AN: (This episode will wrap up the "child" arc of Pharaoh's Foresight! I'm hoping to have the adult timeline up soon, however I only have episode 4 finished, and I'd like episode 5 to be done before I start posting again. Also, the formatting is getting weird when I copy-paste into the Doc manager, which means the stories might look weird. Is there any way to change the font and font size in copy-paste?)

Episode 3, Part 2: The Burnt Village

"There were voices down the corridor, thought I heard them say-"

- Hotel California

"Bakura! Wake up!"

Atem shook the white-haired boy awake.

"Wh-what…? Atem, the sun isn't even up yet!"

"My bean plants have started sprouting! Come see!"

Bakura rolled over and huffed. "If I come look at your plants, will you let me go back to sleep?"

"M-hm!" Atem nodded.

Bakura sighed. "Alright, let's see."

Atem pulled Bakura down to the garden, gesturing with his hands spread toward the patch of earth, which was now dotted with little green sprouts.

"Nice job," Bakura said. "Can I sleep now?"

Atem frowned. "Sorry, Bakura. I was just excited."

"What are you two doing up so early?" Isis asked. Kisara was trailing after her, rubbing her eyes.

"I could ask the same thing of you," Bakura said dryly. "As for me, Atem's beans started growing, and he dragged me out of bed because he wanted to show somebody."

"I was meditating with Kisara," Isis replied.

"Wow, cool!" Atem replied. "Have you contacted your ka yet? Did you learn any cool spells?"

"Not yet, and not yet," Isis said, looking amused.

"Siamun said I have to focus on control for now. I… I have summoned my ka before, but I couldn't control it." Kisara frowned at the dirt. "...something… really bad happened…"

"Oh," Atem said, biting his lip. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

"No, no, it's fine. You didn't know." Turning to the bean patch, she asked, "Did you really plant all of these yourself?"

Atem nodded.

"And the granary in the corner of the garden, was that you, too?"

"I had a lot of help from Bakura and Isis for that," Atem said modestly.

"For barely half of it. You had the walls pretty much up by the time I started helping," Bakura smirked.

"That's incredible, Lord Atem!" Kisara said. "You're really clever!"

"I was just curious about how it worked," Atem replied.

"That you were able to figure out so much in such a short amount of time is incredible, Lord Atem," Isis cut in.

"Well, if we're quite done, I want to go back to sleep," Bakura announced with a yawn.

"Kisara, Isis?" Atem began.

"Yes, Lord Atem?"

"I was wondering… would you like to help me out here for a bit? I want to water the center real quick before I get dressed. That new priest is coming today!"

Bakura swore, prompting Isis to stamp on his foot and scold, "Language, Bakura!"

"I thought he wasn't going to be here for another week!" the former thief complained.

"The journey progressed faster than normal, and Aknadin wants him acclimated to the palace as soon as possible."

"Wait, Lord Atem. A new priest?"

"Yes. Aknadin selected him personally," Isis replied.

"He must be very powerful, then," Kisara said.

"Well, the fact Aknadin personally recommended him means he has to be something else," Bakura deadpanned. He huffed. "I guess that means no going back to bed for me."

"Sorry, Bakura," Atem apologized, rubbing his head in embarrassment.

A loud trumpeting startled them.

"That'll be the company bringing him!" Isis called. "You boys better get dressed!"

Atem and Bakura hurried back inside.

"Hi, Berenike! Bye, Berenike!" Atem called hurriedly as they rushed past the older maidservant, who raised her eyebrow and shook her head, laughing to herself as she continued walking.

Atem quickly dressed, then sat impatiently on a stool to have a maid gently apply kohl around his eyes. He could hardly wait until he was old enough to apply it himself.

"You're in a hurry today, Your Highness," the maid said as he jumped off the stool the moment she finished.

"Well, I've got to be there when the new priest arrives, don't I?"

"Alright, alright, slow down, young lord." She gently adjusted his collar. "Now, don't go crazy and mess it up, alright?"

"I won't!"

Atem nearly collided with Bakura on the way down to the throne room.

"Whoa, whoa, were you a cheetah in a past life?" Bakura asked.

Atem froze. Past life? Does he know? Has he figured it out somehow? Could he have decoded my scrolls? What should I say!?

"Oiiii!" Bakura drawled, waving his hand in front of Atem's face. "Are you listening?"

"N-No, sorry. I just… got lost in thought."

"I was asking if you knew what this new priest is like. You're crown prince, your father has got to give you at least some of the good intel."

"I don't know much," Atem admitted. "Father hasn't really trusted me with a lot of court responsibilities yet."

"That's a pain," Bakura replied. "And here I thought I had a way to access all of the Great City's hottest gossip!"

"...Father's not really a gossiper…" Atem replied.

"Whatever. Let's just go see this guy. Where are the girls?"

"They're probably already there. They were dressed earlier since they were training."

"Of course they were. Goody-good Isis probably wanted a jump-start on it." He yawned. "Gah, let me tell you, whoever invented the idea of rising with the sun should be dragged out in the street and stoned."

"Don't say that," Atem replied anxiously, remembering that that would be his fate in at least one choice of paths.

Bakura simply grunted. "Again, I hope that this new priest isn't going to be annoying. Considering your stick-in-the-mud uncle keeps going on and on about him, that's a distinct possibility."

Atem slowed down and caught Bakura's shoulder. "Have you ever considered why, though? Aknadin's been acting kind of… weird lately."

"What kind of weird? Everything you royals do is weird to me," Bakura pointed out.

"I mean… He's been a lot more… argumentative, lately. More easily agitated. And sometimes he argues one point until it's pounded into the ground like a wooden stake, then just as immediately changes and starts arguing in favor of something completely different - often contradictory. There's something… almost frantic about it."

"Give an example; jog my memory. As I recall, dear old uncle has always been like that."

"Um… not really. He's - no offense - but I started noticing it after you got here."

"We all know Aknadin doesn't like me, that's nothing new," Bakura replied. "Again, specifics, Your Majesty."

"...Remember Kisara's audience yesterday?"

"Yeah, obviously. Why?"

"Aknadin seemed interested in the idea of Kisara staying at the beginning of the audience. When she said she would promise herself in slavery to the crown in return for protection, he seemed almost inclined to agree."

"But at the end of it he was practically steaming like a roast duck at the very idea of Kisara living here," Bakura said.

"Exactly."

"So your uncle's old and his mind is going, so what?" Bakura asked.

"Father's the same age, and he hasn't started acting strange," Atem pointed out. He shook his head. "Let's talk about this later, when Isis and Kisara can be present."

"Why Isis?" Bakura whined. "She's going to hear barely a sentence about this before she runs off to go tell the entire council, including Aknadin! And he's the last person we need to hear about supposed gossip about him going senile!"

Atem hurriedly shushed Bakura as they came around the corner and saw Aknadin himself, poring over the Millennium Tome feverishly. He shut the book with a sharp clap.

"What are you boys doing dawdling in the corridor when your father wants you in the throne room?"

"We were just on our way there," Atem replied hurriedly. He had never been scared of his uncle, but had been appropriately wary of him. Now, however, that wariness had increased with the possibility that Aknadin could divine his villainous future from his mind with the Millennium Eye and the erratic behavior he'd been noticing from Father's twin.

"Be quick about it," Aknadin growled. "Nephew, I've noticed you've been… brazen… as of late with your defense of the common people. Such behavior is… interesting."

"I… just want to help people," Atem replied.

"Hm," Aknadin grunted. "Be wary, nephew. Such compassion can be… dangerous." He bowed and left, glaring hard at Bakura as he left.

"Now that he's out of here with his mind-probing evil eye," Bakura muttered.

"Was he… threatening me?" Atem asked nervously.

"If he is, he's gained some serious spine in the past twelve days," Bakura remarked. "Come on, let's just meet this kid before something else happens."

Atem and Bakura were met at the throne room door by Karim, who escorted them to a place by the council's stand. Kisara and Isis, true to what Atem had predicted, were already there.

"Hello again, Lord Atem, Lord Bakura," Kisara said politely.

Isis blinked. "Why do you two seem so tense?"

"We need to talk to you about something. Later," Atem replied in a whisper.

"Look! He's coming!" Kisara pointed out, as the throne room doors opened.

Standing there, flanked by a company of guards, was a boy in a ragged tunic, with short reddish hair and bright blue eyes.

Priest Seth. Atem knew it for sure now, that this boy was the arrogant priest who served as rival in Kisara's route, given his own romance route if one played as Mana. However, he was young. Just like Kisara, who had arrived at the palace much earlier than the game had anticipated, Seth was barely older than Atem's five years.

"Council," Aknadin said silkily. "Let me introduce you to the new apprentice I have found. This is Seth. Son of a palace guard killed in the line of duty, orphaned in a fire that destroyed his whole village, but, as recompense for those hardships, has been blessed with one of the most powerful magic auras I've had the fortune of sensing."

Seth held his head high with pride. His eyes, however, betrayed his discomfort of having his entire history revealed to a group of strangers.

Father stood. "I must say this is a surprise, Aknadin. I have heard nothing about you desiring an apprentice."

"I could not turn him away, brother," Aknadin replied simply.

Father looked deep in thought.

"Aknadin," Asenath pointed out. "I feel I must point out that we already have an abundance of apprentices. And, as I recall, you have been vehement in denying all but one of them entry into the palace."

"Because one is a wanted thief!" Aknadin retorted. "And the other is a demon-possessed slave girl!"

"We agreed to put their respective histories behind us upon letting them stay here," Asim said. "I admit, I disagreed with the decision, but it has been made, and I will continue to support my Pharaoh and my Prince in all of their decisions, ignoring my personal biases on the matter."

"As have I," Abraxas said. "Judgment has been passed for young Lord Bakura already, and Lady Kisara's only crime was being born spirit-touched."

Kisara flushed red with embarrassment. Bakura only hmphed, smirking in triumph.

"Are we inviting young Seth into tutelage as a priest or not?" Maahes asked, steering the conversation back to the decision at hand.

"I see nothing wrong with it," Asim said.

"I have no issue with the boy himself, simply the decision to bring him in now. He is but a child, and we already have three magic trainees admitted to the nobility - four if you count the Crown Prince himself as such," Asenath said.

"Siamun, what do you think?" Father asked.

The old Grand Vizier looked thoughtful. "I don't see why Seth cannot stay, especially if Aknadin is correct he has nowhere to go. Although I feel I must say the palace has become quite the sanctuary for lost waifs."

Seth bristled slightly at the comment.

Abraxas nodded in agreement. "We have nothing to lose."

"It is settled, then?" Aknadin asked.

"I suppose it is. Unanimously, in fact," Siamun remarked.

Father stood. "The decision has been made. Seth, you are welcomed at the palace as a member of nobility so long as you uphold your loyalty to the crown and to the gods. Do you accept?"

"Yes, Pharaoh," Seth replied.

"Good. Karim shall show you to your room, and then, once you are rested from your journey, you will be introduced to the rest of your fellow trainees."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"So, Atem, what did you want to talk to us about?" Isis asked.

"Uncle Aknadin. Don't you think he's been acting strange lately?"

"I mean, I only arrived a few weeks ago. Kisara has only been at the palace for the night. I hardly have a frame of reference to go by."

"During Kisara's audience with Father, he seemed okay with letting Kisara stay at the beginning, but abruptly decided against it once I proposed my idea of her becoming royalty. Right, Kisara?"

"He did," Kisara replied.

"He's normally not like that. He's a lot more calculated, and capable of restraining his emotions. He normally doesn't make decisions that erratically. Plus, no offense to Seth, but Aknadin never seemed interested in taking an apprentice of his own. Why did he change his mind?"

"Atem says he noticed it shortly after I got here. I know he doesn't like me, it's nothing new. But it prompting a full personality shift like that…" Bakura huffed, clearly deep in thought.

"I remember, Uncle reacted strangely to something you said during your trial. When you introduced yourself, you mentioned the name of your village."

"I did?" Bakura asked.

"Y-Yeah. Don't you remember?"

"I barely remember anything about the trial. Or the village I grew up in. At least, I don't know its name."

"Huh," Atem said. He decided to drop it for now.

But why does Bakura apparently not remember something he clearly knew at the trial? Something's wrong.

"A-Anyway," Atem continued. "Uncle seemed… shocked. Scared, almost."

"Whatever Bakura said, it clearly frightened him. And since you no longer remember what it was, Bakura…"

"This sounds frightening," Kisara said. "If the Pharaoh's own advisor is acting rashly…"

"Just… keep an eye out. And maybe try to stay out of his way."

"We will, Prince Atem. Thank you for telling us," Isis said.

As they were walking out into the garden, they ran right into Seth.

Or, more accurately, Kisara bumped into him, and the rest of them promptly came to a grinding halt, stepping on each others' toes in a vain attempt to keep from crashing into her.

Seth pulled back first, shaking his head and blinking at Kisara in surprise, before turning angry. "Can't you watch where you're going!?"

"Oh, s-sorry!" Kisara replied, bowing in apology.

Seth looked all of them up and down.

"So you three are the other priests I'm going to train with," he said. "And you, you're the prince, aren't you?"

"I am," Atem replied.
"Why are you wandering around the palace with a bunch of priests? It's hardly becoming of your station."

"Says the guy who's talking to you right now," Bakura muttered to Atem.

"Shut up!" Seth growled. He glared hard at Bakura. "Master told me about you. The petty thief who broke into the prince's own chamber to steal gold, and was rewarded for this crime by being declared the Pharaoh's own ward, second only to his son," he spat.

Bakura snorted. "I knew you'd be a stuck-up little jackal the second I saw you. Thankfully for my sanity, Atem and I, as the Pharaoh's son and ward, both outrank you. By a good margin I might add. So we can both tell you to shut up."

"If I may, picking a fight seems hardly like royal behavior either," Isis replied coolly.

"And you? Promised to the prince to wife, only to disgrace yourself so thoroughly that the only feasible recompense was to enslave yourself to him for the rest of your days? You have no right to talk about proper behavior, wench."

"All has been forgiven regarding Isis's debt," Atem cut in.

"Yeah! Isis might be an uptight goody-good on the best day, but she's the least improper out of all of us, so shut up about it or you'll risk really making me mad!" Bakura added.

"As if you could stand a chance in a fight against me," Seth snickered.

"Yeah? Want to see how much of a chance I have, tough guy?"

"Bakura," Kisara said suddenly, her voice dangerous enough that the silver-haired boy drew back. To Seth, she said, "I was in favor of you joining us in magic tutelage, but not if you're going to act more bone-headed than a male water horse! Lord Bakura, Lord Atem, and Lady Isis are nobles of this court, and have been kinder to me than almost anyone ever has been! So I will not stand by and let you insult them so casually!"

Seth, for a moment, looked surprised. Then he smirked.

"Oh, how frightening, a lost little slave," Seth sneered. "And a girl besides. Didn't your teacher instruct you how to hold your tongue-ghk!?"

Atem, Bakura, and Isis all sprang back as Kisara suddenly lunged forward, grabbing Seth by both the ear and the collar of his tunic.

"You. Me. In the courtyard. Now," she said, her voice seeming to make the air tremble. Almost effortlessly she tossed him back down to the ground, then stalked past him towards the front courtyard, leaving Seth stunned on the ground.

Atem, eyes wide, blinked.

"What did we just witness?" Isis asked softly.

"The full fury of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, that's what," Atem said nervously.

Bakura mirrored their fear. "Remind me to never, ever get on her bad side. Ever."

Seth picked himself up and shot a glare at all three of them.

"You should follow her and see what she wants. Wouldn't want word to spread that you ducked out of a fight with a girl after all," Bakura said, his voice thick with irony, clearly implying he didn't share Seth's misogynist opinion of the white-haired priestess.

Seth looked furious at that point, and Atem could almost imagine steam billowing up from his head like a boiling water pot. Then he stalked off towards the courtyard.

"Do you guys want to go after them? Ensure they don't hurt themselves?"

"The only one I'm worried about is that sour little jackal," Bakura spat. "But yeah, I could watch. How about you, Your Majesty?"

"I'd like to see," Atem replied, even though he wasn't sure if he did. Kisara's wrath was not something he wanted to witness if he could avoid it.

As they walked toward the courtyard, Bakura kept smiling to himself.

"You're scared of her, aren't you?" he said teasingly.

"Not… really. Her power makes me nervous. There's a reason everyone in the court - except Uncle - agreed she had to be trained," Atem replied.

"So you're scared of her," Bakura repeated flatly.

"So are you," Isis pointed out.

"I'd like to think of it as 'rightfully wary'," Bakura replied. "Did you see how fast she moved back there? And how easily she threw that blowhard around? She's strong for someone so small."

They walked into the courtyard to find Seth and Kisara standing across from each other, each holding wooden training swords.

"The rules are simple. The first person to get knocked down three times loses," Kisara said.

"Let's get this over with," Seth replied. "Master wants me to meet him in the library soon."

"You start us off, Lord Bakura," Kisara said. Bakura shrugged and walked out to the middle of the courtyard.

"Begin!"

Seth was the first to make a move, raising his sword and lunging at Kisara. Kisara, however, quickly parried it, then stepped back into a defensive stance.

Seth smirked. "Aren't you going to make a move?"

"I will when I want to," Kisara retorted.

I see what she's doing. Seth is already angry, and if she baits him into an attack enough times, it'll be easier for her to knock him down. Now, the only problem is if Seth catches on…

Seth lunged at Kisara's feet, hoping to knock her off balance. However, Kisara leapt over Seth and landed neatly on the other side of him.

"She's good," Isis mouthed at Atem and Bakura.

The next few minutes, both competitors circled each other, trying to gauge when an opening in the other's defenses would appear.

"Huh! You were calling me a coward, and now you haven't made a single attack?" Seth asked.

"Maybe I'm just waiting for the right time," Kisara replied.

"What time would that be?"

Kisara suddenly jumped to the side, using her sword as a launching point and jumping over Seth's head, then quickly struck him once, twice in the back, before sweeping his feet out from under him. Seth landed on the ground with a grunt as Kisara pointed her sword at his undefended chest.

"One for Kisara," Bakura said in surprise, etching a mark in the sand on the side Kisara had started from. "And so soon after the match started, too!"

Kisara stepped back, allowing Seth to get up. Seth was angrier now, proven when, upon Bakura starting the next round, his brother barely had time to say, "Begin!" before Seth leapt at her.

Kisara jumped out of the way, only for Seth to rush her again. She blocked it, and the two stood there, blades locked, before they broke apart.

"Now what do you think of me, Seth?" Kisara asked, raising her sword defensively.

"I think you got lucky. Just wait until I knock you down!"

"Oh, I'd hate this fight to end so soon," Kisara replied. "Here. Come at me. I won't block. It's only fitting we're on equal footing this round, isn't it?"

"Fine, you asked for it." Seth rushed her, Kisara standing there, not making a move to defend herself.

Then, suddenly, she wasn't there.

Seth looked around for her, only for her to come bearing down on top of him, knocking him to the dirt and kneeling on top of him.

"Two for Kisara!" Bakura called, making another mark in the sand.

As Seth got up, this time there was something else in his expression besides anger. Far from being smug like before, as he wiped his lip where he had bit it as he'd gone down, he seemed almost… impressed.

"I wasn't expecting you to do this well. You know this means I won't be holding back!"

"Don't you dare hold back," Kisara replied sharply.

The third round was a flurry of movement, jumping and parrying and pushing, blades locked in a stalemate, before breaking apart.

Atem bit his lip as Seth got a good hit on Kisara, sending her to the ground.

"One for Seth!" Bakura called, unable to disguise his disappointment.

"Wouldn't that be perfect?" Seth asked. "If I pulled a from-behind win?"

"Don't count your victories yet!" Kisara retorted. "It's not over until it's over!"

Seth smirked. "You're a stubborn one."

Kisara frowned and raised her sword, they rushed at each other, and the next few minutes, their swords clacked off of each other as they each tried to land another hit.

Then, Seth managed to shove Kisara back. Her sword clattered to the ground.

"Two for Seth!" Bakura announced.

Isis bit her lip. "They're on equal standing now. The next to knock the other down wins."

Atem turned to her. "But Kisara has Seth's respect now," he said. "Even if she loses, she got exactly what she wanted."

"How can you tell?"

"Look at his eyes. The entire time up to this point, he's treated the fight like a chore, because he didn't think Kisara was worth his time. But now look. He's fighting harder now, because he recognizes her as his equal."

Isis tilted her head to one side. "You got all that out of only a look?"

Atem rubbed his head nervously. "It's just a hunch."

Seth sprang at Kisara, sweeping her feet out from under her. Bakura winced, all three of them tensed up for her to hit the ground.

Instead, faster than Atem could blink, she caught herself, launching herself over Seth's shoulder and striking him three times in the chest with the flat of her sword.

Then it was over.

Seth was on the ground, staring in shock at Kisara as she calmly disarmed him and pointed both training swords at his face.

"So," Kisara said. "Am I merely a girl now?"

Seth stood up, still dumbfounded as he shook his head.

Then, Kisara handed the training sword back to him.

"Whenever you want a rematch, I'll be here," she said, her usual shy smile gracing her face as she walked back to the edge of the courtyard to put her sword away. She rejoined them on the side of the courtyard, head held high.

Seth's face was dusted with red as he turned over the sword Kisara had handed him in his hands.

Then he huffed, composed his face, and walked over to put it away.

"Yes!" Bakura cheered. "Yesyesyesyesyesyes! She did it! She beat that pigheaded son of a-!"

"Shut it!" Seth growled, but it didn't have the same arrogance in it this time.

"That was remarkable, Kisara," Isis said, eyeing Bakura disapprovingly at his language. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I watched the men of my village train, then the slavers who held me captive. I applied what I learned on the journey here. The desert being what it is, I had to put it to the test often," Kisara said quietly.

"Well, that training paid off, it looks like," Atem said.

"Thank you, Lord Atem, but I didn't plan to humiliate him, or even beat him. I only wanted to show him what I was capable of."

"You did a great job of that," Bakura said with a smirk, gesturing at Seth, who was walking out of the courtyard, still red-faced.

Kisara smiled.

"Thank you."

"Now that the score has been settled," Isis said. "We should go back to our studies before someone scolds us for having a sword fight in the courtyard."