Chapter 28- Answers
Yami ran into the healing chambers and shouted, "Isis!"
Isis came running out of her office and said, "What is it?"
"Isis, he was attacked in our chambers, and I don't know if he's all right. He's been unconscious since we got in there." Yami said quickly.
"Put him down." Isis said.
Yami put Yugi on one of the beds before Isis kicked them all out of the room.
Yami covered his mouth with his hand, worried that he was about to lose everything.
Amara put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Don't worry, Yami. Yugi is in the best hands possible, and I know that he will be all right." Amara said.
"I hope that you're right, Mother." Yami said, fighting the tears that he felt coming.
Heba pulled Atemu aside. "I don't think that the last assassination attempt was the last of it. This is the second time that Yugi was targeted." Heba said.
"I agree. Yugi's the target." Atemu said.
"Look. I need to tell my parents about this one." Heba said.
"You didn't tell them about the last attempt on Yugi?" Atemu asked.
"No because they would have overreacted, and Yugi didn't want to. This time around, we are telling them." Heba said.
Atemu nodded. "I agree. Maybe they can help us find out who is after Yugi and why." Atemu said.
Aknankanon was with the council and the other priests in the throne room.
"Pharaoh, may I ask why the Queen and the three Princes are not present?" Sereth asked.
"My wife said that there was something that she needed to check into, and I knew that she was telling the truth. She asked that Atemu, Heba, and Yami help her, and I told her to go ahead. I knew that we could handle everything without their presence." Aknankanon said.
"Well, there is not much left on the agenda as it is." Karim said.
Suddenly, the throne room doors were thrown open, and the two guards ran in.
"Benak! Minha! What is the meaning of this?!" Aknankanon demanded. Angry that one of the meetings had been interrupted.
"Forgive us, my king, but there was another assassination attempt on Prince Yugi." Benak said.
"WHAT?!" Aknankanon shouted.
"We are unsure if Prince Yugi was all right. He is in the healing room." Minha added.
Aknankanon was out of the room with the priests and council behind him, and the two guards went with him.
"What about the assassin? Was he caught?" Aknankanon asked.
"Prince Heba defeated him in a fight, and the assassin was knocked unconscious. We chained him up in the dungeons as we were ordered to do by Prince Atemu." Minha said.
"I want you both to go back to the dungeons and guard that prisoner personally. I don't want him getting away." Aknankanon ordered.
"Yes, Pharaoh." the two said before heading back to the dungeons.
When Aknankanon arrived at the healing chambers, he found Yami, Atemu, Heba, and Amara outside. "What happened?" Aknankanon asked.
"All we know was that Yugi was attacked in our chambers. We don't know much more than that." Atemu said.
"How did someone manage to get into those chambers in the first palace?" Aknankanon demanded, angry.
"Assassin are very skillful, my king. If one was crafty enough, they fight have managed to get there without being seen." Mahado said.
"Where is that assassin?" Amara asked.
"Benak and Minha took him to the dungeons, and I have ordered them to guard him. I will deal with him later." Aknankanon said.
The group nodded.
Yami barely heard a word. He was too worried about Yugi and their baby to even concentrate on what was going on. 'Please don't let anything happen to Yugi or our baby. Please, don't let me lose them.' Yami prayed.
Isis did a thorough examination of Yugi. Using her magic, Isis found that nothing was wrong with the baby.
"Thank you, Ra, for not letting anything happen to the baby." Isis said.
Yugi suddenly groaned.
"Yugi. Yugi, are you all right?" Isis asked.
No response.
"Yugi, please. Say something!" Isis said urgently.
Yugi slowly opened his amethyst eyes and looked up at Isis. "Isis, please stop yelling. My head hurts." Yugi said.
"Oh, thank Ra!" Isis said.
"You're thinking my father for me having a terrible headache." Yugi said.
"No. Yugi, do you remember what happened?" Isis asked.
Yugi looked at her in confusion for a moment before realization dawned on him. "That assassin?! What happened?!" Yugi asked.
"I don't know what happened to the assassin, but you were brought here by Yami, Atemu, Heba, and Queen Amara." Isis said.
"Isis, is the baby all right?" Yugi asked, his hand going to his stomach.
Isis smiled reassuringly. "Yes, Yugi. The baby is just fine. So are you." Isis said.
"Isis, can you give me anything for a headache?" Yugi asked.
"I believe so. One moment." Isis said. She went off and got something before she returned. She handed Yugi a vial and then a cup. "Take the potion and the water." Isis said, handing them to Yugi.
"Why do I need both?" Yugi asked.
"You don't. The potion tastes bitter, so you'll want the water after you take that." Isis said.
Yugi nodded. He took the potion and made a face at the awful taste.
Isis laughed as Yugi quickly drank the water. "I told you." Isis said.
"So, I am all right." Yugi said, just to make sure.
"Yes. The assassin must have just knocked you out, although you have quite the bruise on your cheek." Isis said.
Yugi rubbed the bruised cheek. "I thought it was hurting." Yugi said.
Isis got a wet cloth and said, "Press it against your face. It'll stop the swelling."
Yugi nodded and did what she had said, "Isis, may you should let Yami know that I'm all right. He's got to be out of his mind by now." Yugi said.
"You're right about that." Isis agreed. She went to the door and walked out.
"Isis, is he all right?" Yami immediately asked.
"He's fine, and so is the baby." Isis said, knowing what the next question was.
"Then what happened?" Atemu asked.
"He was just knocked unconscious. That's all there was to it. He has a bruise on his cheek and a headache, which I can understand. He'll be fine." Isis said, motioning for them to go in.
The group walked in where Yugi was sitting up.
Yami was instantly at his side. "Are you okay?" Yami asked.
"I'm okay. Just very tired of people trying to kill me." Yugi said.
"He's fine." Heba said.
"What happened to the assassin?" Yugi asked.
"He's in the dungeons. I'll deal with him later." Aknankanon said.
"Well, Heba kicked his ass in the room. I think that he broke his arm." Atemu said.
"I know that I did." Heba said.
Yugi frowned.
"What's wrong?" Amara asked.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think that assassin was trying to kill me because he wanted to." Yugi said.
"Why do you say that?" Seth asked.
"He didn't want to. I could sense it. Someone forced him into it. I'm just not sure what they had over him to make him do this." Yugi said.
"It doesn't change anything." Aknankanon said.
"Maybe not, but we need to find out who sent him." Yugi said.
"He's right about that." Bakura agreed.
"We will find out about that." Aknankanon said.
"Oh, Yugi. I contacted Mother and Father and told them about this." Heba said.
Yugi froze. "You didn't?" Yugi asked.
"I did." Heba said.
"What's so bad about that?" Shada asked.
Suddenly, everything started to shake.
"Oops. I believe that I forgot about Father's temper." Heba said.
"Yes, you did." Yugi said.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THE MEANING OF THIS?! WHO WOULD DARE TO TRY TO KILL MY SON?!" Ra shouted as he and Isis appeared in their human form.
Isis was instantly at her son's side and said, "Yugi, are you all right?"
"Yes, but could you possibly calm Father down?" Yugi asked, slightly worried.
"This an outrage?! I cannot believe that someone would dare do this!" Ra raged.
"Ra, calm down. Losing your temper will not help the matter." Isis said.
"Yugi, are you sure that this assassin didn't want to kill you?" Heba asked.
"How could he not want to kill him? He attacked him!" Ra shouted.
"Ra, stop it now!" Isis ordered her husband.
Isis glowered at his wife.
"I just think that someone managed to force him to do this. I don't think that he is completely innocent because he did attack me with the intent of killing me. I just think that there is more to this than we know." Yugi said.
"We do need to find out everything that we can about this." Amara agreed.
"Yugi, you wouldn't be saying this if you didn't believe, so we'll let it go. I just hope that you find out who is doing this and why." Ra said.
"Yeah. Two attempt in a week is too much." Marik said.
Yugi and Heba grimaced at that.
"Two attempts?! Why the hell didn't you tell us about the first one?!" Ra demanded.
"We didn't want to worry you, and we thought that it was just a one-time attack. We were wrong." Heba said.
"Well, let us know from now on if something happens." Isis said.
"We will, Mother." Heba said.
"All right. We will leave this to you, Pharaoh. I trust that he will be dealt with." Ra said.
"Yes. He will." Aknankanon said.
Ra and Isis vanished.
"Well, at least we got out of the unscathed." Heba said.
"We won't if we don't tell them anymore." Yugi said.
"Marik, don't you ever open your big mouth again." Heba said.
"How was I supposed to know that you didn't want them to know?" Marik asked.
"You couldn't have, but don't say anything again." Heba said.
"Father, maybe you should deal with the assassin." Atemu said.
"Agreed." Aknankanon said.
"I think that I will be there." Yugi said.
"Why?" was the collective response.
"You have an idea, don't you?" Heba asked.
"Yes, I do." Yugi said.
Marx sat in the cell. 'Damn it! I failed! My wife and daughter could be raped and murdered, and no one will care!' Marx thought desperately.
"Assassin!"
Marx looked up and saw two who he knew to be priests.
Mahado and Bakura walked into the cell.
"You'll be facing the Pharaoh for your attempt on Prince Yugi's life." Bakura said.
The chains to the wall were unbound, and Marx was led out of the cell by the guards, and they headed toward the throne room.
"I hope that Yugi is right about this guy." Bakura said.
"I am certain that he is. He wouldn't have said what he did if he didn't believe it." Mahado said.
Everyone was waiting in the throne room.
Yami was planning to stay extra close to Yugi because of what had happened before.
'I know that Yami is worried, but nothing will happen to me this time.' Yugi thought.
The throne room doors were opened, and the guards walked in, leading Marx into the with Bakura and Mahado behind them.
Bakura and Mahado joined the other priests.
"You have been charged with the attempted murder of Prince Yugi. How do you plead?" Aknankanon asked.
"I am guilty, my Pharaoh." Marx said.
This shocked the court as most would have denied it.
"Who hired you to kill him?" Aknankanon asked.
There was no response.
"Answer me! Who hired you to kill him?" Aknankanon demanded.
Still, there was no response.
'I can't tell them who hired me or my wife and daughter will die' Marx thought.
Yugi could tell that he was scared. 'Hmm. I think that I was right.' Yugi thought.
Aknankanon grew rather irritated. "Why were you hired to kill him?" Aknankanon asked.
"I-I don't know. I was not told the reason." Marx said.
Aknankanon was not getting the answers that he wanted. He turned to Yugi and nodded.
"Heba, put a silencing spell on the throne room." Yugi said.
"Why?" Heba asked.
"So that only those who are in the throne room will hear what is said. After all, there's no telling who is working for this person who hired him." Yugi said.
"Sure thing." Heba said.
Heba quickly put up the spell.
"Yugi, what is this about?" Aknankanon asked, intrigued.
"Well, one of the gifts afforded to me as a son of Ra is that I can read people's mind. Since he will not give us the answers that we want, we'll find out that way." Yugi said and walked down the steps to where the prisoner was.
Out of worry, Aknankanon motioned for Bakura, Seth, and Marik to follow as Yami followed Yugi.
"Hold him. Don't let him move." Yugi said, not wanting the prisoner to do something to him that would harm the baby.
The guards did as they were instructed and easily restrained Marx so that he could not move at all.
Yugi knelt down and placed a hand on Marx's face, easily reading his mind, despite the fact that Marx was mentally fighting him.
Yugi removed his hand and stood up with a little help from Yami.
"Well?" Aknankanon asked.
"I was right. He was forced into doing this." Yugi said.
Marx's eyes widened.
"What did you mean?" Aknankanon asked.
Yugi turned to him. "His name is Marx. He is a noble, but his wife and daughter were kidnapped and taken somewhere he didn't know of. The woman who is behind all this told him that Marx could either come here and kill me, or she would allow her men to rape his wife and daughter before they murdered them. She also said that if he told u anything, she would have the same done to them." Yugi said.
There were several gasps.
"Who is this woman?" Sereth asked.
"I do not know, Sereth. I have never seen this woman before." Yugi said.
"It still does not excuse this." Aknankanon said.
"Pharaoh, his daughter is four years old." Yugi said.
"WHAT?! This woman would allow a child to be raped?!" Aknankanon shouted.
"Yes, she would." Yugi said. He thought a moment and said, "Given what she's done, I would say that most likely these men that she hired were men who had raped before for the fun of it. From his memories, these were men who would have shown no mercy. Honestly, the child would have died from the rape, most likely. Even if she lived, they both would have been murdered." Yugi said.
"Is this true?" Aknankanon asked.
"Yes, Pharaoh." Marx said.
"Do you know the name of this woman?" Aknankanon asked.
"I know that her name is Lydia, but that is all I know. I do not know why she is doing this nor do I know why she wished for Prince Yugi's death." Marx said.
Aknankanon sighed. This did change everything.
"Marx, no one outside this room can hear you. What else do you know?" Aknankanon asked.
"There is a village that is housing her. It is close to the outskirts of the kingdom. It's close to the village of Minesh." Marx said.
Yugi and Heba both froze.
"Is the leader of this village Akerian, by any chance?" Heba asked.
"Yes. I think it is." Marx said.
"Do you know this village?" Amara asked.
"Yes. It is the village that we lived in before we came to live here. Every person in that village hated us with a passion." Heba said.
"It doesn't surprise me that they did this. They have no respect for the law." Yugi added.
"This is an outrage." Aknankanon said.
"Well, we know where to look." Yami said.
"No. If they saw a Royal guard approaching, Lydia would make a run for it." Yugi said.
"The village of Akerian. There was a little sent here from there." Sereth said.
"Why was I not given it?" Aknankanon asked.
"We were going to in the meeting until we were told of the assassination attempt and left." Sereth explained. He got the letter and handed it to Aknankanon.
Aknankanon opened it and read it.
I have the wife and daughter of the nobleman Marx. I will have them raped and murdered violently unless Prince Yugi comes to the village be used to live in. If he does not come, I will allow them to be raped and murdered. He has until the end of the next fortnight to come. If he does not, they will meet a violent end. If eh comes, he can only have commoners with him. Anyone else, and they die. Do not test me. Any Royal guard, and they will meet the gods much sooner than expected, and the four-year old girl will be the first my men have. She will be stripped of her innocence and murdered, and her mother will watch this before she herself will meet the same fate. Their fate is in Prince Yugi's hands now.
Aknankanon grew angry.
"What is it?" Amara asked.
"A threat. Either Yugi goes to his old village, or this woman will have Marx's wife and daughter raped and killed." Aknankanon said.
"Me specifically?" Yugi asked.
"Yes." Aknankanon said.
Marx had paled when he said this.
"Take Marx back to the dungeons. Isis, go and tend to his injuries." Aknankanon said.
Isis nodded and followed them out.
"Father, what will we do?" Atemu asked.
"I don't know. If she was just hiding there, we could just go in, but this woman and her daughter are also important. I cannot allow her to do just have them raped murdered. I do not know what to do." Aknankanon said.
The group fell silent as the impact of what had been going on finally hit them.
Lydia wanted Yugi dead, and this was a ploy to prey on his kind nature to lure him into a trap.
Hope that you liked it.
Next: A plan is formed.
R&R.