The morning was again clear and the breeze was warm all over Rome. Summer was already there, bringing the extremely annoying warmth and that humidity that made everyone sweat even under their lighter clothes. Augustus Caesar was leaning on his triclinum holding a fan to make himself get cooler while a brown-skinned slave girl was waving a huge fan with feathers behind him… Caesar was drinking cold wine from his golden goblet when someone entered the room and kneeled on one knee.
"Ave imperator Caesar!" he greeted him
Caesar simply nodded his head to give him permission to speak. The man was shocked in sweat under his armor.
"Great Emperor, I bring you bad news. Riots started in Egypt and Syria and the rebels are holding out well against our troops."
"I see…" Caesar said thoughtful
"However…we cannot waste any more time there…our troops need help elsewhere…"
Caesar rubbed his chin thoughtful
"What do you suggest, Centurion? Isn't there anything else we can do?"
"Actually, Emperor, I think there is! We need some strong man to lead our troops. Someone that can make them fear and respect our might. I have been watching a certain Centurion for some time. He doesn't tire, he is stronger and faster than every other man I have ever seen…he can jump higher and his wounds heal rather fast. I had seen him getting a cut on his upper arm once. He simply bound it with a bandage and the next day I saw him without it…and his arm was healed!"
Caesar was now officially curious!
"Who is that man?"
"He doesn't say his name. He started as a slave, Centurion Aimilius brought from Zucchabar some months now. He was called by the number Slave XV however most people call him 'The Egyptian'"
"The Egyptian? Is he an Egyptian?"
"It appears so, Great King"
"Bring this man to me! Immediately! If what you said is true, I'll reward you! However if it is a lie…I'll have your head!"
The man gulped.
"I'll bring him, Great Emperor… I swear that I have spoken pure truth…"
The man called the Egyptian entered the room around an hour later. His bloody-colored eyes were as usually looking like being able to pierce someone's skin and look deep into his soul… He walked in without and word and kneeled on his one knee before the Emperor. The Emperor started looking at him from top to bottom. He was well built and tall and his unusual tri-colored spiky hair sure never passed unnoticed.
"So…you are the one that is called Egyptian…"
"Yes, sire" the man said in a deep, alluring voice
"So you came from Egypt… You left your country?"
"I did…long time ago" the man answered without giving details, "I was in a way exiled"
The emperor looked at the man in deep thought and then said:
"Are rumors about you true? Do you really have the powers I heard?"
"Yes, sire. They are all true"
"Care to explain why?"
"Things given to us by nature cannot be completely explained, Emperor. Only gods can give you all the answers"
The Emperor of Rome narrowed his eyes a little. This man had something he couldn't put his finger on it. Something royal. He was addressing him with formality but still he didn't care to give him many names. He was just calling him with the titles. He was talking with hidden pride.
"Rise!"
The man obeyed without speaking. Caesar looked at him.
"Egyptian" he said, "Are you loyal to me?"
The man raised a brow at that question
"May I ask why you ask me this question, sire?"
The emperor leaned back taking another sip from his wine.
"Things are getting bad at Egypt after the last Pharaoh's death. Even now, Egyptians do not wish to forget her. We can't spare much troops there. However where does your loyalty lay? To me or your country?" He looked at the Egyptian man, "Would you slay your own people?"
The Egyptian's eyes narrowed slightly
"Are you questioning my loyalty, sire?" he seemed insulted, "Haven't I followed your orders till now? Haven't I proved you my strength? You want me to go and fight Egyptians? Then I'll go and fight them. Egypt exiled me. Egypt is no longer my country. Those are no longer my people. Blood that is running through my veins is now nothing more but red liquid that holds me to life"
Caesar smirked.
"That was what I wanted to hear! I guess that Centurion was right about you!"
The king leaned up and looked at the man deeply in the eyes.
"I send you to lead our troops to the war against Libyans and later on, if you succeed, you will move to Syria and then wait for my orders"
The man seemed surprised.
"So you won't send me to Egypt?" he questioned and seemed a bit irritated, "You were just testing my loyalty?"
"I was testing you, that's true" the Emperor of Rome replied, "To see if rumors about you were true. It appears they are. You are great to rule and not obey some other! I need men like you"
He took another sip from his wine and then smirked playfully.
"As for your first question: You? To Egypt? No thanks. It is possible that your people will recognize you and try to kill you for whatever crime you committed there before being exiled. I cannot take that risk"
"Oh I highly doubt about someone remembering me…" the man thought
However he spoke no word. The Emperor stood up and looked at the man in front of him
"I name you General of my army" he said formally, "From this day on you will be named Aurelius Crispus Maximus"
The man with the new name now nodded his head to the ruler and said
"As you wish" he straightened himself again and said, "When am I leaving?"
"As soon as possible!"
At the battlefield the sky was dark. It was as if it was ready to rain tons of blood…even if the blood was supposed to come out of people's bodies. The troops were ready to strike… The man now named Aurelius Crispus Maximus was passing in front of everyone on a white horse. His red cape was now waving behind him matching perfectly with his golden-colored armor. The troops were looking up at him as if he was some god that came from the sky…
"When the enemy is before us!" he called in his loud and clear voice, "Remember to look him in the eyes! No one can make his eyes stronger! No one can exercise his eyes! You are the soldiers that hold the glory of Rome! You are being feared more than you are afraid of! Fight! And whoever falls here, will feel glory for all eternity!"
He raised his fist in the air and yelled:
"What we do alive, echoes to eternity!"
The air seemed to be shaking from the loud cries of triumph and enthusiasm coming from the solders' mouths and the clatter of their weapons as they raised it to the air"
As the hours passed, roman troops were at position, and Aurelius was with them. He was a General but he would fight with them! The enemies were in front of them…waiting to strike or be stroked…
"At my signal…" he mumbled, "Unleash hell!"
And the two opposing troops started to walk rhythmically… Their feet raised dust from the ground…their heavy steps were echoing throughout the entire valley…the clatter of the shields and spears was taking your hearing ability away… Suddenly the enemies kneeled and held their bows and arrows. They shot…
"DEFEEEEEEENCE!" the General screamed and all Romans fell on their knees holding up their shields forming a turtle's carapace
The countless arrows stabbed on them like a rain of steel. The General then stood up from his keeling position and with a strong move of his sword he cut the arrows from his shield with a loud battle cry…
The enemy troops were surprised to see that. Someone threw a spear and the spear got stabbed in the General's right shoulder. The General let out a loud cry of pain and the soldiers hiding under the shields gasped in horror. Such a hit could be fatal. However the General looked up with determined eyes and then he ran towards the enemies letting out a long battle cry… He cut off the head of one of them, making it be thrown elsewhere to the battlefield and his blood splash everywhere… Then with yet another battle cry, he grabbed the spear that was still in his shoulder, he pulled it out with all his strength making his own blood emerge out of his wound. Then with the same spear he stabbed the next enemy close to him.
"ATTACK!" he screamed, "ATTACK!"
The soldiers, thinking that they had a god with him and not a human, let out a battle cry as well and rushed at the battlefield as the archers (that were waiting for the signal from somewhere away) shot their flaming arrows everywhere. The enemies' bodies that were hit, caught fire and one they fell above others, the others caught fire as well and were running around screaming in pain and agony.
Meanwhile the soldiers were still attacking… Steel against steel…blood was spreading everywhere…steel against flesh and bones…blood and death. Ground stopped absorbing blood anymore. Soldiers were running on blood till their ankles. Arrows were falling… The smell of blood was blocking their noses along with the smell of burning flesh… And he was among them…fighting…and fighting…
When the battle was over, the enemies that were left ran for their lives…as Roman Empire's army was now standing over corpses…
Yami's eyes snapped open along with a gasp. It was morning… The soft daylight was entering the room from the small window. He felt a pleasant weight on his chest. He looked and smiled. It was Tea sleeping on his chest; naked like the day she was born with a smile softening her sleeping face. Yami smiled again. Not even his horrific dream was enough to ruin the beauty he was gazing at right now. Not even the throbbing headache from his hangover. So last night was true. They had indeed confessed their love to each other… He was well aware of the fact that he was naked as well and his body could still feel her warmth…her hands. He leaned up slowly and gave her a small kiss on her head before lieing back down again.
"Mmm…" she mumbled and stirred a little in her sleep
Her eyelids flattered softly and half-opened. When she saw him she mumbled again closing her eyes sleepily
"Mmm… Happy Birthday…" she mumbled sheepishly
"What?" he whispered hoarsely from sleep in amusement raising a brow
"Oh…it is just my birthday today…and sometimes this day when I wake up I say 'happy birthday' to myself…"
Yami smirked
"Is that so?"
He slowly flipped them over so now he was on top of her and he started planting slow, wet kisses on her neck. She couldn't help but moan softly.
"Then…I must give you…a proper present…" he mumbled between the kisses
Tea moaned stirring beneath him
"Ahh…Y-Yami…s-stop… Joey is…Joey might be outside…Ahh…"
"I don't care…" he whispered sucking at the base of her neck where her pulse was, "Let him be…"
Tea moaned again as her hands were holding his strong, muscular arms when the small door that was separating the two rooms opened to reveal a rather surprised Joey.
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "Sorry…"
Tea's face became pink in embarrassment while Yami mentally cursed.
"What is it, Joey?" he said rather irritated their moment was ruined
"I…I came to talk to you about something…I…I guess I dropped by in wrong time right?"
Yami rolled his eyes and got out of bed, while Tea brought the sheets up to her chest (if not her neck) to cover her nudity. Yami put his pants on and took his shirt over his shoulder as he walked towards the small door and saw Joey still looking towards Tea.
"Hey! Give the girl a break, will ya?" Yami said to Joey
"Oh! Right! Sorry…" Joey came back to reality and both of them exited the small part of the room closing the door behind them leaving Tea to dress.
"You should have told me you would bring her here, man! How could I imagine it?" Joey complained
Yami's answer was a low growl.
"I didn't BRING her Joey!" was the only thing he said putting his shirt back on, "She came in the middle of the night"
"Yeah, yeah whatever you say Casanova!"
Yami growled at that but didn't answer. Joey was one of the men that knew about his adventures with women… He went out at nights to get to some brothel once in a while. It was acceptable since he was no priest. However not everyone in Vatican agreed with those…habits of his. Joey, though, was one of them that didn't really care.
"Anyway, any news from…above?" Yami mumbled while finishing getting dressed and went to the table nearby to take his flask and take a sip from it.
"None. They sent me a message and there is no book in all libraries of Vatican that explains that damn code!"
Yami took a surprised expression
"Not even in Vatican? What kind of book is that anyway?!"
He rolled his eyes and took another sip from his flask.
"So…what should we do?"
"I dunno…I am expecting their next answer"
Yami growled in frustration.
"God! What are they using to send us the damn messages? Chicken?"
Joey scoffed a little at his comment and he was about to answer but then the small door opened to reveal a fully dressed Tea. She looked at the two men.
"Emm…I must return to Mai's now… She probably will be worried some Werewolf ate me"
Yami nodded.
"We'll be there too in a little…"
And when she walked pass them, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for a kiss. It was slow and deep even if it lasted a couple of seconds. They pulled back and Yami whispered to her:
"See you…"
And Tea left…
"What?" Yami asked when turned his head and saw Joey staring at him
"Nothing…" Joey said with a small smirk
As they walked out of the inn's restaurant after a couple of hours, the morning was chilly as usually. The two men were walking with fast steps in order to get warmer.
"So you remember everything about your life from the last twenty years but nothing before that?" Joey was still trying to get a conversation started.
Since the breakfast that he learnt that Yami had another dream, he seemed that he wanted to know more, especially after Yami told him that most of the time his memories from his dreams got lost after a couple of hours…
"Not now, Joey"
"There must be something?"
Dead serious; "I remember fighting along with Romans in Masada"
Joey blinked.
"That was in 73 A.D"
"You asked"
"Sorry…" he mumbled
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a woman. It appeared as if she was fighting…or practicing… They walked to the back of Mai's house and as Yami expected, they saw Mai swinging a wooden pole around, practicing her fighting skills. The two men remained where they were standing watching her. Joey's jaw nearly hit the ground while even Yami had to admit she was pretty skilled… He took a sip from his flask. The woman did a turn in the air to land back to her feet (high-heeled boots) quite easily and then turned around to see them. She was panting slightly and her face was flushed from cold and practicing. Her surprised glance became a smirk and she held the pole on her shoulder saying:
"I didn't knew I had an audience…"
"Technically you don't" Yami replied to his usual cold-mocking tone, "At least you didn't…"
"I can see that…" she said with her smirk provoking him as usually
Yami couldn't help himself but take a glance to her well-shaped body. She sure knew how to keep herself in shape. His eyes moved upwards and stopped at her breasts. They were big enough for even someone with awful eyesight to see. If he weren't in love with Tea, this woman was for sure some woman that could wake up some fantasies in men. Objectively speaking she was indeed hot…
Her hand making a gesture for him to look up stopped his trace of thoughts and he looked up to meet her eyes again.
"Hey, got a problem?" she said smirking
"None." He replied, "I think that you should have expected from men to take a look"
"Hey!" Joey complained
Her answer was a low, chuckle.
"Anyway. You always practice this hour outside?" Yami ignored him
"Why you ask? Is that your job's question?" she said provokingly
"Not really" Yami replied coldly, "Just curiosity"
She sighed.
"No. It is just we have to be prepared for the worse. I usually practice at noon, however I decided to keep practicing more. We don't have only Vampires here as it seems"
Yami smiled a small smile. She smiled back.
"Well? How about coming inside to offer you a cup of warm wine? It is cold today"
Yami smiled. This woman sometimes seemed ready to drive him to his limits, or to amuse him and now she was welcome and kind. Joey had some affect on her, he guessed.
"Sounds like a plan… Thank you" he said
Inside she poured three goblets of warm wine, one for each one of them and one for herself and then joined them at the sofas of her living room. Joey took the goblet with both hands and blew it a little before taking a sip. Yami on the other hand took his with one hand and took a good sip of it right away. Mai sat on one of the armchairs as well taking a sip of her own.
"Oh by the way I heard the news. I suppose I have to congratulate you two!" she said a bit mockingly
Yami's answer was a small "mm" without explanations. There she was back at her former self again! He took another sip from his wine (it was indeed well-aged and good) and then said
"So…you say that you are planning to fight face to face with a Werewolf"
She looked at him finding the answer obvious
"Of course. This is my village. My responsibility!"
"Not for long. If you die in the process…"
"You have no idea what I can do!" she seemed a bit angry now
"I took a glance" he said calmly, "However such beasts, especially the specific one, are not a game"
"Who said I wanted to play?"
"You WILL be playing Russian Roulette!"
Mai's lips pushed back, forming a thin line.
"People expect things from me! Things you will never understand! Loyalty, love for the country! What do you know of all that?"
"You will be useless to them if you are dead!" Yami cut her, "No one touches him. He's MY job"
Some minutes of silence followed and then Mai looked deeply into Yami's eyes.
"You're strange guy, Yami. Sometimes you make others think that you are just another piece of the game Vatican is playing… But some others…it seems like you really enjoy your occupation…"
Yami's eyes became like crimson glass and narrowed. He jugged down the rest of his wine and hit the goblet on the table.
"Bakura is my job to finish…" he repeated, his voice strangely calm, "I will let YOU judge…weather I enjoy it or not…"
Somewhere else deep in the castle, Kisara was walking alone… It was dark already. Hours had passed rather quickly while she was in the library all morning reading some books. She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers. The night before was already clear as day within her mind. She had chosen this life instead of a nice, peaceful death. She had kissed him. Why had she done that?
However it was useless for her to hide it anymore. She knew that his darkness was drawing her near, like the magnet was pulling the metal objects close. She felt like trapped within his alluring charm… Trapped and helpless like a white pigeon within a dark storm… Did she love him? She didn't know and she had spent all night in her dreams and all day within all those books to find the answer… Kisara was walking down the corridor wearing her usual outfit instead of some fancy dress that used to belong to Lady Sylvia. The memory of that nightmarish illusion was still fresh in her mind and she couldn't even touch those beautiful dresses yet…
Her small footsteps leaded her to a stairway that leaded lower. She thought she had seen the castle however it was so big! Every day she could be searching and every day she could find a new place to look at… She walked down the stairs holding a small candle to illuminate her way… When she reached the bottom, she saw a closed door… She checked to see whether it was locked. It wasn't. The door opened with a loud creaking sound and she entered a large room. It was as large as a Cathedral…
Its ceiling could be even twelve meters above the floor. The place was full with…musical instruments… Instruments everywhere. There were percussions and air-instruments and even violins and a harp in the corner… There were musical instruments of many eras there actually…even medieval ones. There was a small orchestra. Even the walls were covered with wonderful images of people playing musical instruments and even some repousses of people playing instruments…and the one wall looked strange. When she looked at it at the trembling light of her candle she could see it was not a common wall… It was a wall of bronze pipes…
Countless…countless bronze pipes joined together forming a gig mass…a single object that was as big as the wall and reached up to the ceiling…
A huge pipe organ…
Here is another chappie! Gift for Shalialove's (DA) birthday!
I continued the thing with Rome I started!;P Remember Yami was a slave, became and soldier and then Centurion? Well now he is General;P
The scene with him cutting off his shield the arrows was isnpired by the scene in the movie 300. and so is Yami running in battle;P
Some of the quotes were from b"Gladiator"/b;P And now Yami had another name again!;P [I was imagining this ost playing during the battle scene and before when Yami is talking to them watch?v=wSZTutkR6gs (or the well-known Gladiator ost!;P) ]
And Yami and Tea got...busted;P And a small talk with Mai as well for those asking how she was doing!
Also Kisara found, at night, the room he had for his musical instrument and especially his organ! For those who don't remember :iconKassandra-21: made a great pic of it! art/Dark-Requiem-381414578 Till I get the chance to update again...please comment me! Enjoy!