CHAPTER V: The Temple of her Memories

The Pharaoh's consciousness was flooded with visions, of loud screams, and wails. Then, a blinding light enveloped him and dispersed the images away.

When he regained his sight, he was in what seems to be a temple filled with incense. Atem walked to the direction where the offerings were. The gifts were actually placed below a familiar throne.

Wait, this used to be my throne, Atem thought to himself. It certainly was.

When he looked around, he learned that it was the throne room of his palace several millennia ago; the throne he and his father had shared. The very same room where he had ruled as pharaoh. It had lamps, torches, incense, and scrolls of prayers to adorn it, that is why he had mistaken in for a temple.

When he realized that the incense and the offerings were for him, the late pharaoh, he saw a vision of Aya from a thousand years back, walking slowly to his throne. She suddenly fell on her knees and wept in front of it. She looked like she was praying while crying to the dead.

He tried to call for Aya, but she did not seem to see him. The vision of Aya continued to weep as it gazed on the empty throne. Streams of tears flowed on her cheeks and fell on the floor. He froze at the sight.

Back in Aya's living room, Atem suddenly fell on the floor, which caused Aya and the others panic.

After a while, he sat back up slowly. The look in his eyes softened. It was Yugi's consciousness that took over the body that has just fallen.

"Yugi, you okay?!" Joey said in worry.

"Guys, Atem's soul has disappeared," he replied. "What happened, Aya?"

"Oh, Yugi-san," said Aya. She took a look at her armlet. "The Pharaoh seemed to have entered the armlet's domain. He'll be alright…"

Yugi, Tristan, Joey, and Tea let out a relieved sigh.

But Aya continued, "I think. I'm not sure."

They panicked again. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"

"I was trying to put you guys at ease," she replied with a straight face.

"That's not the face you make to comfort or joke around!"

"Yeah! And that's not the time for that!"

Aya sat up. "I'm going after him to make sure he's okay."

"Wait," Yugi interrupted. "We're coming with you, Aya."

Aya nodded. Yugi, Tristan, Tea, and Joey placed their hands atop Aya's armlet.

"I need you to concentrate and give me some time to put you inside the armlet's domain," Aya said.

Atem tried to think hard as to why this vision of Aya wept on his throne. She cries as though she was in terrible pain and self-loathing. She laid prostrated before the throne as her sobbing continues.

He slowly approached Aya. As he was getting near, Aya raised her head up looked at him with her damp eyes that were still as sharp and stern as ever. They were like moistened emeralds glistening in the light which stared at him in a piercing way. He called her name softly.

Suddenly, the torches in the room blazed violently and consumed the whole room, including the Aya in front of his eyes. He screamed for her name with all of his might and tried save her, but the flames only grew stronger.

The flames have started to slowly die down, and a new vision has unveiled before him. He was now in the middle of the desert. From afar, Atem saw slaves driven to transport blocks of granite and was guarded by slave drivers who were carrying whips. They were to build a monument. Both young and old, women and children had their feet shackled and were carrying supplies for the construction.

A small girl with golden locks of curly hair and large but sharp turquoise eyes was carrying a bundle of straws. It was Aya who was nine years old at that time. With her was her mother who was pulling a cart loaded with blocks of granite together with other slaves. Even though she was young and puny, she already has shackles that bound her tiny feet. She was dusty and was wearing ragged clothes. She continued to tread barefoot while enduring the scorching sun above and the hot sand below. The sound of her metal shackles tolled in every step.

She was a slave? Atem said to himself and continued to observe the vision gloomily.

When they reached the construction site, they were allowed to no rest and was directed immediately to the inside of the monument, where the materials will be used.

At the entrance halls, young Aya stopped walking and paused for a bit to gaze at the hieroglyphs decorated on the walls. The guard was annoyed at Aya's halting and whipped her. She immediately ran back to her mother's side.

Atem would have wanted to run to the little Aya and block the whip that was about to her, but he was left with no choice but to watch further.

"Aya, please do not stop unexpectedly. I do not want you to be whipped," her mother reprimanded while still tugging the cart rope.

"Mother, I think I've improved in reading hieroglyphs!" Aya whispered to her mother in a happy voice despite being lashed a while back. "Please teach me to read again tonight."

"Alright, Aya. As long as you are a good child and when everyone is already fast asleep. We agreed not to let anyone know about what we know, right?" her mother said with sigh, followed by a smile despite the exhaustion. Little Aya nodded happily.

Atem's vision of Aya was once again consumed by fire. After the flames have died down, a new vision was before him.

With ragged clothes and their chains still clasped on their feet, Aya, who is 13 years old at that time, and her mother were summoned to the palace and in front of the very Pharaoh's throne. They bowed with their heads on the floor for being in the presence of Atem's late father, King Akhenamkhanen. They were brought there by Akhenaden, who was then known as a philosopher and the Pharaoh's brother.

Her mother did not dare to take even a peek of the Pharaoh's face while Aya took occasional secret glimpses of the person sitting on the throne and the chamber that is surrounded by guards and attending maids. Everything looked sparkly and attractive to the awestruck child.

"Pharaoh, these two are descendants of the first alchemists of the Nile who founded the art in Egypt. Their clan has guarded the Millennium Spell Book, the book that legend says to hold the scriptures for immeasurable power that pars with the gods. This may be the answer to our struggle to drive away the enemies who want to conquer Egypt and finally, attain peace in this Country.

Descendants of alchemists? Atem murmured to himself as he continued to observe the vision.

"Unfortunately, they are the last of their line, my king," Akhenaden continued. "Their clan was ambushed by an enemy state, which lead these two to be captured and sold as slaves."

The king opened his mouth. "Woman, what is your name?"

"I am Khaira, o great Pharaoh," Aya's mother replied, her head still pressed hardly on the incensed carpets. "On my left is my child, Aya. We are but mere slaves, my king. Please show us mercy."

When her mother called her name, she immediately raised her head. But seeing the king looking sternly at them, she bowed down again in fright.

"It certainly is depressing to know that someone from a line of esteemed scholars such as yourselves have fallen to the ranks of slaves," the Pharaoh continued. "So where is this book now, Khaira?"

"Forgive my impudence, my Pharaoh, but the location of the book is a clan secret I cannot easily hand over to you, even at the cost of my life," Khaira replied with complete humility. "Disasters may follow once it falls in the hands of those whose intentions are evil."

Khaira's sweat was dripping in fear of the king's wrath for her insolence. Aya noticed that her mother was also trembling in fear. The Pharaoh though deeply.

He gave his reply. "Khaira, Aya, please raise your heads."

Khaira was astonished at the king's command, yet still obeyed. The king then ordered his soldiers to destroy the chains in the mother and child's feet.

"Starting today, I have released you from your slavery. You are now free people," the king said. "With this, I'm going to bargain with you, not as a king, but as someone who wants to protect his country and its people. I am willing to give to you and your daughter up to half of my possessions for the sake of Egypt."

The king's word's pulled a heartstring within Khaira and Aya.

"I promise to raise you and your daughter to the ranks of the bureaucrats of this country. You will have a voice in the decisions regarding the matters concerning Egypt. You and your daughter will acquire power almost equal to that of the pharaoh."

Everyone in the room were surprised of the king's offer, including Akhnaden. But if it would lead to the attainment of infinite power, this is a small price to pay, Akhnaden thought to console himself.

"Also, I will protect you and your daughter by keeping you near the throne, Kaira. Aya will receive the protection and provision she will need for the rest of her life. She will surely live here in my courts."

"If you require more, say it and it shall be given to you, Khaira," the king continued. "This is all for the Millennium Spell Book and for the sake of the land."

Khaira saw no impure intention in the king as she thought silently. She then turned to Aya. Her precious daughter was wearing a small dress made of tattered rags. She had bruises on her face and several cuts in her fingers and soles from the slavery she had to endure since childhood. Her golden hair, similar to her mother, was ironic with the whiplash marks on her arms and legs.

She wished for a better life for Aya, and so, she accepted the king's terms.

The mother and child were then given a grand home near the Nile River with two servants. Aya was fed, clothed, educated, and pampered. Khaira had become an official of Egypt and have also enhanced the practice of magic and alchemy in Egypt.

After two moons, a company was sent headed by Akhnaden and Khaira to retrieve the Millennium Spell Book. They headed to a secret underground tunnel in the middle of the desert, a location passed on by Khaira's ancestors. After excavating for a five months, under hard and deep bedrocks, the Millennium Tome was finally unearthed deep underground.

When the book was delivered to the palace, it was discovered that the contents were written in a forgotten language that even Khaira found difficult to interpret. This had brought dismay to the courts.

"My king," said Khaira, now standing in the throne with clothes and ornaments fit for an official. "As long as you will hold on to the promise you have for my daughter, I will not limit my assistance to your throne to merely leading you to where the book is. I will train scholars to decipher the text, until you realize the power you desire."

Atem's vision now shifted to Aya's new home. Aya was tended by the two maids while her mother was away. Her hair is combed by them and her meals, clothes, and ornaments were also prepared for her. She never went hungry or tired again.

However, she felt uneasy with her new life. She was no longer taught by her mother but by a strict teacher from the palace in her home. Whenever she commits a mistake in her studies, she always gets her hand whacked by the visiting teacher.

She had not been allowed to play nor swim and enjoy the river but only bathe, so she ran and hid from her servants. While watching for a chance to escape, she heard them complaining.

"That child is a pain. We're forced to serve someone who came from a rank lower than us. She doesn't realize that she's just a slave who was favored by the Pharaoh because of chance. She dares to run off from us."

Aya was deeply hurt by this. Finding a chance to escape, she ran off to a riverside of the Nile where she would not be found and where she can freely bathe and play.

Before dipping into the cold water, she took off her sandals, ornaments, and clothes, considering that it would be a waste to have them ruined in the water.

She then waded and played there to her hearts content.

From a distance, she did not know that a boy who is around her age was watching her behind a coconut tree.

[To be continued]