Mahes had been gone for a long time. Ever since Mahes had walked out the door of the abandoned building, Bakura had wondered whether he'd ever really come back. The longer Mahes was gone, the more Bakura wondered. It had never been in Bakura's nature to be a trusting person. And after what had happened to his village, he was even less inclined to trust anyone.
Bakura often thought that once Mahes was back in the palace, it wouldn't be difficult for him to slip back into the comfortable, familiar life of ease and indolency that he was used to. When you never have to worry about where your next meal is coming from, it's easy to forget about all those who do have to worry about that. Rich people managed to forget about the less fortunate all the time- Bakura's elders had taught him that much. Surrounded by luxury, Mahes would never want for anything. In that environment, it wouldn't be hard for him to push all the unpleasant things from his mind. Why would he want to think of Bakura, and his plight, and the horrible thing that had happened to his village, when he could distract himself with riches and power and living the easy life?
Luckily for Bakura, he was managing to survive on his own. It wasn't always easy, but he hadn't been lying about being a good thief. He wasn't the best- not yet- but he was certainly adept for a child of his age. He would go to the market and steal coins from the shoppers, and small items from the vendors. When he'd stolen enough coins, he would go to another market and purchase larger items that he needed. And if he had to go to bed hungry sometimes, so what? He was managing. Since Mahes had left, he'd even found a much better place to stay than the old, broken-down building where Mahes had first taken him. His new hideout was already starting to fill up with the things he'd acquired by stealing from all those people who had been born into circumstances far more fortunate than his own.
He often thought that he should just stay in his hideout, and forget about going back to the old building to check and see if Mahes had returned. There was no sane reason for the boy to return to him and choose to live the life of a vagabond and an outlaw when he could be relaxing in the safety of the palace.
Yet, still...if Mahes did return, he would be bringing valuable information with him. And Bakura needed that information. So maybe it was worth it to continue to check the abandoned building, just every once in a while. And he told himself that the reason he felt disappointed every time he walked into the building and found it empty certainly wasn't because he was lonely and longed for companionship- he just needed that information. He may have lost all his friends and family, but he knew now that he could make it on his own. He didn't need that other boy- but he did need the information that he might bring. So he waited, and hoped.
Once back in the palace, Mahes found himself in the same predicament that he'd been in when he'd first found out about the terrible plan to slaughter everyone in Bakura's village- he couldn't tell anyone what he knew, because he didn't know whom he could trust. Even asking too many questions might be dangerous- not just for him, but for anyone else who didn't know the awful secret of how the items were created. He still felt he could not burden his sister with what he'd witnessed, because he knew that she would speak out against the atrocity, and then she might incur the wrath of those who had approved of the dark spell that was used to create the Millennium items.
Since being back in the palace, Mahes learned that each member of the Pharaoh's court held a Millennium item- and that included his sister. Occasionally, the dark thought crossed his mind that maybe Isis did know about the evil spell that was used to make the items- was it possible that he didn't know his sister as well he thought he did? It seemed unlikely, and yet...he had also believed that the Pharaoh would never agree to the slaughtering an entire village. But the Pharaoh apparently had approved the entire thing. Akhenaden had said so.
Because he didn't know whom he could trust, he became withdrawn, and he rarely interacted with the others in the palace. He hadn't even spoken to his sister very much since he'd gotten back. When he first came back, Isis had greeted him with worry, wondering where he'd been. He claimed that he'd gone out riding and lost his way, and that it had taken him a while to find his way back. Isis seemed totally unsuspicious of his story- she apparently had other things to worry about at the moment. It seemed that everyone else did, as well- nobody aside from Isis had noticed his overnight absence at all.
As time went on, feelings of isolation and loneliness pressed down on Mahes. He had no idea how to go about getting the information that he needed to bring back to Bakura. He had found out that the Millennium items had been used to repel the invaders, just as Akhenaden and the Pharaoh had planned. From that, he could ascertain that the items held great power. But he had not actually been able to witness the items in use, so he still didn't really know what they did.
For a long time, he wandered around in a daze, feeling useless, confused and alone. These feelings made him wonder if he could possibly be successful in his promised task- but they also cemented his notion that he could not permanently stay in this palace, under the rule of people who had condoned the horrors that were required to create the Millennium items.
He did not sleep well. He would toss and turn, dreaming of the image of the burning village, of Bakura out there all alone, a child who had lost all he'd ever known. He dreamed of things he hadn't actually witnessed himself- babies being murdered, mothers burning alive, people screaming for help, terrified children calling for their parents. In his nightmares, charred faces stared at him with eyeless sockets, and people bathed in blood screamed at him and shambled towards him, arms outstretched, reaching for him.
One night, after waking up in a cold sweat from another nightmare, he decided he had to do something. He had been keeping his eyes and ears open for any information about the Millennium items, but this obviously hadn't been working- no one was going to divulge details about the items in front of a small boy such as himself. If he intended to become a thief alongside Bakura, then he needed to start acting like one right now. He had to do something aside from just wandering around, hoping something would fall into his lap. He needed to learn to be stealthy- to hear things he wasn't supposed to hear, and get into places where he wasn't supposed to go.
He realized that following Akhenaden would be his best bet. It was Akhenaden who had cast the dark spell, so he must have the information that Mahes needed. He knew that trying to spy on Akhenaden would be dangerous- Akhenaden had obviously proven himself to be a very dangerous person indeed. But Mahes had told Bakura that he was ready to live a life of taking risks. Now he had to prove it.
It was lucky for him that he was small and easily able to hide, and that Akhenaden had no reason to suspect any ill intent from him. Surreptitiously following Akhenaden around didn't turn out to be as hard as he'd thought it would be. However, it also didn't seem to be as useful as he'd hoped. Akhenaden didn't talk much about the Millennium items, at least not in detail. Mahes did pick up a few bits of information here and there, but it wasn't anywhere near enough.
Finally, something happened that Mahes hoped might be a breakthrough for him. He had followed Akhenaden down into a part of the palace that he'd never even known existed. He had observed him taking out a key, unlocking a door, and walking into a room. Before Akhenaden closed the door behind him, Mahes saw a little of what was inside. Many scrolls and books were piled up, along with ingredients and equipment that Mahes recognized as things that were used in the creation of spells. He assumed that, somewhere in that room, in one of the books or on one of the scrolls, was the spell used to create the Millennium items. And with any luck, detailed information about the items would be written along with the spell.
Mahes knew that it would be suicide to try to get into the room while Akhenaden was still inside, so he fled quickly back to his own bedroom. He would come back later, during the night while everyone was asleep, and search through the room. The only problem was the fact that the room was obviously kept locked- he would need to steal the key. That meant that he would need to sneak into Akhenaden's room at night, take the key, and then go back to the room with all of the spells. It would be dangerous, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He decided to carry out his plan that very night- he had already been here too long, and there was no more time to waste.
He was nervous and fidgety all day, worrying about what he was planning to do. It now occurred to him to wonder if anyone had noticed that his recent behavior was suspicious- he'd been doing a lot of sneaking around, and he'd isolated himself from contact with others in a way he never had before. Then he reasoned that it was too late to concern himself with such worries now. If all went according to plan, he'd be gone from the palace after tonight, and he wouldn't be returning.
Late that night, once Mahes was sure that everyone in the palace would be asleep, he set out for Akhenaden's room. It was lucky for him that Akhenaden did not sleep behind a locked door- apparently he believed he did not have to fear being attacked during the night. 'Why would anyone here fear anything, when they have those Millennium items to repel any of their enemies who would try to get into the palace?' Mahes thought with a hint of malice.
Mahes sneaked into Akhenaden's room and began searching for the key. Every time Akhenaden made a small noise or movement, Mahes felt his heart jump into his throat. But Akhenaden did not wake up, so Mahes continued his search, his hands shaking as he rifled through Akhenaden's possessions. Mahes had no idea where Akhenaden would keep his keys. He looked every place in the room and still found nothing. With dismay, it occurred to him that Akhenaden may keep his keys on his body at all times, even when he was asleep.
Steeling himself, he went over to the sleeping form, and began to check the pockets. He was terrified that Akhenaden would wake up- how could he possibly explain this? It was scary, and somehow disgusting, just to be near the man whom he knew had ordered the slaughter of an entire village. Filled with both fear and revulsion, he forced himself to continue looking through Akhenaden's pockets, being very careful so as to disturb him as little as possible. Finally, his fingers touched upon cold metal. He clutched the object in his hand and pulled out a set of keys. He didn't know which key was the right one, so he just took them all, and then exited the room as quickly and quietly as he could. Once as he was outside the room, he leaned against the wall, giving himself a moment to calm down. But his task was far from over, so he soon compelled himself to get moving again.
He made his way down to the room that housed the spells. He tried several keys until finally one worked, and he let himself in, closing the door behind him. There were many scrolls and books in the room, and he realized that it might take a long time to find the correct one- if it was here at all. But where else would it be? So he began his search.
After hours of searching, a book caught his eye. It was brown and aged-looking, covered with golden symbols. He went over to it and picked it up, recoiling a little at the strange, rotting smell that emanated from it. It seemed that the book was bound in cracked leather, but it wasn't like any sort of leather he'd ever touched- something about it felt wrong, and it made his skin crawl.
Cautiously, he opened the book to a random page, and read, "That is not dead which can eternal lie..." And he violently threw the book across the room in what seemed to be an irrational fit of horror and repulsion. Something told him that he would go mad if he read too much from that book.
Then he noticed that a piece of paper had fluttered out of the book when he'd thrown it. It must have been pressed between the book's pages. Though he didn't want to, he reached out and grabbed the piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read. According to what he read, it was a translation of one of the spells from that awful book, and it was the spell used to create the Millennium items. Looking over it quickly, he saw that it did indeed give information about the properties and powers of the items that it was meant to create. Luckily, reading the translation didn't give him the same feeling of impending madness that reading from the book had. But still, he didn't have time to study it in detail- he needed to return the keys to Akhenaden before he woke up. So he rolled the piece of paper into a scroll, pocketed it, and left the room, making sure to lock the door behind him. He then headed back up to the main part of the palace.
He reached Akhenaden's room and slipped inside, silently replacing the keys in the pocket where he'd found them. As he exited the room, carefully closing the door, he thanked Ra that his luck had held and that Akhenaden had not woken up at all. He realized that it would be best if he left the palace as soon as possible. He didn't want to be here when or if someone discovered that the paper he'd stolen was missing.
It was still night, but just barely- dawn would be coming soon. He knew that the guards outside the palace would find it suspicious for him to be leaving under the cover of night, so he forced himself to go back to his own room and wait until the sun came up. Once day broke, he could simply pretend that he was going outside to play.
As he sat in his room, waiting for the sun to rise, his mind turned to thoughts of all that he was giving up. He felt a stab of pain in his heart as he thought of how he'd be leaving his sister, his friends, and everyone else he'd come to know during his life in the palace. He knew that he was giving up an easy life for a life that would be difficult and dangerous. Yet his conviction did not waver- this was the right thing to do. And that wasn't the only reason he had to do it. He also had to do it for the little boy who was now all alone out there. He hoped desperately that Bakura was still alright- that he hadn't just been bragging when he'd said he was a good enough thief to survive on his own.
When the morning light finally came into the sky, he left the palace walls for the last time, got on a horse, and headed off in the direction of Kul Elna, and the abandoned building beyond where he was to meet Bakura.
When Mahes reached the building, he quickly dismounted and went inside. The building was completely empty- there was no furniture or food or clothing, or anything to suggest that anyone was living here. Had Bakura found somewhere else to stay? Or was he- but Mahes didn't want to think of that possibility. He remembered that Bakura had said that he would be out often, and that he would check back here "occasionally" to see if Mahes had returned. Mahes now wondered exactly how often Bakura had meant when he'd said "occasionally." Assuming that Bakura was still alright, Mahes hoped that Bakura had not given up on coming back here to check for his presence.
Mahes now sunk down onto the bare floor. He was incredibly tired- of course he was, since he hadn't gotten any sleep at all the night before. He was also hungry, because he hadn't eaten since dinner the previous evening. He wondered now if he should have brought some sort of food or supplies along with him. But he had been on the verge of panic and anxious to make his escape, and hadn't thought of such things. It was no use lamenting it now. It would be best just to get some rest. For the first time in his life, he laid down to go to sleep on a hard floor instead of in a soft, safe bed.
Mahes awoke to the sound of a door slamming. He opened his eyes to see Bakura standing before him with a look of surprise on his face.
"Where have you been, partner?" asked Bakura.
Partner. That's right- Mahes had kept his promise and come back, so they were partners now.
"You didn't think I'd come back, did you?" asked Mahes, who had noticed how surprised Bakura looked to see him.
"No, I didn't," said Bakura flatly. "Did you find any good information?"
Mahes confirmed that he had. He stood up pulled the scroll from his robes, then extended his hand to offer the scroll to Bakura. Bakura snatched the scroll and began to look over the it, and for a moment, his gray eyes seemed to blaze crimson. When he'd seen enough, his expression cleared, and he folded the scroll and tucked it away inside his own robes, which were as red as his eyes had been moments ago.
"Good work. This is just what I needed," said Bakura, who now appeared quite satisfied. "But what took you so long? I suppose something exciting must have happened considering you were gone all this time. Tell me the tales of your adventures."
Mahes answered Bakura's question earnestly, telling him of all that had happened to him while he was in the palace. For his part, Bakura listened with interest to Mahes's story of everything he'd done since he'd last parted from Bakura. When Mahes was through talking, Bakura informed him that he had found a good hideout and was living there now.
"Is there food there?" asked Mahes. "I'm starved!"
Bakura laughed, and for the first time since Mahes had met him, his laugh seemed to be in good humor.
"Yes, there's food," said Bakura. "Come on now. I'll take you to your new home."