AN: The next few chapters are going to stall me for a while, since it's almost 90% fight scenes and 10% Kay being his usual really morbid social disaster self, and I suck at writing play by play fight scenes (even matches of the card game, why do you think I never write stuff about the card game?)

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is not mine. The OCs and the plot of this story is.

Two By Two

The next day and a half passed without too much incident. I did catch Lord Aknadin shooting me disapproving looks when he thought I wasn't paying attention to him, steeling my resolve to stay out of his way.

The Pharaoh also seemed more interested in me than usual, but I tried to dismiss it as him keeping watch and ensuring I was genuinely trustworthy to hold the sword he gave me, which was incredibly valuable to him from what he said. I tried not to think about the idea he had already deduced my allegiances and was waiting for me to slip up.

Still, I kept my guard up around him. Just to be sure.

Mana had returned to high spirits and in addition had mastered a new spell in the three-day preparation period, something she wasted no time in demonstrating to me. It was a freezing spell, which stopped someone in place until the appropriate counterspell was uttered. I tried not to show my trepidation at the idea she had mastered such a spell. My former travel companion was utilizing the time given to the fullest and growing ever-stronger, and it bothered me that while I had begun learning magic with Maahad, my injury kept me from training as I ought to have in the days leading up to the tournament.

"Kay, what is it?" Maahad asked me today. I blinked, realizing I had become lost in my thoughts. The young magician was fidgeting with his staff, looking concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine, Maahad. I was merely…"

"Thinking about the tournament?" Maahad guessed. He frowned. "The three day preparation time is most appreciated, I know, but I know a few people who will spend much of the time worrying instead of practicing. I mean no offense to the Pharaoh, of course."

"It was… considerate of him to give us that time. Since many of us had made quite the journey to get here."

"Yourself included, I think," Maahad replied. He smiled. "I would not worry about your chances, Kay. You were identified and invited for a reason, I have no doubt."

"I don't want to have traveled this far to be turned away," I said softly.

Maahad bit his lip. "I'm sure most of us feel the same. You're hardly the only one having trouble with nerves today." He leveled his staff. "Now, we should get back to practicing. Show me the incantation I demonstrated to you yesterday."

I bit my lip. This particular spell was a difficult one, and even stranger, something inside me seemed to fight against me whenever I tried casting it.

"Swords of Revealing Light!" I chanted, concentrating my energy, which seemed to fight and toss like an unruly horse. Pushing harder than I ever had to for any of the spells I knew, I forced the energy I knew was there outward. I imagined the gleaming blades surrounding Maahad in a wall, diminishing his power and barring his path for several minutes. The Swords of Revealing Light were a simple spell, the staple of anyone who regularly participated in a diaha - something the tournament was bound to include as an event, as all priests of the Pharaoh had to be at least passably good at them.

However, given my own magic seemed to take a personal dislike to casting it, I feared I would need to rely on something else if that situation came.

I opened my eyes, my awe at seeing the Swords appear turning to disappointment when they almost immediately flickered and vanished.

"You're getting better, Kay," Maahad said encouragingly, still looking nervous.

"Yeah, they actually appeared this time!" Seth jeered from the other side of the training pit, where he was in the process of retraining his injured arm so it would receive its full strength again after his injury to it, under Kisara's supervision - which for some reason had devolved into an impromptu swordplay match with the white-haired girl, using the weighted sticks he had been using to strengthen his arm. "Ack!" he yelped as Kisara took the opportunity to attack him.

"Stop making fun of Kay and focus!" Kisara retorted. "You're the one who said he daydreams too much!"

"You're doing very well, Kay. I just worry I'm to blame for you not taking to the spell. Perhaps I've been a poor teacher…"

"It isn't your fault, Maahad. It's as if I'm fighting my own ka every time I attempt it."

Maahad looked confused. "Can you explain?"

"My magic reacts negatively every time I try this spell, Maahad. I can't focus my energy on it as I can for the spells I know."

Maahad looked thoughtful. "Perhaps…"

"Perhaps what?"

"Every person's ka has an element of being associated with it, and that causes different people to be naturally inclined to different spells. A man with a ka of fire would be naturally inclined to favor fire spells, for instance, whereas a brother of his who possessed a ka of water would find those same spells very difficult, if not impossible."

"So you're saying I'm not just imagining it? I really am struggling with my ka when I cast the Swords?"

"From what you're saying, Kay, I have to conclude you can't cast the Swords of Light because it goes against your ka's nature to do so."

"Can you deduce what my ka is based on that?"

"Don't worry, I am no closer to guessing it than I was before. I only know its strength and elemental opposition - Light."

"What elements oppose Light?"

"A few. The obvious one is a Darkness ka, but those are rare, and for the most part not very powerful. The other two possibilities are Water and Earth."

"Why Water and Earth?"

"Water is associated with the moon, in addition to the primordial darkness which was said to be water-like. Earth - well, that's harder, but my father believed that it's because Light is related to Wind, which is Earth's opposite."

"Have these practices been for nothing, then?" I asked.

"I would have liked it had you informed me before how that spell affected you, but no. You having an elemental opposition to Light doesn't make learning this spell automatically impossible - simply difficult. I will look into showing you other spells, though. So you don't expend your effort only to learn one that is difficult and temperamental for you to cast."

A maid walked up to us. "Young lords and ladies, Lord Pharaoh has extended an invitation to come to a noon feast. He has a few words of announcement for all trainees."

"Finally, lunch," Kisara said, putting down her stick. "If this numbskull had his way we could have been fencing all day, and I'm starving."

"As if you would last that long," Seth muttered.

"Says the man with one good arm," Kisara retorted.

Maahad shook his head, an exasperated grin crossing his face. "We should come to this feast and see what Lord Pharaoh wants from us. I could use a break anyway." As he passed me, he squeezed my shoulder. "It isn't impossible, Kay. My own ka is darkness-inclined. It simply makes it harder."

"You have a Dark ka? But you cast that spell so effortlessly!"

"And I've been taught how to survive a diaha since I was old enough to hold a staff. All that is needed is practice."

He let go of my shoulder and started after Seth and Kisara, who were still bickering on their way down the hall.

Mana ran up to us, eagerly showing off how she'd put my advice about stance into practice by insisting out of the blue that the nearest person - Seth - try to knock her down. Impressively, she kept her feet the whole time, and when Seth did trip her, she slammed her staff to the ground and activated a spell to catch her in midair.

"You're doing very well, Mana," I said, surprised how quickly the compliment came out.

"Well, it's thanks to you for pointing out that issue about my stance, Kay. I'd never thought about that before, but maybe the trainers I talked to before were just being nice to me because of Father."

Lady Isis met the crowd of trainees at the dining hall door. "Welcome, young friends. Lord Pharaoh merely has some words of encouragement for you, and wants to inform you of some small things before the tournament properly begins."

"'Young'?" Seth scoffed. "She's barely older than us, why is she going around talking to us like some old village mother-"

Surprisingly, it was not Kisara who reminded Seth to hold his tongue this time, but rather Maahad, who was anxiously shooting glances at Lady Isis and running his fingers through his hair, as if smoothing imperfections only he could see, and trying to keep his face formal and composed. He stopped fidgeting with his staff, holding it straight at his side like a palace guard held a spear, and he seemed to be trying to hold his head a little higher.

Kisara smiled into her hand and rolled her eyes, and both she and Mana giggled to themselves as Maahad bowed deeply to Lady Isis and thanked her, turning red when Lady Isis commanded him to rise with a smile on her face.

"What's so funny?" I whispered to them.

Kisara forced herself to stop laughing, but she was still grinning - and Mana was still dissolved in silent laughter. She pointed at Maahad, who was still red faced and awkwardly wishing Isis luck in choosing an apprentice.

"Two words, Kay. Smitten. Kitten," the white-haired girl whispered.

"What?"

"Do we have to spell it out for you? Maahad is in love with Lady Isis," Seth huffed under his breath. "I mean, I understand why, she's not unpleasant to look at, but I find it hilarious that Master "Uptight Magic Boy" has a crush."

"On one of the judges, no less," Mana added.

Maahad, who had walked just ahead of us enough to not hear all of what we were saying but still near enough, gave all four of us - Seth in particular - a flat, irritated look.

I watched Maahad take his seat at the banquet table. I didn't understand what they were seeing. Even armed with that information I didn't really understand.

I pushed that out of my mind. It was none of my concern if one of the contestants had a crush on a judge; it had little to do with me.

I followed everyone into the banquet hall, shooting a mistrustful look at the Pharaoh as I walked in.

Lord Aknamkanon returned my gaze with a genial smile. I stared harder to let him know I wasn't going to fall for his friendly act, before sitting down.

"What's with the face, Kay?" Mana, who had quickly taken the seat on my right, asked.

I blinked, realizing Mana was talking to me. "What do you mean?"

"You just look upset. Is something wrong?"

"No," I said quickly. "I'm just thinking about the contest."

Mana took my hand and squeezed it, which made me feel hot, then cold all over as if I had a fever. "You'll do great," she said.

Seth shot me a knowing smirk from across the table and to my left, only for Kisara to sit down directly across from me, prompting him to turn red and scowl.

As soon as everyone was settled in their seats, a hush fell over the room as Lord Aknamkanon stood up.

"My young friends, thank you all for attending this banquet on the eve of the first contest. I hope you have used your time well in preparing for it. I don't want to bore you with an abundance of speeches, but I do want to remind you of the rules, in addition to informing you a little about this first event!"

I looked around, taking in everyone's reactions.

"Lord Pharaoh is telling us what the first event is now?" Mana whispered to me.

"Why is that a problem?" I asked.

"I just assumed it was going to be a surprise, you know, something we learned the day of," Mana replied.

I was about to respond, only for Maahad, sitting on my left, to nudge me and gesture towards the Pharaoh, who was still speaking.

"We'll talk later," I mouthed at her.

"As a reminder, there will be no killing or maiming in the contest tomorrow, should combat be involved. There will be absolutely no sabotaging other contestants. And all of you are to be presented with the exact same information. Learning any more to give you an edge, or peddling such extra information to other contestants, is forbidden. Breaking of any of these three rules - barring extenuating circumstances-" he said this with an amused look at me and Seth. "-will be punished harshly."

I fiddled with the handle of my knife, wondering if the Pharaoh would mention yesterday morning.

I had been awakened by the surprised and angry guards just before dawn, disoriented and confused. The woman who had lulled me to sleep the previous night was gone, with no sign she had ever been there. The guards had promptly brought me into the council's private chamber, where all seven of the Sacred Court were meeting. Lady Isis had scolded me viciously for leaving my room at night when I had been warned against it, and again for wandering near the forbidden hall. Aknadin had again called for me to be disqualified. However, I managed to blunder through the lie that I'd heard someone in that hallway - not entirely false - and, fearing for the Pharaoh's safety, I had followed, only to awaken in that hallway the next morning, the intruder gone.

Aknadin scowled at me throughout my testimony, proof in my eyes he was picking through my head with his all-seeing Eye and knew I was lying.

Lord Aknamkanon had calmly received my testimony and told me, amusement glittering in his eyes, that he always had guards posted to protect him during the night hours, and I didn't need to risk myself for his sake. Most of the rest of the Sacred Court seemed irritated at being interrupted, as if my intrusion where I was strictly told not to go was not a problem.

They're so trusting! I had thought to myself as I had been returned to my room and warned against sneaking out in the middle of the night again.

Now, however, I wondered if Lord Aknamkanon would call me out with all the contestants watching, as publicly as he had condemned my mother.

But he didn't say a word about yesterday morning.

"Now, we of the Sacred Court decided among ourselves that each event would be shrouded in secrecy. Anyone who hopes to be a mage for the Great House of Egypt must be ready to face anything, even the unknown, after all! However, my Grand Vizier, Siamun Muran, has proposed a small compromise to satisfy your curiosity, which will be an event in and of itself. You will be presented with a riddle, and solving it will give you a hint as to what you will be facing in the coming event!"

Whispers raced across the banquet table.

"Riddles?" Mana whispered sullenly. "I'm a goner, then, I'm not good at brain puzzles…"

"I'm sure it can't be too hard, otherwise it would give some of us an edge and not others. It wouldn't be fair," I told her.

Mana smiled, which made my heart shiver, and said, "Thanks, Kay."

Aknamkanon stilled the whispers with a wave of his hand. "The first riddle is this: I travel two by two, and two again; in pairs, my burden is lightened."

I looked over at Kisara, Seth, Maahad, and Mana, who were exchanging confused glances. Other contestants looked equally befuddled.

"You have this afternoon and evening to puzzle out this riddle. Once you have your answer, present it to me tomorrow morning. Rest assured, you will not be penalized for wrong answers - this is just to allow you to find out for yourselves what tomorrow's contest will be!"

Seth said something under his breath that made Kisara elbow him in the ribs. Hissing in pain he turned to his companion, who was innocently toying with her plate of food.

"I believe that is all! I shall leave you to enjoy the banquet!" The old Pharaoh looked down the two rows of anxious faces, his eyes warm and kind. His gaze stopped, a little too long for my liking, on me. "Good luck, to each and every one of you."

I didn't eat much at the feast, even though I was starving. I couldn't make myself eat, I was feeling so nervous.

I had trained my whole life to feel little and show nothing. However, this game in a contest threatened to break my resolve, even before it started.

I wasn't the only one nervous: anxious whispers among little knots of competitors who were friends were heard everywhere, and I saw multiple contestants sitting in corners crying from the stress.

But I had so much more to lose than these contestants who were only there to further their status and education and little more. Even if they left, disgraced, they had a home to return to.

Mother was clear - once I left on my mission I would return to her with the Pharaoh's blood on my hands and his crown on my head or not at all.

Maahad pulled me aside afterwards and said he had found a few Dark-inclined spells to teach me, and we practiced them for most of the afternoon. True to his word, these spells were much easier to cast than the Swords of Light. But I kept at it, wanting to ensure I could cast them effortlessly. In private, I kept trying to cast the Swords, trying to bridle my ka into lending me the magic I needed. I was able to hold them for a minute at most, but that was all.

When I wasn't practicing, I was pondering Lord Aknamkanon's riddle.

"I travel two by two, and two again," I whispered to myself in my room. Lord Aknamkanon had stated we wouldn't be penalized for wrong answers, but I needed to have the hint the Pharaoh had promised. I felt I would go mad from the stress otherwise, and I didn't trust Lord Aknamkanon not to have our answers affect our performance in secret.

I brought this concern up with Seth, and to my surprise, the arrogant boy agreed.

"Wrong answers won't affect our performance, my foot," he grumbled. "That's what I told Kisara, anyway, but she shut me up because we were still in the room with the Pharaoh."

We were sitting in his room, which was much like mine - an opulent bed, a curtain leading to a balcony, a wardrobe, and a mirror, the last of which I was quick to walk past, remembering the entity haunting mine. Seth had sat down on his bed and, after a moment, I sat down near the foot of it, gauging Seth for his reaction to my sitting on his bed. To my surprise, he seemed too distracted to care.

Seth turned to me. "But I don't know why you're so quick to assume the Pharaoh would go back on his word. He's been true to his word with us ever since we arrived. I don't trust that he doesn't have hidden motives, but so far he's kept his promises."

"Something about him just bothers me," I replied quickly. "How can he be so friendly towards people he's never met? People he outranks, no less?"

"I don't know anymore than you do," Seth said. Then he added bitterly, "You know, it's ironic that you don't like the Pharaoh, considering how much he seems to like you."

"The Pharaoh? Favor me?" I asked.

"You're telling me you haven't noticed him constantly giving you amused aside looks, smiling every time you walk by him, and talking about you to the other judges? Not to mention the fact he gave you a sword, and a good one at that!" Frowning, he pulled out his own khopesh. "Better than mine, anyway."

"According to the Pharaoh, it was made by the same smith as my knife." I unsheathed the knife for him to see.

Seth's gaze lingered on the blade, before he did a double take and snatched it from me. "Is that what I think it is?!"

"What? What is it?"

"See that carving in the blade near the handle?" Seth pointed to said carving, a small image of a lion. The lack of a mane proved the carving represented a lioness.

"Yes."

"Well, do you know who Abasi is?"

"Yes? He's a metalsmith, isn't he?"

"Only one of the best to ever pick up a hammer, jackal-boy, in addition to being the personal weapons maker of the Pharaoh's court before he took off to hide under a rock," Seth said. "That mark is on all of Abasi's weapons. Even your sword has it, see?" He pointed to my khopesh, and sure enough, in the maze of intricate carvings on the hilt, there was hidden the same carving of a sitting lioness. "A lot of people have wondered what it means. My mother and I personally subscribe to the theory that it represents his daughter."

"I didn't know he had a daughter…" I muttered.

"You talk as if you personally know the man," Seth said.

"Which is…?"

"Impossible. He was already the type to keep to himself, but after his daughter died, he became an outright recluse. He left the palace just a year later."

"Unless there's more than one sour old metalsmith named Abasi, I have met him," I said. "He runs the smithy in the village where Mother and I went for supplies."

"You're. Joking," Seth said in shock.

"I assure you I'm not."

Seth cupped his hands over his face and took a long, deep breath. "Gods help me. The one boy who seems like my equal in a swordfight, and to top it off all the famous people seem to like him."

"I couldn't call us friends. I must have only talked to him once at most, as I passed through the village to come here, and it was mostly about my knife."

"One conversation is a lot more than nine out of ten of every man, woman, and child in Egypt get." Seth sheathed his sword. "Mine's Abasi make, but not as good. I don't think I've ever seen such a decorated blade as yours."

Deciding to change the subject, I said, "Seth? Do you have any idea what the riddle could refer to?"

"I have my answer, if that's what you're wondering," the brunet sniffed, laying back, hands behind his head, on his bed. "But I'm not telling you. Giving out information is against the rules, in case you hadn't forgotten, and Kisara would never let me hear the end of it if I got roped into risking my place in the contest dealing with you again."

"I was only curious to see if you knew. From what I've seen not very many people have made progress on deciphering it."

"Interested in how your rivals are faring, hm?" Seth asked. "What a coincidence, I was about to ask you the same."

"I'm making progress. In both my magic and the riddle."

"I see," Seth said. "Well, you should clear out, jackal-boy. I'm not saying this conversation hasn't been enlightening, but I still want some time to think, and don't think I'm about to worship the ground you walk on because you met Abasi the Pharaoh's metalsmith."

"I wouldn't expect it," I said in surprise.

Seth smirked. "You don't really sieve out your thoughts, do you, Kay?"

"I have no reason to hide anything," I lied.

"I don't mean anything bad by it, it's simply… interesting. Word of warning, our screwup has spread around the castle and Lord Aknadin is still looking for a scapegoat. And the rumor is you're it."

"I have been told, that's why I've been staying out of his way."

"Smart. Now clear out. Go practice spells with that scroll-worm or stand in a corner blushing at Amenhotep's daughter or something."

I left Seth's room with a few of my questions answered but more having surfaced to take their place.

Abasi had a daughter, and he had been Lord Aknamkanon's personal smith? Lord Aknamkanon had implied that Abasi had merely practiced in the Great City, not that they knew each other personally!

Feeling relieved that I hadn't confided in Abasi my true mission at the beginning of this journey, I turned to go back to my room, intent on finding my own answer to the Pharaoh's riddle.

"Kay?"

I froze at the sound of Mana's voice.

The young girl peeked out from behind the next pillar. Her hat was off and she'd made a valiant effort to braid her choppy brown hair.

"Mana? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Um…I've kind of been following you," the girl said, flushing red.

"Why?" I asked. Had she caught onto my real intentions? Did she know of my mission?

"I was wondering if you'd figured out Lord Pharaoh's riddle," she said.

The pleading look in her eyes made my heart twinge. "I'm not supposed to give you answers, Mana," I said, trying to hide how much it hurt to say it.

Mana looked resigned. "I know, I can't ask you to do that, Kay," she said. "But… if there wasn't a rule against it… would you…?"

"Yes," I said, almost without thinking.

Mana's eyes lit up and she smiled slightly, though the rest of her face still looked sad. "Th-Thanks, Kay. It's… it's good to know that."

That night, still worrying about the riddle, I had fallen asleep.

Immediately I was back in that splendid temple, the armored lioness looking at me. A soft glimmer of pride shone in her eyes.

"You were right to offer reassurance to that young woman," the lioness said.

"But I didn't help her at all," I protested. "It was just talk."

"But you meant it, didn't you, little one?" the lioness asked.

My face felt hot as I said, "Yes."

"That means it was much more than talk." The lioness dipped her head in invitation for me to come closer. I was wary, but less anxious than last time as I approached her, stopping at the bottom of the dais.

"Your magic has grown splendidly, for such a short time," the lioness said gently.

I felt a prick at my heart, the feeling I had whenever Mother complimented me on my training, but stronger.

The lioness's eyes sobered, and she gave a low, almost inaudible growl.

"Has the only time you have been appreciated been when your life was in jeopardy?" she asked.

"Mother would never ask something of me I couldn't handle," I insisted.

"My sisters would have torn you apart that day by the oasis," the lioness replied. My mind was filled with the memory of fighting that lion pride, before this journey had even begun. "Choose your battles wisely, my little one, and do not fight for the appreciation of fickle men."

"What do you mean?"

"Come forward," the lioness said.

Anxiously, I walked up the steps of the dais, until I was standing directly in front of the lioness, close enough to count her bent whiskers, notice how her claws were frayed and broken, see, etched into her pelt, half-healed scars, and gaze into her deep violet eyes. Rather than looking ancient and powerful, she looked old and grief-stricken.

"Kneel," she said, her voice strained.

I dropped to my knees, aware of this massive predator, who, no matter if she looked old, could still kill me with a single blow.

The lioness's massive paw rested on my shoulder, the strength in it enough to knock me over, but the touch was gentle. The lioness touched her muzzle to my forehead in a sort of kiss.

"My lord has chosen you to uphold my sword and my legacy. It is a blade who hungers for justice rather than the blood of the dead. Little one, this is a blessing I gave you the moment you were born. Tonight I give it to you again: with a warning."

"I'm listening," I whispered, not sure why I felt I had to keep my voice low, but just feeling that this was the kind of place and occasion where one whispered.

"I give you the blade of Lord Geb's dark avenger, the fire of Lady Sekhmet in your soul, the wit of Lord Thoth, the eyes of Lord Ra, and Lady Isis's compassionate heart. Grow wisely and well, sweet cub," the lioness intoned. Her face, once again, became stern. "Dark clouds of confusion gather around you. Your enemy awaits you, though you will not recognize them yet. But take heart; if you meet the darkness with courage and hope, you will be recalled to the light."

I blinked, looking up at the lioness in surprise.

The lioness's eyes sparkled, and I got the impression that, had her leonine face been capable of such, she would have been smiling.

A strong wind began to blow. The dream was ending.

The lioness's voice echoed through my head: "Before you leave, there is something I wish to show you. It is up to you what you do with it."

A vision filled my eyes, of the vast, open desert.

Then, skittering across the sand, was a single scarab beetle. Rather than rolling a ball of dung, the small insect carried a shining ball of fire, a tiny sun. The little bug was struggling with the ball of fire, constantly having it slip out of its grasp.

Then, another beetle emerged from the sand and reached out with its forelegs to steady the tiny ball. Together, the two began to push it forward toward the horizon, now moving it with ease.

I blinked, not understanding, before it hit me.

"Good luck, Kay," the lioness said, her light, musical laugh echoing in my mind.

My eyes flew open, and I found myself lying in bed rather than kneeling in a temple before an armored lioness. The vision she had sent, of the two scarabs carrying the sun, was still etched into my mind.

That was it. I knew the answer to the Pharaoh's riddle! Quickly disentangling myself from my bedsheets, I dressed in a hurry, finding an outfit that, while opulent, was more practical for moving around quickly. Sheathing my knife at my hip, I hurried out the door, nearly running straight into Berenike before stopping to catch my breath.

"Wait, wait, where are you rushing off to so quickly, owlet?" she asked. "No, no, you don't have to tell me right away. Breathe."

Pausing to catch my breath, I said, "The Pharaoh… where is he receiving answers to yesterday's riddle?"

"He planned to ask the contestants over breakfast," Berenike said. "He should be there now."

"Thank you!" I called as I rushed past her, barely noting how she smiled and shook her head.

Contestants were filtering into the room as I entered, taking their seats and eating breakfast. Lord Aknamkanon sat at the head of the table, Lord Aknadin standing to his right.

Seth and Kisara were already sitting at the table, Seth stabbing his cut of meat as if he bore a grudge against it and Kisara biting into a piece of bread. Maahad, in the middle of putting a grape in his mouth, swallowed hard and washed it down with a sip from his wine goblet as he saw Lady Isis enter, walk up to the head of the table, and, with a bow, ask something of Lord Aknamkanon, who responded with his usual genial smile.

"Good morning, Kay," Kisara said as I slid into the seat to Maahad's left.

Seth paused in massacring his plate of meat enough to say, "Up at last, jackal boy?" and hiss in pain as Kisara elbowed him in the ribs.

"Oh! Good morning," Maahad said, startling visibly upon realizing I was there. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Fine," I replied.

"That's good. I didn't sleep a wink, I was up all night practicing," the studious young contestant said, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment.

Mana stumbled in among the last of the contestants, still looking stunning despite the fact I suspected she had just rolled out of bed. She was still wearing her nightdress, and her messy hair was flattened on one side, as if it had been pressed against a pillow just moments earlier.

"Good morning, Mana," I said after I realized I was staring at her again.

"Sure, she gets a greeting from you," Seth muttered. "What are we, chopped meat, smitten kitten? Ow! Stop doing that!" He said the last sentence to an irritated Kisara, who had just kicked him in the shin under the table.

"M-Morning…" Mana began to reply, only to yawn in the middle of talking. "Aw, I didn't sleep at all last night. I was so worried about that riddle!"

"It doesn't affect our performance, remember?" I asked as she climbed into the seat to my left, trying to ignore how hot my face felt as she smiled.

"I know, Kay. I'm just… nervous, is all. Starting today, I'm representing the Great City. What if I mess up?"

I wasn't sure how to reassure her, and before I could answer, Lord Aknamkanon stood up.

"May I have your attention please?" he said.

A hush fell over the hall in response to the Pharaoh's words.

"I earnestly hope you have gotten the rest you need for today's event from last night! After all, I cannot ask you to present your best to me if you are physically unable!"

A mumble of yeses and a ripple of nods went down the banquet table.

"Excellent," Lord Aknamkanon said. "Now that I have your attention, the time has come for me to hear your answers to the riddle I gave you!"

The hall exploded with noise as everyone started shouting out their answers all at once. I couldn't hear if anyone had the same answer as me, as all of the answers overlapped each other in an indecipherable cacophony of voices.

Lord Aknamkanon, with a wave of his hand, shushed everyone at the table. "Please, not all at once," he said, amusement glittering in his eyes. "One at a time, starting with those near the head of the table on my left. Once everyone has answered, my brother shall reveal the true answer and lead you to the site of the first event. Again, your answers will not affect your status in our eyes. This is merely a way for us to see how you think - in particular under pressure."

I listened to each answer, wondering how many people had come to the same conclusion as me. One person answered a palm tree, as dates grow in threes. Another answered a man on horseback, as it has six legs but only uses four. A third answered a pride of lions. A fourth said a caravan, as each person in it had two legs.

I also watched Lord Aknadin's face, trying to gauge which answers he seemed pleased with. Most of them, he looked irritated and disappointed. A few, he looked downright appalled at how off-the-mark they were.

No one had gotten it right, as far as I knew.

Seth answered, "An army," which got an intrigued look from Aknadin. Kisara, meanwhile, stood up, her eyes dull and lifeless, and said, "A slave train," before sitting down.

Aknadin's expression didn't change from the irritated, bored mask he'd worn as everyone gave their answer, but Lord Aknamkanon looked alarmed, his thanks for her answer sounding forced, and Isis, still in the room awaiting the riddle answers being finished, bit her lip and cast her eyes down in shame, the Millennium Necklace gleaming softly.

When it came to Mana's turn, she blurted out, "A team of oxen!" before turning mauve and sitting down again.

The entire hall looked at me next.

I took a deep breath. "Lord Pharaoh, my answer is a team. The first contest will be completed in pairs - two by two."

Lord Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow, but otherwise gave nothing away. Lord Aknadin, however, looked both flabbergasted and enraged.

Had I gotten the answer that wrong?

But Lord Aknamkanon's gaze was warm as he said, "Thank you for your answer, Kay."

Maahad, to my surprise, stood up and said, "Lord Pharaoh, my answer is the same as Kay's. The contest will split us into teams of two."

The rest of the answers passed by in a blur, even as I carefully studied the Pharaoh and the priest's faces, hoping to gauge who had been right, who had been close, and who had been far off.

Then, as the last boy stammered his answer - a reflection - Lord Aknamkanon clapped his hands to hush the rising whispers as people compared their results.

"I must remind you that you will not be judged on these answers. They are there only to provide a hint as to what the next challenge will be," the Pharaoh said. "Now, all of you, rise, and follow Lord Aknadin to the site of the first contest. The tournament for placement in my court has officially begun."