Author's Notes: Hey everyone, I am so sorry to anyone who thinks that this story is anything but M rated. Please DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH M RATED MATERIAL! This is the chapter that truly begins the more violent and difficult themes that I will be exploring in this story. I'm warning you now, things will just continue to get crazier from here on out. Okay?

Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I am very sorry that this is a shorter chapter but I need to leave off where I did for a reason. Also, I am also sorry to my poor Amunet, who I realized you could play a drinking game every time she passes out. You would be very sloshed if you did drink every time she passes out in this story, ha. I'm just gonna say women in the South would pass out a great deal because of their corsets coupled with the heat, Amunet has to deal with a bunch of crazy men AND the heat AND the fact that she doesn't sleep well so she kinda needs micro-naps. I guess. Ha.

I hope everyone is enjoying the story, and I'm always open for suggestions or pitches or whathaveyou. Ha

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"Akefia!" her cries burned out of her throat and into the waves of heat that rose from the ground. His name had been issued from her mouth without her even realizing it, as she prayed to the Gods that he would come back for her. The whip came down on her naked back once more and the smell of copper hit her nose more sharply this time. That was number ten. Amunet tried to breath but expanding her lungs only seemed to stretch the raw wounds on her back, the blood from which was now dripping down her hips and legs. Her knees dug into the rocky ground while her arms burned from being held up by a single rope that they had tied to a post above her.

There was a lull for a brief moment until she felt a hand roughly yank her chin up. As the sun blared in her eyes, she made out the figure above her with his star shaped hair, fitting him like a demonic crown. He gripped her chin harder before speaking, "Now this can all end, if you just tell me, where is he?"

Amunet could barely concentrate on anything but the pain as she thought about ratting out the Thief King. However, despite everything that had transpired between Amunet and Akefia, she felt no inclination towards betraying the man who had fed her first decent meal in a great while, as well as having saved her from certain death. Especially giving him up to the man that now glowered down at her, the Pharaoh. He who stood for everything injust or despicable about their lives, the man who inherited the precious Millennium Items given to him by his father, who had forged them from the blood of their former village while they were still children. Amunet had been tortured before, and even though her body screamed in agony, she let the smallest smile escape from her lips.

"Where is he, girl?" the Pharaoh repeated.

"You had better just kill me now, cause you aren't going to get anywhere," Amunet said, lifting her head up more as she spoke.

The King crouched down beside her, keeping his hand clutching her jaw in another way to physically dominate her.

"Come on," he scoffed. "Don't be so illogical, girl. I wont kill you as long as you are of some use to me," he smirked.

"Once we're done here we will make our way back to the palace, where you will be greeting me from your new home. Do you want to know where that is, hm?" he asked in a tone that made Amunet wish she was tied up in front of anyone else but him.

"You'll be chained to my bed my lovely little flower, and then we can see how long it will take before you finally do break," he said, his eyes narrowing as he looked into her face. At his final word, he licked his lips and moved his hand from her face brushing down to her bare chest, at which she shuddered involuntarily. Amunet had attempted to be strong and not flinch under his attempts to scare her, but it was proving more difficult with the prospect that somehow Marik and Akefia had either left her on purpose or simply couldn't find her.

"What do you say my little desert flower? I wont have to hurt you anymore if you just tell me where he is," he asked as his hands wandered to the sides of her breasts.

Without even considering his offer, Amunet spit in his face.

"I'd rather die or be tortured than betray MY King," she spoke angrily.

The Pharaoh smirked as he stood up, wiping his face as he did so. Once he was finished, the same hand that he used to remove Amunet's spit, pulled back before striking her so hard that her entire body pulled on the rope, ripping her slightly healed wrists open again. Her eyes watered as the pain hit her, but she was determined to glare back up at him.

"You must enjoy the consequences of being a defiant little bitch, since there is nothing but pain that awaits you."

With that, he walked away swiftly, yelling out,

"Continue until I say otherwise. Disobedience to the King shall not be tolerated in my kingdom,"

Amunet heard the sound of the air being sliced behind her before the smell of blood wafted again into her nose. As it came down again, Amunet noticed the blood splatter she was creating in front of her. She could just barely make out the curves of her body in the spots of blood that formed on the ground.

How did that blood manage to get over here? It's like tracing lines in the stars.. she mused for a split second before another cracking of the whip came down on her. She was beginning to become delirious with the amount of pain she was incapable of running away from. It screamed through her veins as she cried out in choked sputters.

"Akefia!" she screamed just before it came down on her once more.

Her tears flowed freely as the whip continued its assault again and again. She began to beg in between the cracks of the whip, but her voice was so weak that no one would have been able to hear her anyways. Still, she begged, no longer able to fight,

"Please, stop," she whispered.

Just as her vision began to blur and her head dropped down to her chest, she heard the whip gearing up for another strike unto her bloodied and torn flesh, when she heard something whiz by her head. The rope above her had been cut so quickly that she was suspended in place for a few seconds before beginning to fall forward with nothing holding her up anymore. Before she could even hit the ground, she felt a warm force beneath her as it hoisted her into the air. Amunet tried to open her eyes, but couldn't find the strength to do so. Instead, she heard the yell of what could have been a hundred men all beginning to fight. The clanging and bumping of swords and metal permeated her ears. She could finally will her eyes to open and noticed white silken strands over a blood red cloak.

"Akefia, " she sighed in relief.

Amunet had been placed over his shoulder, her stomach digging into his joint as he ran from her post towards the fighting of his men against the Pharaoh's. Occasionally jostling her as he fought his way though the crowd one-handedly with his sword.

Despite the noise and her body threatening to fall if not for Akefia holding her in place, careful not to touch her open flesh, she felt as if she were a baby being rocked to sleep and soon passed out.