Age of Majesty

Chapter 11

They allowed him to sit by Adjo's side, but Bakura could not help but feel a sense of doom hanging over his head. He said nothing other than to ask what had happened. The priests were wise enough to tell him.

At least Adjo was fine. Bleeding through the nose, but that could mean anything. Maybe it was nothing more than just a nosebleed. He was even looking better, color returning to his cheeks. And nothing bad had happened. The Blue Eyes White Dragon had gotten there in time, and the priests had taken him out of the Shadow Realm. At least nothing had happened, really.

Except now Bakura was caught.

Well, I had it coming. Bakura thought wistfully. All those years, collecting enough wrath from both the government officials and the gods themselves. They were going to pull something like this. It was only a matter of when.

Well, his fellow priests found Seto now. They rescued him, in fact. Bakura felt incumbent to explain things to them.

" He was attacked." Bakura broke the long silence. " He hit his head. Forgot who he was."

To their credit, the priests did not ask Bakura why he never reported this to the authorities. " Has it affected him otherwise?"

" Has all his abilities except," Bakura let that hang.

" What have you two been doing?" Isis asked.

" He was a scribe." Bakura replied. An insult to what Seto once was, but he did not cringe at it. Instead he found himself taking in the image of Seto sleeping. Adjo, eyes closed, breathing quietly, chest rising and falling. Soon he will probably be clad in better clothes than these, but there was such a feeling of innocence now. Probably, this will be the last Bakura ever saw of him. Suddenly he regretted how he turned to thievery. He wished the two of them could have been together longer.

" What were you?" Shada asked.

" His brother." Bakura muttered.

" How was his health?" Isis asked.

" Better than it ever was." Bakura replied with confidence. He continued to look at Adjo tenderly. " What happens now?"

Isis and Shada exchanged a look.

" He will be brought back to the palace." Isis replied. " We will give him treatment to help him recover his memories."

Bakura nodded. He did not ask what would happen to himself. It all seemed pretty obvious now.

Shada held his hand over Seto's face. He frowned. " I do not sense magic from him."

" What?" Isis asked.

Shada leaned close to her and whispered so Bakura could not hear. " Somehow I doubt the gods forsake him this way. Perhaps this is just an incentive for him to stop using it for a while."

Stunned, Isis stared at him. " But why not before?"

Shada stepped away from her and gazed down at Seto. Bakura looked up at them nervously.

＂Perhaps to ensure instinct does not guide him down that particular path." Shada replied.

" Can we bring him back like this?"

" At this point, perhaps it would be best."

" What about the Thief?"

Bakura closed his eyes.

" He must come as well." Shada said apologetically. " Only he can explain what happened to Seto all this time. Perhaps he would be granted some clemency."

" There is no way he would." Isis replied. "　The best he can hope for is a quick, painless death."

It would be better than I deserved, anyway, Bakura thought. He looked up at the priests.

oO

Transport through the Shadow Realm was rapid. Shada carried Seto's limp body as they emerged back in the real world. Their horses snorted in surprise.

" Did they find him?" The guards were whispering and staring at the priests, stunned. " Who is that white-haired man?"

" I will carry him." Shada told Isis. " Give him a horse," He gestured toward the thief, " But tie him to it." He said to the guards.

The soldiers, bemused, did as was asked, looking at Bakura, perplexed. Bakura looked at them steadily in the eye. He felt numb in a way he never felt before, even when his heart had hardened for a necessary killing blow. A small part of him knew he should be grateful to Shada for allowing him to ride a mount, but the knowledge that he was losing Adjo steadily drowned all other feelings. He looked stiffly at Shada as the priest adjusted Seto's body to lean against his. Seto did not wake.

Bakura turned away. He felt tears threaten to well in his eyes. He could not remember ever feeling this way, and knew he must not feel it now. Perhaps, when he is alone in prison, he can give in to grief. But not in front of the soldiers.

Isis mounted as well. " Let us head back." She said. Shada gave the signal.

oO

Seto woke when they entered the gates to the palace. At first he was frightened by Shada, though upon seeing Bakura not too far away he had relaxed a little bit. Bakura was allowed to approach Shada's horse to reassure Seto, but Seto's keen eyes had caught sight of the ropes that bound Bakura to the saddle, and the reins that were tied to Isis's horse.

" What's happening Wati?" He asked, and Bakura felt his eyes looked impossibly blue." Why are your hands tied?"

Having no answer, Bakura was silent.

" It is alright, Seto." Shada told the boy. " You are in safe hands."

" I...my name's not Seto." Seto blinked. " Wati?"

Bakura looked away, unable to bear it.

" Help me." Shada ordered one of the guards, as they began to dismount. The guard caught Seto as he tried to approach the thief. Shada dismounted.

" Wati, what's going on?" Seto asked, not resisting against the guard, but glancing around nervously.

" We should take him to the healing chambers first before calling His Majesty." Isis told Shada.

" What?" Seto yanked against the guard this time. His strength had recovered somewhat and the tug made the guard stumble. " What's going on? Where are we?"

The guards were untying Bakura, who flexed his hands briefly before dismounting. Again Seto tried to approach him, and again he was restrained.

" We will have use of your key, I think." Isis said to Shada.

" Where are you taking him?" Seto cried out as the guards cuffed Bakura and began leading him away. " Wati!"

" Don't worry about me Adjo." Bakura said sadly. " Just follow them, alright?"

" Why are you cuffing him? What did he do? Wati! What are they doing?" Terror gave Seto new strength, but this time the guards were prepared.

Bakura tried to say goodbye, but the words refused to form at his lips. He turned silently away as the guards directed him to the cells.

Shada took Seto's arm. " He will be well taken care of." He promised. " Do not fear for him. Come, child. Let our healers have a look at you."

Trembling, Seto looked anxiously in the direction Bakura left.

oO

Kisara found herself in a difficult position. She wondered if she should make it known to Akenadon that his son was a Light Magician. Her duty to her fellow Light Magicians conflicted with her utter distaste for the ex-priest.

Seto, a Light Mage! She honestly did not know what to think. They all regarded Seto as the brightest individual in all the land, so it was to her pride that he was actually her kin. On the other hand, How did Akenadon sire a Light Mage?

Assuming Akenadon sired him at all.

It was impossible. Kisara would have noticed. The spells she used to find a cure for Seto would have revealed Seto's true father, even if they would not have revealed his magical character. Blood of Akenadon yielded the fate of his son, in its own manner, and the messages definitely pointed to Seto. Akenadon, fool that he was, managed to sire both a Light Mage and a genius.

The gods love irony more than even we can give them credit for. Kisara thought. All that remained was the mother. Did the mother harbor some secret?

Impossible. Kisara shook her head. No Light Mage could sleep with a shadow user and live to give birth to a child. She would have died not long after, just from the mixing of essences, before the child even began to form. And Seto can use both light and dark magic. The conflict would definitely hinder his health. Though interestingly enough, the more shadow magic Seto used the worse his illness. He would have done better to be allergic to Light.

Whichever one Seto was allergic to, his being with Bakura granted his body a reprieve it never obtained before. It also meant the next time he used shadow magic may very well be his last. Then again, if Seto never used Light Magic, perhaps that would do in his favor. Kisara looked at the doors of where she traced Seto last. The pool of shadow magic still remained on the floor, the residues sickening, like rotting corpses. From the way the furniture was displaced haphazardly, she could tell there was a struggle, and Seto had lost.

He lost because he does not have Shadow Magic. Kisara could tell. She sat down in one of the chairs, musing. So Seto does not know how to use Light Magic, and he has no access to his other shadow side. That was an interesting turn. And, as she thought about the stories in the past, there had been murmurs about his three Blue Eyes White Dragons, about how while they were extremely powerful, there was something very strange about them. They apparently, first, had some kind of conscience; on more than one occasion people had seen the dragons in the real world for no other reason than to greet the young priest. People attributed that to Seto's waning control whenever he was sick, since monsters were not allowed except on the dueling field. But even that was strange. Shadow priests were able to control monsters because the beasts had no will of their own. They fought and died for their masters. The dragons, under normal circumstances, should not have had any desire to meet their master, since they had no desires or thoughts. There was the other fact that they always appeared when Seto needed them the most, and in fact, all three of them tend to appear almost at once. The energy required for that kind of summoning would be impossible, especially since Seto usually needed them as his body began to grow weary, which suggested they had a special kind of communication with the priest. Perhaps they were not shadow either. Kisara thought.

She took out her cards and placed them on one of the tables. She wanted to know more about High Priest Seto. Born premature, his mother nearly died from blood-loss. He had been quite perfect, although very soon, with all the inner feuds, and the late Akhenamkhanen's increased need to summon Ka to the real world, Seto's health rapidly declined. Makes sense so far.

The royal family tried to save young Seto by appealing to the gods. Whatever the gods said it did not seem to satisfy High Priest Akenadon, who then, to put it nicely, placed his wife and son in Akhenamkhanen's care to search for a cure. The most patient Pharaoh in existence, Kisara mused, If he could let go of a most valuable priest from service. But then Akhenamkhanen was extremely fond of Seto as well. He was a good man, and a wise man. Though Seto's sickness was, from many perspectives, the only trait that really disqualified him from being a Pharaoh at all, Akhenamkhanen knew Seto's loyalty to him and his son, Atemu, and never doubted that Seto would only serve all the more vigorously once he was in good health.

Not to mention that bloody prophecy that spewed nonsense about the Pharaoh calming the land after being somehow inspired by his blood-cousin. Kisara mused a bit on what might happen if Seto were the Pharaoh. Perhaps, he would be smart enough not to get himself assassinated and would also be able to turn Egypt around so that Light Mages are not persecuted. Fat chance. She thought instantly. Seto would probably persecute Light Magicians anyway. He probably does not even know that he himself was one. Though, if Atemu's love for Seto is strong enough, that might happen for Seto's sake. A Light Mage in the royal family! She still could not believe it.

It all depended on how much his family loved him. If they loved the world of Shadow more than they loved Seto, telling anyone his information will definitely be the death of Seto. If they loved him more than they loved the Ka, Seto's life may be saved.

She had acted too late. If she had reached the Thief King before the priests found Seto, perhaps there would be a third option. Kisara leaned back and sighed.

There was a knock on the door. Kisara turned her head but did not say anything at first.

" Is this the house of, uh, Adjo?" She heard a man ask outside. There was an affirming sound from the neighbors, and a mention of his brother, Kamenwati.

There was another knock on the door. " Is anyone home?"

Kisara stood and headed toward the door.

" Yes?" She answered, opening the door. " Can I help you?"

" Uh…" The messenger looked at her nervously, " Is an Adjo…present?"

" No. Can I take a message?" Kisara already had an idea of what was going on.

" Well…my lord Akil sends this message to him. Please ensure he sees it as soon as possible."

" I will." Kisara replied steadily, and closed the door before the messenger could see the state of the room.

It was dark, with only a dim moonlight that was constantly covered by clouds. Kisara did not light any candles and unrolled the letter. After reading it, she looked over at her cards, still on the table. What did Akil want from Adjo?

A high priest? Kisara blinked. Mahaado…he cares enough for Seto's well-being without having any more to lose. Perhaps he would be a good ally to start with.