Chapter 7- A Bodyguard?
The throne room was silent at the statement that was made by the raider.
Then, Aknankanon turned to Lydia, his eyes burning with rage. "You hired these raiders to kill my sons!" Aknankanon shouted.
Lydia backed up, fear in her eyes. "No. He's lying. I d-didn't do that. I had n-no reason to." Lydia stammered.
It was obvious to everyone that she was lying to them.
Moran walked to his daughter. "You are lying, Lydia. I can tell when you are lying, and you are. You did hire these raiders to kill the Princes." Moran said.
Lydia backed away, feeling even more fear. "Father, I can explain." Lydia said.
"No, Lydia. You can't. No explanation will be sufficient enough to explain why you hired these raiders to kill the Princes." Moran said.
Yami glanced over at Atemu. 'For four years, she has tried to seduce him, and I have always interfered, and he had never responded to her advances.' Yami thought. Then it hit him. That was the reason that she wanted them both dead. "That's why." Yami said.
Hearing Yami, all eyes turned to him.
"What did you say, Yami?" Aknankanon asked.
"Father, I think I know why she hired these raiders." Yami said.
"You do?" Seth asked.
"Yes. I'm pretty sure I do." Yami replied, seeing Lydia's fear increase even more.
"Then what is it?" Aknankanon asked. He wanted to know why Lydia had tried to kill both his sons.
"For the past four years, King Moran has been bringing his daughter here when you discuss your trade agreements. The Princess has tried to seduce Atemu for the past four years, but he never responded to her advanced. Since I knew that Atemu didn't like her in that way and was upset by her constant advances, I would come and get him away from her. I think she wanted Atemu dead because she couldn't have him, and she wanted to kill me because I kept her away from Atemu a good bit." Yami said, never taking his eyes off of Lydia as he spoke.
Moran and Aknankanon could both see the fear in her eyes and knew that everything Yami had said was true.
"That is why. You tried to have my sons killed because you could not have Atemu and because Yami stopped you." Aknankanon said.
"You have done some despicable things in the past, Lydia, but nothing as bad as this. You have brought shame to our kingdom." Moran said. He turned to Aknankanon and said, "I am sorry for what my daughter has done, Aknankanon. I never knew that she did this. Any punishment that you see fit will be done."
"You can't do that!" Lydia screamed.
"Silence!" Moran shouted.
Lydia instantly shut her mouth, knowing that she was in trouble.
"You have no right to say that he can't. This is his kingdom, and Aknankanon has the right to do what ever he wants. You have committed high treason against Egypt, and that is something that no king will let go unpunished." Moran said.
"For now, I want her out of my kingdom. You, Lydia, are forever banished from Egypt for high treason, and if you ever return to Egypt, then you will be killed. This is your only chance to leave unharmed." Aknankanon said.
"I understand, Aknankanon. It will be as you have said." Moran said. He grabbed Lydia by the arm and practically dragged her out of the throne room.
"Karim. Eternias." Aknankanon said.
"Yes." Karim and Eternias said, stepping forward.
"I want you both to see to it that she is gone. If she leaves her room, I want you to follow her. She is not to roam the palace." Aknankanon said.
"Yes, my Pharaoh." the two said before leaving.
Atemu shook his head. "I can't believe that Lydia would do something like this just because she is angry that her seduction attempts didn't work." Atemu said.
"Yami, you were going to be in trouble for how you spoke to her earlier today, but al things considered, I'm not going to do anything." Aknankanon said.
"I thought that she's go complaining to you or her father." Yami said.
Aknankanon looked at the guards who had the raiders and said, "Take them to the palace. They are under arrest for breaking into the palace and trying to kill the Princes."
The guards bowed before forcing the guards out of the throne room.
"Are you going to have anything else done to her?' Shimon asked.
"I don't know yet. I most likely will, though." Aknankanon replied.
"We might need to go to the healing chambers and make sure that Heba is all right." Seth said, remembering that Heba had been injured fighting the raiders.
"Yes. We do." Aknankanon said. He left the throne room with everyone else following.
After Benshin had gotten Heba to the healing chambers, Isis practically threw Benshin out of the chamber so that she could help Heba. Isis had to wash the gold pain off of Heba before she could do anything, but once she did, she found that the injuries were not as severe as they seemed.
"I think that you were just cut with the swords. The cuts are not very deep, so you should be fine, though those injures will need to be watched for a few weeks so that we can make sure they don't get infected." Isis said.
"Yes, Priestess." Heba said.
Isis went to her medicines and picked up a vial and several clothes. Isis poured the liquid on a cloth and pressed it to Heba's wound.
Heba winced at the pain, but made no noise.
"I know that it stings, but it will help prevent infection." Isis said.
Heba nodded.
Isis repeated the process with Heba's shoulder injury. Once she was done, Isis wrapped the injuries with bandages. "You should be fine." Isis said.
'Thank you, Priestess." Heba said.
"Heba." Isis said.
"Yes." Heba replied.
"You may call me Isis. I would prefer it in fact." Isis said.
"If that is what you would prefer." Heba said.
"It is." Isis replied. She called Benshin back into the room.
Benshin went over to his friend and said, "Heba, are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be okay. The cuts weren't that deep." Heba said.
"Are you sure?" Benshin asked.
"I saw that myself. He should be fine." Isis said. She handed Heba a bottle of the same liquid and some bandages. "Change the bandages in the morning and at night. Put this on the injuries before you put the bandages on." Isis told him.
Heba nodded, taking the items.
"Do you have someone who could help you?" Isis asked.
"I will." Benshin said.
"Very well." Isis agreed.
"Isis, may I go back to my chambers now?" Heba asked.
"Yes, but I don't want you do anything strenuous for at least a week. That means no fights and no training." Isis said.
"I won't." Heba said. Heba stood up, and he and Benshin left the chambers.
Isis washed her hands in a bowl of water and was drying them off when the door to the healing chambers was opened. Isis looked to see Aknankanon, Atemu, Yami, Seth, Mahado, Shada, and Shimon in the room.
"My Pharaoh." Isis said.
"Isis, where is Heba?" Aknankanon asked.
"I sent him back to his room." Isis said.
"Is he well enough?" Yami asked.
"Yes. Thankfully, the injuries were not as bad as they seemed. He was cut, but neither cut was deep enough to cause him any harm." Isis said.
"So, he will be fine?' Atemu asked.
"Yes. Pharaoh." Isis said.
"Yes." Aknankanon replied.
"Heba shouldn't do anything strenuous for at least a week, so I need to request that he not be in any performance fights for at lest a week. Longer would be better." Isis explained.
"Of course, Isis." Aknankanon said. He didn't want to do anything that might endanger Heba's health.
Atemu and Yami were lounging around Atemu's room.
"I must say that Heba's quite the fighter. He beat Benshin, which is something that has never happened." Yami said.
"That, and he saved both of our asses." Atemu said.
"Yeah. You and I owe him a big thanks." Yami said.
There was a knock on the door.
"Enter." Atemu called.
Seth strode into the room. "Am I interrupting?" Seth asked.
"No. We were just talking about what an incredible fighter Heba is, and that we both owe him our lives." Yami said.
"Well, how would you two like to hear a little palace gossip?" Seth asked.
"No thanks." Atemu said, looking at the book.
"It's about Lydia." Seth said.
Atemu threw the book aside and said, "Go on."
Seth smirked. "I thought you'd like to know that she's gone and never coming back." Seth said.
"Good. I never want to see her another day of my life." Atemu said.
"I heard about what you said to Lydia, Yami. I'm glad that someone finally told her what she was, and that no one was blind to the fact that she sleeps around." Seth said.
"I felt good saying it. I thought I would get in trouble for it." Yami said.
"After the fact that she tried to have you killed, I don't think that anyone would want something to happen to you. Besides, you wouldn't have gotten into a lot of trouble." Seth said.
"True. Anyway, Lydia was really upset that she had to leave. She claimed that she had every right to do it since you two had talked down to her." Seth said.
"Okay. I didn't, and she went to the raider a month ago." Atemu said.
"Yeah. She also said that she had the right since you wouldn't sleep with her and since Yami always interfered." Seth said.
"Father's not going to buy that." Yami said.
"I know. I heard an argument between King Moran and Lydia. It seems that he told her that she would never have the throne of Siam. I also heard that she might be disowned by the Royal family." Seth said.
"Wow. That will be a blow to her." Yami said.
"Yeah. Seems her son will be the heir now." Seth said.
"Let's hope he turns out better than his mother." Atemu said.
"Her plan would have worked had it not been for Heba." Seth said.
"We know that. We both owe Heba a great deal." Yami said.
The door opened, and Aknankanon walked in.
"Father." Atemu acknowledged.
"Seth, I would like to speak with Atemu and Yami alone." Aknankanon said.
"Yes, Pharaoh." Seth said, bowing before he left the room.
"Father, is something wrong?" Yami asked.
"Well, since Seth is here, I assume that you know Moran has left with his daughter." Aknankanon said.
"Yes. We also know that she has been disinherited." Yami said.
"Yes. That is not what I wanted to talk to you about." Aknankanon said.
"Father, is something wrong?" Atemu asked.
"After this that happened today, I think that you two could use a personal bodyguard." Aknankanon said.
"Bodyguard?!" Yami and Atemu exclaimed.
"Yes. You two could have been killed today." Aknankanon said.
"Father, that would mean that two people would be needed." Yami said.
"No. You two are together most of the day, so I think that one bodyguard would suit you." Aknankanon said.
"Father, who would you get?" Atemu asked.
"I was thinking of asking Heba." Aknankanon said.
"Heba? But he's a performance fighter." Atemu said.
"Yes, but his actions today showed that he would be willing to risk his life to save you, and those actions are enough to convince me that he would be perfect for the job." Aknankanon said.
"So, you're promoting him?" Yami asked.
"Yes. I think that you would both agree that Heba would make the perfect bodyguard." Aknankanon said. He turned and left. 'Not to mention that it will force Atemu to be near him since he's in love with Heba.' Aknankanon thought mischievously. Normally, he wouldn't interfere with his son's love life, but in this case, he was willing to make an exception.
Yami laughed. "Looks like you'll be seeing a lot more of Heba." Yami said.
Atemu flopped down on the bed and covered his head with a pillow. "Someone out there must hate me." Atemu said.
Yami just laughed again.
The following day, Aknankanon had called Heba to the throne room.
Heba entered the throne room and approached the throne, kneeling.
"Stand." Aknankanon said.
Heba did as he was told.
"Heba, I want to thank you for saving both my sons' lives yesterday. You did have to since it was not your duty, but you did it anyway. May I ask why?" Aknankanon asked.
"I am loyal to the Crown, my Pharaoh. Any loyal Egyptian citizen would do the exact same thing" Heba answered.
"I am glad that you saved them, Heba. You are truly a hero to Egypt." Aknankanon said.
"Thank you, my Pharaoh." Heba said.
'Yeah. He's a hero all right. Without him, I'm not sure that I would have survived without his intervention.' Atemu thought. He noticed that Heba was blushing slightly at the praise he was receiving. 'He's modest, too. I think that Father is right. Heba would make an excellent bodyguard for me and Yami.' Atemu thought.
Yami was thinking about it, too. 'I never thought that I would need a bodyguard, but at least I would know that I was safe with him around.' Yami thought. He glanced at his brother quickly before looking back at Heba again. 'Of course, this will provide me with the perfect opportunity to get Atemu to admit to Heba how he feels about him. If he doesn't confess soon, it's going to drive him and me crazy.' Yami thought.
"Heba, there is something else that I would like to say to you." Aknankanon said.
"Yes, great Pharaoh." Heba said.
"In recognition of your bravery in saving the lives of my sons, I have chosen to relieve you of your duties as a performance fighter." Aknankanon said.
Heba felt a little disappointed. He loved to fight and liked to be able to do it without having to kill someone. He was also glad that he was able to do something that was pleasing to the Pharaoh.
"I have chosen to promote you to being the personal bodyguard to both of my sons." Aknankanon said.
Heba was clearly shocked.
"You will begin your duties immediately." Aknankanon said.
"Yes, my Pharaoh." Heba said.
However, Heba was in conflict with himself over this. 'Bodyguard? I failed to protect Yugi before, so how can I possibly succeed at protecting the Pharaoh's sons, the Princes of Egypt?' Heba asked himself.
Lydia's gone, and I doubt that I'll even mention her again. Heba has conflicting feelings aboutbeing a bodyguard becausehe feels that he failed Yugi.
Next chapter will have Atemu being pished to tell Heba the truth and telling him.
R&R.