely forgotten. I didn't need it the first time, but now… the ninth key, the Millennium Bracelet held by my dear lover, Lieghl'ah." Bakura laughed, "So she just isn't some worthless Medjia after all."
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"So you ran away from home, because your dad was forcing you to choose a husband. And you said no to Bakura because you were scared of the marriage that your older sister was stuck in would happen to you." Yugi summoned up the reasons why Lieghl'ah said no to the marriage.
"Yeah, I let my fear get the better of me. My sister was being abused and I was scared that my father would stick me with the same kind of husband. Touzoku would never treat me like that."
"Yet you said no." Tristan stated.
"I panicked; all that fear that Touzoku suppressed just all of a sudden hit me. I never meant for…for this to happen."
"Lieghl'ah, this happening because it had to, none of it is your fault." Yugi put a hand on the Medjia's shoulder. Lieghl'ah nodded. Akilah flew over head with a powerful cry, and then flew in and perched on her mistress' shoulder. Lieghl'ah smiled gently and tearfully at her.
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"Search for the Medjia, Lieghl'ah, but none of you are to touch her. Report back to me when you've located her and I'll retrieve her." Bakura gave orders to his hooded followers.
"Yes Milord." The shadow men dispersed.
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They had a new ally, Bobasa. A tall, really fat apparition that was so lively he seemed to be a wigged out version of Frosty the Snowman, a snowman that always had food on his mind. Lieghl'ah couldn't help but smile at him.
They made it to the Nile. The crystal blue water glistened under the brilliant sun's rays. The group slid down the sand dunes, "Bobasa, whatever you do, don't do a cannonball!" Joey called after the apparition.
Lieghl'ah stood by the riverbank and looked sadly into the clear water to see her reflection. She looked at the group that had migrated down the riverbank a little ways, they were trying to keep Bobasa from jumping in the water. Lieghl'ah looked back at the surface of the river, she saw her reflection and…Bakura's right beside hers, "Wait, Touzoku…?" Lieghl'ah looked at the reflection again. She gasped and turned around to see him. Zorc glared at Lieghl'ah and smacked her hard across the face. Lieghl'ah fell back to hit the back of her head on a random medium size boulder, she lied in the sand unconscious.
Yugi noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He looked and gasped at what he saw; Zorc on a horse with an unconscious Lieghl'ah in his arms. "Lieghl'ah!" Yugi yelled.
The others turned their heads when Yugi screamed Lieghl'ah's name. Joey, Tristan, Marik, and Duke ran after the thief on the horse. "Hey get back here!" Joey yelled, but he stopped when he realized that they would never be able to catch them.
"No Lieghl'ah!" Tea, Yugi, and Bobasa caught up with the guys.
"What do we do now?" Bobasa asked.
Yugi knew exactly what they had to do, "We find the pharaoh. He's the only one who can help her now."
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Lieghl'ah moaned as she opened her eyes to be greeted by an aching head, she found herself on a horse in the arms of no other than Zorc himself. She looked ahead to see that they were on the cliff above Kul Elna. Lieghl'ah shuddered a little, "This place gives me the creeps just like it did the first time."
~FlashBack~
It had been a week since Touzoku and I raided Karnack. One night I had woken up from a deep dreamless sleep. I rolled over to notice that something was missing. Touzoku wasn't lying in the bed beside me like he was when I went to bed. I slipped out of the silk sheets and walked through corridors of the hideout. I found Touzoku outside alone under the bright moon. "Babe?" I walked up to him, "Whatcha doing out here by yourself?"
"I was just thinking that's all." Touzoku replied as I stood beside him and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "I'm going to go for a ride in the morning; I wanted you to come with me."
"Sure, I'll go." I smiled at him, "Come to bed?" I took Touzoku's hand.
"Sure." Touzoku followed me back to our chambers.
~The Next Morning~
We got up before sunrise. We let Steryu know that we were going for a ride and then we left on Touzoku's horse. The sun was at its highest point when we reached wherever Touzoku was taking us. He stopped the horse on a cliff that overlooked an abandoned village. "What is this place?" I sat in front of Touzoku in the saddle.
"Kul Elna, my home." Touzoku said as the horse pulled against the straps with a nicker. Touzoku clicked his tongue and the horse took us into the village with a gentle gallop. Touzoku stopped the horse, he got down, he helped me down by holding my waist. "You must never come here without me, understand?"
"Yes, I understand." I froze when eerie ghosts hovered over to us. They looked at Touzoku and they just floated away.
"They won't harm you as long as you're with me." Touzoku stated taking my hand and he led me deeper into the village.
"Why are we here?" I asked as another spirit passed us.
"I wanted you to see what happened." Touzoku said. I nodded and drew closer to him as uneasiness flooded over me. Touzoku looked at me as I latched onto his arm, "It's okay, Lieghl'ah. You're safe with me."
~End FlashBack~
"You're safe with me…" Lieghl'ah whispered to herself. The horse took them into Kul Elna.
Bakura got down and he saw Lieghl'ah looking at him, "Ah, you're awake." He sneered.
"Why did you bring me here?" Lieghl'ah wondered with a sore throat.
Bakura pulled her down off the horse by the rope that was tied around her wrists, "I need you to awaken Zorc."
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He tied the ropes around her wrists tightly; she was tied to one of the slim pillars in the chamber with the Millennium Stone. Lieghl'ah watched the spirits hover around her like a hunger jackal around its prey. Lieghl'ah hissed when Bakura finished tying the rope with a tight knot.
"I don't think you realize just how much you depend on me… you owe me."
"I depend on Touzoku, not you, you monster."
Bakura smirked at her, he caressed her cheek. Lieghl'ah glared at him, "I'm your Touzoku now; the old Touzoku is long gone."
To Be Continued…