...........ooooooooo............
A thin layer of dust coated the golden container, collecting the many years it has been abandoned by its owner. There was a time when its contents were proudly displayed by the pharaoh, gleaming brightly against the sun-kissed abdomen of the ruler as a constant reminder of his glory and power. Now in the hands of his successor, it was kept hidden away in a permanent darkness, having seen light only twice in this other's possession: once for show during his coronation and again when the duel monsters reeked havoc upon the land.
Atemu despised it. The members of the palace were puzzled at his attitude towards his father's legacy and viewed it as a sign of disrespect to the late pharaoh's nobility. As much as they tried to persuade him, laying out all sorts of political and customary advantages in having the golden thing with him from like an extra limb, he refused to acknowledge their counsel.
It was a matter of values, something he never bothered to explain knowing they wouldn't have understood or take it as some sort of childish phobia. He'd resented the thing as a child and grew to dislike it even more as he gained a better understanding of its history and likely future. When he held the Millennium Puzzle, he didn't see a representation of the great victory his nation claimed against the 'unbeatable' foreign invaders or the powerful stronghold Egypt declared over nearly all other countries. What he saw was the bloodshed his father and the elder priests caused to make the items and the wars of greed and lust for power that shaped his upbringing. The stench of blood and the agonized cries of victims were chiseled in his mind at a young age and he grew to learn not to trust anyone. Bakura's senseless destruction was derived from their creation and he could not forget that.
Nevertheless Atemu was the only one capable of wielding the treasure and opted, with reluctance, to match Bakura item for item. Not bothering to brush off the film of dust, he lifted the lid lightly to find the puzzle as he left it years ago. The eye of Horus upon the miniature pyramid stared up at him in an almost naive way, invisible arms reaching up like a small child wanting to be carried by its parent.
'Father, you must have known I could not turn away from this forever. But it is because of this that I must use it now. Forgive me, I did not mean any disrespect.'
He felt the power of the puzzle streaming up his fingers like water as he lifted it out of its container and examined it carefully. The smooth surface was still as flawless as ever, without a single marking to indicate its age. Its weight was surprisingly light when compared to its size and each of its separate pieces fitted together so closely that the hair-thin lines were barely visible from afar. The pharaoh threaded a string of camel hide through the loop at the base, doubling the knot for security, and adjusted the cord to fit comfortably around his neck. He felt the warmth of its energy spread from within the core of his torso to each of his limbs, cooling his dread and comforting his spirits. He may have resented it, but it had remained loyal to him after all these years.
He gave himself time to get used to the weight around his neck before setting off to the lower levels of the palace in search of aid from an old friend.
...........ooooooooo............
"Use the bar to barricade the door you fools!"
"We did, but it's not going to hold for long! We need something stronger."
"Well what are you waiting for? Go find something stronger."
"We tried but found nothing, sir."
"Do I have to do everything myself?" The commanding officer marched over to the large double doors leading to the throne room and pressed his bodyweight against it, "We don't have much time, just hold yourselves against the door until we can think of an alternative."
The other soldiers followed their leader's commands and one by one lined up against the entrance, pushing with all their might to keep the intruder from entering. Small fragments of the entryway began falling on the frantic soldiers as the strong pounding of the enemy persisted from the outside.
"How could one man do all this?" One soldier grunted as he strained to keep up the defense
"I don't know but I heard he's brought a whole army with him."
"An army?" A tall, burly man snorted, "Where would he get an army? He's alone."
"How do you explain this then?"
"Obviously he's using some sort of large weapon."
"That's impossible."
"Well it's either that or....by Horus....."
"What?"
"Isn't he that man, you remember, the one that......"
They all fell silent and suddenly reeled back at a large 'bang' to the door. They gathered themselves from the fall and fearfully watched as large chunks of the doors began falling away, peppering the seemingly impenetrable barrier with enormous holes .
"All of you get up now, he's almost broken through!" The commander, who still had his weight against the entrance called desperately to his men.
They all scrambled to their feet and got back into their positions, palms against the deteriorating doorway and sweat running down their faces.
After what seemed like a futile effort to protect the palace, the leader turned to his regiment with a hasty idea, "The pharaoh will have to be notified of this, we can't let this intruder barge in unannounced. You men stay here, I won't be long."
The soldiers watched in surprise as their leader left his place and raced down one of the hallways leading towards the interior of the palace. They knew the more they had helping, the better. But they didn't dare oppose the commander's orders. All they could do was wait, either for the inevitable or for help to arrive.
The maze-like corridors were dark and empty as he urgently searched every corner for signs of his sovereign. The sun had begun to peek out from the horizon but not enough to light the ebony sky. He passed the pharaoh's chamber finding, with dejection, the door wide open and the room completely empty. Now, it was a matter of blindly covering the entire palace shouting "my pharaoh, my pharaoh" and hoping amongst all scattered people, the one he was looking for would be there.
"Ra damn it, did he run away from the place or something? Heh I wouldn't be surprised, it's impossible to find anyone in this rat hole of a palace." He spat t off to the side in irritation as he rounded a corner.
Everywhere he ran, various people emerged from their chambers throwing complaints and curses at the soldier for rousing them at such a wicked hour. He ignored some retorted back with some vile language of his own at others.
Stopping to catch his breath, he found himself in front of a narrow staircase leading down into the depths of the palace. That area was forbidden to all but the nobility but the lower class never minded since the staircase lead down to a dark and ominous place they'd rather not take the risk of exploring. Driven by desperation and fatigue, he sprinted down the steps, considering neither the rules nor the darkness within the depths.
As expected, absolutely no light reached the underground of the palace and he found himself carefully feeling his way through and stumbling every so often like a blind man. The strong stench of mold and decay wafted up his nostrils as he further ventured into the unknown and he began to regret his decision to go down in the first place. He cursed aloud when he accidentally stubbed his bare toe against a corner, rubbing it tenderly to find it had begun to bleed. It seemed impossible to find his bearings in the place since he was surrounded in every direction with inky darkness. The odour, too, was becoming unbearable. He debated with himself for awhile, finally opting to give up. He turned around and sighed in exasperation, hoping to find his way back to the surface but a whispered chanting from deeper within the darkness caught his attention.
"Maftet, Sorbet, Aten, Ra.........."
"Hmmm.....?"
"Nephtys, Anubis, Nut, Ptah.........."
He turned towards the voice and followed. The tone was too hushed and obscured for him to figure out who it belonged to but his curiosity provoked him into finding the source of the chanting.
"Hapi, guardian of the living Nile, Isis mother to our faithful earth......."
Feeling his way with one hand against a wall, he paused to find the barrier coming to an abrupt end. A doorway. Peering over the corner, he noticed a faint glow coming from a person within the room that accompanied the chanting.
"Break through to the incarcerated one, I command and bring life once again........."
"Your highness! I found you at last!"
The chanting abruptly ceased but the light remained as the pharaoh turned from the tablet to see a man running towards him, arms held high in excitement.
"Who's there?"
The soldier fell prostrate at his king's feet, panting heavily and dripping with sweat. He stayed down out of respect but also because he was very tired from the little adventure.
"My apologies for disturbing you, your highness. I am Honda, commander of the palace foot soldiers. I know I shouldn't be in this place but his highness was nowhere to be seen and this is urgent. An intruder is forcing his way into the palace!"
"An intruder?" Atemu expression fell grim, "Is it time already?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Let him in."
Honda 's head turned up sharply, "A-are you sure, your highness?"
"You are questioning me." That was more of a statement than a question.
"N-no, I wouldn't dare, I-I......"
"Good, than allow him in."
Honda got to his feet and gave a curt nod before heading away, then stopped short.
"Before you leave, go to the prince's chamber. It is of utmost importance that he remains in there until I can send for him, understood?"
"Perfectly," And with that, he raced off.
Atemu sighed, turning his attention back to the tablet. "Mahaado, my loyal friend, even from the beyond you are still serving me."
Sandy eyes glowed blue in agreement.
...........ooooooooo............
The sound of rustling sheets from above rouse her from her light sleep. She covered her ears to stifle the noise, too tired to get up just yet having had a very late night the day before. The rustling got louder and an arm fell dangling over her head along. A pillow fell on her head and she was tempted to us it herself but tossed it back onto the bed instead. Groaning aloud, she threw off the thin blanket and sat up from the ground to see Yuugi tossing and turning, eyes half open.
"Yuugi," She shook the boy gently on the shoulders, "Are you alright prince?"
The little one woke up groggily from his restless sleep, rubbing the fuzziness from his eyes and yawning wide."I can't seep anymore, Anzu."
"You went to bed very late last night, are you ill?"
She placed a hand on his forehead to test for a fever but he shoved it away, annoyed and cranky. "No, I just can't seep is all."
"Why not?"
Anzu was quite cranky herself but was too concerned about the prince to let it get to her. He'd always slept like a log and woke up when the sun was high in the sky, which was a good thing since she wasn't too fond of waking up in the middle of the night to tend to his wishes.
"I dunno."
"Are you hot?"
"No."
"Ill in the stomach?"
"No."
"Plagued dream?"
"No."
"Hungry?"
"Umm.......no."
"Then go back to sleep, Ra has not yet reawakened."
"No!"
"Do you want me to give you that disgusting tonic that makes people go to sleep again?"
Yuugi made a face and shook his head.
She sighed, "Here, let me get you a drink. Maybe that'll help."
She left the chamber and quickly returned with a small bowl of warm mare's milk. Yuugi drained its contents in two gulps and handed the empty bowl back to Anzu, wiping away the white moustache.
"Okay, now back to sleep."
"I cannot"
"Please Yuugi, I'll tell you a story."
"I heard all your stories alwedy and dey're boring anyways."
"Why you little....... He is becoming a spoiled brat."
"What about a song?"
"Dose are for girls."
"Gods I'm tired"
"I promise to give you extra figs in the morning."
"Okay, den I'll wait."
"Now what?"
Yuugi hopped off his bed and crawled underneath it, trailing behind him a blanket and pillow.
Anzu scratched the back of her neck in annoyance and bent down to see the prince had begun to make himself a nest amongst the dusty darkness, "Yuugi, what are you doing?"
"I'm seeping down here."
"No you're not."
"Why?"
"Because there are rats and snakes that could bite you."
"No dare isn't."
"Well you can't anyways."
"Wanna come down here too? It's lots cooler."
"No, I do not."
"You seep on da ground every night."
Anzu flushed, "I know that." It was true; she just didn't like to hear about it from the toddler.
"You can seep on my bed t'night if you want."
Anzu unconsciously ran a hand over his smooth, silk sheets, "Is that why you're down there?"
"Sort of."
"Really?"
"And da bed's boring, you can have it."
"I don't think your father would like that."
"Fada's got his own bed, and it's real big too, you want dat one?"
Anzu's face went beat red, "No!"
"It's big enough for you and fada to fit."
"Yuugi!"
"What?"
"Th-that's not uh.......right."
"Yeah, s'pose so. Fada snores lots and kicks too, you prolly can't seep with dat."
Anzu swallowed hard, try (and failing) to picture the unclothed living god in all his well-toned glory in his bed.
"Sometimes he talks, real loud, you prolly can't seep with dat either."
"Ahem." She coughed.
"Somethin wong, Anzu."
"......no."
"Some of da slaves were talking about it. I heard dem." Yuugi carried on casually, scrunching up the blanket to make a ring around him.
"H-how would they know?"
"Um......dere the ones dat you call 'special slaves.'"
Anzu's mind went blank. Then a thousand images rushed in at once.
Satisfied with his nest, Yuugi turned his attention back to the flustered girl. At the moment, she couldn't be more thankful for his age. On the other hand, she couldn't wait for him to grow up, "Hey, you're not gonna leave me to be like dem are you?"
Anzu smiled gingerly, her face like an overripe tomato, "I'd never think of doing that."
Yuugi yawned loudly and snuggled up to his pillow, "k, night Anzu."
"Pleasant dreams, prince." "You little monkey." She thought,"I can't believe he's staying down there"
Anzu sighed and climbed onto Yuugi's bed, adoring the silken sheet beneath her fingers more than she should have. But before she could lie down comfortably, a sharp knock at the door jolted her upright again. Honda stood on the other side, panting heavily.
"Honda, what are you doing here?" She placed a concerned hand on his shoulder, "I just got the prince to sleep."
"Sorry Anzu, pharaoh's orders he says – hey what's wrong with your face?"
She was suddenly overwhelmed with self-consciousness and her gaze fell away from a moment." N-nothing, so why are you here."
"Pharaoh says not to let the prince leave this room until he sends for it."
"But why?"
"There are intruders in the palace, you have to be very careful."
"Intruders?" By this time Yuugi had reawakened and was crawling out from under the bed to see what was going on.
"Yes and the pharaoh's going to go handle it, make sure Yuugi stays here."
Yuugi tugged at Anzu's skirt, "Anzu, what's 'intruders'?"
She brushed him off and turned back to Honda, "Is it serious?"
"I don't know but the pharaoh looked to me like he was expecting it."
Yuugi tugged at her arm again and she flung him off a little more harshly, "Not now Yuugi." Her head whipped back to the soldier, "Expecting it?"
"Yes I saw him in a really dark room lined with countless tablets; he was chanting a kind of incantation."
Anzu remembered the tablets well, although she was young, it wasn't something easily forgotten. She didn't know very much about them, all she knew was that the situation must have been very serious for him to go down into that room.
"Oh, alright then, I'll stay here with him."
"Good," He turned to leave but halted, momentarily turning to her with a quizzical expression, "Anzu, why was he under the bed?"
"Don't ask." She signed and Honda pursed his lips before deciding not to inquire further. As soon as he was out of sight, Anzu turned her attention back to the neglected child, "Did you hear that Yuugi? We can't leave until your father lets us out. Yuugi?" The child nowhere to be found and she started to panic "Yuugi, where are you?"
"Look, he's running down the hall, after him!" A not-too-distant shout came from down the corridors.
"Oh no, Yuugi, come back, YUUGI!"