AN: I am so sorry for the lack of updates. College has been thoroughly kicking my butt and I have basically no time to write. Not to mention, I have been so stalled on this chapter. Idk why, but I could not get into the zone for it until the last few pages, and then I couldn't find a place to stop! Anyway, it's out now. ]
A Game Of Lion And Mouse
Those two days I spent in bed were the longest days of my life. I knew after Mother's warnings that I needed to do something, especially since I didn't have much time until the next contest began. I knew now that not everyone here besides myself was a half-trained whelp with a "glorified stick" as Seth described it.
I had underestimated Shada, and it had cost me dearly. That was the reason I was consigned to bed in the first place.
I fumed, tossed, and turned all the next morning. When Kisara, Maahad, Mana, and Seth turned up at my door with breakfast, I took it begrudgingly. Mana pressed a cup into my hands, full of a powdery liquid. I took a cautious sip of it, finding it tasted slightly nutty.
"This is supposed to help with headaches, Naunet said," Mana informed me.
"How are you feeling?" Maahad asked.
"...Better," I said grudgingly. I truly wasn't dizzy anymore and hardly felt sick. I still wasn't happy that they had been right about my needing rest.
"That's great!" Mana cheered. "Naunet said you could probably get out of bed tomorrow if you're feeling better!"
"Thank the gods," I muttered darkly.
Mana frowned sympathetically. "Did you really hate resting that much?"
"I can't afford to rest," I replied firmly, not sure why I had to explain it so many times. "In battle, resting is a luxury that can get you killed."
"Lord Pharaoh isn't going to let people die," Seth said, folding his arms.
I ignored his statement, frowning at Maahad. "Tomorrow, I'm going to start teaching you combat forms again. Even if the next challenge isn't combat-based like today, it can still help you in other areas."
Mana nodded. "Kay's stance tips are really helping me keep my balance when I'm casting."
Maahad smiled at me. "Thank you, Kay. But, please, don't feel obligated to teach me if you wake up feeling unwell tomorrow."
Mana insisted on finishing the complete run-down she had been giving me about the fighters she saw that I had missed, which eased the humiliation of having her and the others fuss over me and then having to go back to "resting".
What I learned cemented my suspicions - the other contest participants were a mix of amateur and trained fighters. At least I knew the ones I needed to tread carefully around.
They left, promising to visit later, and I was once again left alone.
I couldn't sleep. I wasn't tired anymore, having slept for so long yesterday. After how everyone had reacted to me slipping out of bed yesterday, I didn't want to risk drawing attention to myself by doing that again.
The thought struck me, then, exactly what I could do.
The lioness said that my ka was close to revealing itself. I should try contacting it again!
Mentally scolding myself for not considering that earlier in my two-day house arrest, I sat up in bed and closed my eyes, reaching inside me for my magic.
For a long time, all I saw was the darkness behind my eyelids. Then, I saw a cloudy, gray haze surrounding a dark, flickering silhouette. I felt a jolt of excitement - this hadn't happened during my previous attempts. Did that mean the lioness was right and my ka beast was almost ready to reveal itself?
I forced down my excitement. I had to keep my mind clear. Feel nothing. In my mind, I reminded myself who I was.
I am Kinslayer, the son of Layla of Thebes and Pharaoh Aknamkanon. I am the fruit of the abominable act the Pharaoh committed, and my mother's weapon of revenge. My purpose in living is to kill the Pharaoh and take his throne in my mother's name. I am an assassin. A killer.
However, rather than calm me and help me towards some obvious sign, my declaration only invited intruding thoughts - memories of Mother's painful slap and even more painful look of disappointment, worries about how I would fare in the next contests with such a significant setback already, and suspicions about how much the Pharaoh knew, and how long he would keep such knowledge secret. The image in my mind's eye became more and more clouded.
I am Kinslayer. An assassin. My mother's weapon. A harsh buzzing filled my ears and I felt myself getting dizzy.
The haze surrounding my ka-beast's constantly-shifting silhouette began to bleed red, and the buzzing was now all I could hear.
I am Kinslayer. I am Kinslayer!
My eyes flew open, and I found myself falling back and crashing into the bed's headboard, panting in effort. The empty silence in my too-large palace bedroom was blissful after the cacophony that had just assaulted my ears.
"Little owlet?"
My heart stopped at the voice, before my mind, still spinning with what had just happened, processed and recognized it.
I struggled to calm my nerves as Berenike knocked on my door.
"...Enter," I said weakly.
Berenike opened the door a crack.
"Are you alright, owlet? I heard you scream-" she began. When she saw me slumped against the headboard, panting, my eyes darting around frantically, she stopped, hand to her mouth.
"Was that the tail end of a nightmare I just heard?" Berenike asked with a soft smile. "Those happen to the bravest souls, don't worry."
"I'm… fine, Berenike," I replied, gingerly sitting back up.
Berenike again gave me a sort of look that gave off the air she didn't believe a word of what I said. "Well, whatever you saw, it was only a dream. You're safe now."
I forced myself to nod. If that was the story that would stop any further questions, I would choose it.
"How are you feeling?" Berenike asked. "Lady Mana was quite pleased to hear you were improving. Has that changed at all?"
I shook my head. I felt tired and breathless now, but I didn't feel dizzy anymore. "I should be ready to start training again tomorrow," I told her. "I've lost quite a bit of time; I'll have to work twice as hard if I want to be ready for the next contest-"
"Oh, no, you don't!" Berenike said sharply. "Lady Mana told me you couldn't be woken for five hours yesterday! Now isn't the time to be breaking yourself into pieces for the sake of the Pharaoh! In fact, he'd be guilt-ridden if you did!" She put her hand to her forehead and sighed. "You're probably itching to be out of bed and on your feet again, but please, owlet, be kind to yourself."
I scowled. "You're not the first person I've heard that from."
"And everyone telling you that is right," Berenike said firmly. "Now, you should get back to resting. Lord Seth and Lady Kisara were going to bring you something to help pass the time." She winked playfully at me. "I think you're going to like it."
With that, she left, and I scowled at the bedspread as I laid back down. I had made progress from before, but it felt like I had taken one step forward and two steps back.
What was that? I was keeping my identity in my mind as I meditated, just like I was supposed to. What did I do wrong?
I clearly had a good enough understanding of my identity for my ka beast to partially reveal itself, but no more.
What am I missing, then?
I knew who and what I was. I had since I was old enough to walk. I was the embodiment of Pharaoh Aknamkanon's crime, and so my destiny was to become my mother's ultimate revenge. The same question that troubled me on the road here bothered me again - was that goal not enough for my ka?
No. It had to be enough. I could not be anything else.
The thing Seth and Kisara wanted to show me was a senet board. I stared at it quizzically as Seth unceremoniously plunked himself down at the foot of my bed.
"What? Don't tell me you've never played senet before," Seth said in disbelief.
I shook my head. "We didn't have time for games where I lived."
"Hmph. You're deprived, jackal boy. Well, I went through the trouble of getting this, so you're going to learn how to play now."
"Oh, oh! I want to play next!" Mana cheered. "After you and Kay play!"
I decided there was no way to get out of it, and it had always interested me to watch people in the village play senet.
I had wished for something to do.
I listened as Seth explained the rules, trying to extricate my thoughts from what had just happened.
The first few turns, my moves were unsure, but slowly, I fell into a sort of rhythm. A confidence I had only ever felt when I was training. Although Seth was across from me and Maahad, Mana, and Kisara were watching, it felt like it was just me and the board.
"Kay wins," Maahad said, sounding impressed.
Seth scowled at the board. "Beginner's luck," he scoffed.
That conclusion was harder and harder to disprove as I won, again and again, in matches against Seth, then Mana, then Maahad, then Kisara in rapid succession.
"There's just no way…!" Seth hissed in annoyance as Kisara smiled and goodnaturedly accepted her most recent loss.
"You've never played senet before?" Maahad asked in surprise.
"I haven't. Mother didn't even own a senet board."
"I don't believe that," Seth grumbled flatly. "Again."
Kisara sighed. "Now you've done it."
I lost count of the number of matches Seth insisted on. I won them all, though several times Seth came close.
Kisara had to drag Seth away from the senet board to have lunch.
"We'll bring you something back, Kay!" Mana called over her shoulder.
Once again, I was left alone.
The senet game had been entertaining, but it had only been a brief distraction. Now, my confusion about my ka returned.
The lioness's spirit seemed to think that I was ready to meet it, and this latest attempt proved I was so close…
So what was blocking my path?
I practiced the spells I knew while the others were gone. That was something I could do without too much effort. After several times, I decided to practice casting both Thousand Knives and my concealing spell at the same time. It would be a strain on my abilities, but it might save me in the ring one day.
When Mana entered, holding a tray, she blinked at the shadowy knives embedded into marked targets on the floor and walls, and my empty bed.
"Kay?" she asked uncertainly
"That reckless little… if he ran off to go train again…" Seth grumbled.
"As if you have any room to talk," Kisara said, folding her arms in exasperation.
"Maybe…?" Maahad trailed off. He closed his eyes, tapped the butt of his staff on the ground, and chanted, "Disarm all spells."
The daggers from my multiple castings of Thousand Knives vanished, and I felt myself get forced out of the Duat.
"Ohhh!" Mana laughed. "You were just using your invisibility spell again, weren't you?"
"Yes," I replied. "I was experimenting with my ability to use multiple spells at one time."
Seth huffed. "I thought we were going to have to form a search party to get you back in bed."
Mana's laugh faded and her face turned stern - as stern as the sunny-minded girl could ever be, anyway. "Kay, using magic takes energy, too! You're supposed to be resting!"
"You can't deny it wouldn't be useful," I defended. "We get three days to prepare for each contest, I'd like to use all the time I have to spare."
"Ugh, Ra, not this argument again…" Seth growled. "If the next contest pits us against each other, I want you to give me the best fight you can. And fighting with an unmanaged head injury isn't your best, regardless of whatever the lunatic who taught you how to fight said."
"Lunatic? Now, look here-!" I began in defense of Mother.
Mana pushed past Seth and presented me with the tray of food - roast duck and lamb and fruit, with a few sweet rolls squeezed in as if hiding. "Here, Kay! Naunet said these things are good for healing after a head injury." She leaned in close to me, something that made my face burn, and added, "Except the sweets, I added those myself." She winked.
I started eating, aware of them watching expectantly.
"Once you're done eating, I want another round of senet," Seth said. Under his breath, he added, "I'm still convinced you're lying about never playing it before - that, or you're the subject of a very lucky fluke."
Kisara scowled and elbowed Seth. "Kay is supposed to be resting. You've already challenged him enough today."
"Is it a fluke if it happened three dozen times?" I asked mildly, which made Seth bristle.
"That's it, you're going down the next time we face each other in the ring, got it!"
Kisara coughed politely, holding the back of Seth's tunic with a long-suffering look on her face as he kept shouting at me.
"We'll leave you to rest, Kay," Maahad said. "Although I wouldn't object to playing a few more games once you're better."
Kisara gave him a severe look that made him hold up his hands in surrender, sweating nervously.
No fighting… and no magic. If sabotaging other people wasn't explicitly disallowed, I would think they were trying to handicap me.
Even worse was how easily my body gave into it. I would have had no trouble pushing through any kind of pain while I trained at home. I had grown accustomed to it.
Had I already gone soft?
No, I told myself. No matter how I felt tomorrow, I was going to start training again. I had lost two valuable days to learn from the mistakes I'd made previously, valuable time to sketch out my assassination plan, and days I could have used to ingratiate myself to one of the Sacred Court members.
I was on the back foot, the one thing I wanted to avoid at all costs.
There's nothing that can be done for it now. If everyone is just going to coddle me until they say I'm better, then I'll have to just train as best I can tomorrow and hope the next contest is testing a skill I'm adept in.
That night, I still couldn't sleep. I tossed, turned, and got up to pace so many times I was sure the servants had to have heard me.
Finally, I stepped out onto the balcony.
It was cooler out here, less suffocating. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe.
One day. I had one day to prepare for this next contest. And there was still the matter of my ka. It still wasn't ready to show itself to me, and that meant I was still one step behind at least a few of the other contestants, including Kisara, Maahad, Mana, and Seth.
I've trained, I've meditated, I've known my purpose in this life since the moment I was old enough to understand it! I grasped my temples, pulling at my hair in frustration.
"What am I overlooking?!" I growled in frustration.
A flicker of movement caught my eye, and I looked up.
The Pharaoh. He's in his watchtower again. I frowned, confused, at the silhouette on the balcony high above mine.
I had my guesses, of course, but I'd never really known what exactly he did up there.
Climbing up there would be difficult. Not impossible, though. And after two long days of being fussed over every time I did a single little thing, I needed out of that palace bedroom. It was the worst combination of stuffy and claustrophobic and far, far too big and opulent, and I was tired of it.
I ducked back into the meager shelter of the balcony curtain.
"Duat, hide me."
The oily touch of the shadows were slow to come this time, and maintaining the spell already felt draining, but I could see no other way to slip off the balcony without the Pharaoh seeing me from his lofty vantage point.
Closing my eyes and taking a breath, I stepped back out onto the balcony, quickly climbing over the railing and scrambling up onto the roof. I crept across the roof toward the tower, every so often stopping to let a guard pass by below and shooting glances at the watchtower overhead. Halfway across the roof, I remembered a flaw in my plan.
The Pharaoh had been able to sense and dispel this enchantment with the Millennium Pendant before. He had been agreeable enough to find me lurking outside his bedroom balcony, but his watchtower? Where his most sacred spells were performed according to the rumors? A place so secret its only entrance was thought to be hidden behind powerful enchantments?
Just a quick look, I told myself. I couldn't make myself go back to my room to stew in my house arrest without accomplishing something, and finding out what was in the Pharaoh's most secret chamber definitely was something.
I… wasn't sure how, exactly, that would aid my mission, but I was sure it would be useful at some point.
I'm not getting distracted. I'm not growing soft. I'm trying, Mother, I promise.
As I slowly picked my way up the tower, the Pharaoh became more and more clear to me. He… didn't really appear to be doing anything - no elaborate spell circles, no grand, sweeping magical gestures. The most he appeared to have with him was a scroll, and while I assumed at first that he was reciting an incantation from it, I saw, as I positioned myself in the shadow of the tower's eaves, that his lips weren't moving.
What is he doing? I leaned a bit closer, knowing in the back of my mind I shouldn't risk such a near miss after my run-in with him the other day.
Is he just… looking at a scroll? All this secrecy, and all he's doing is reading up here?
"Up here again, my brother?"
I froze as Lord Aknadin stepped onto the balcony.
"Ah, Aknadin. To what do I owe the pleasure this evening?"
"I have been informed that several of the contestants have left their chambers to wander the castle at night. After the, ahem, incident at the start of this tournament, I assumed you ought to know."
"Before you speak further, might I ask, is one of the missing contestants Kay?"
Lord Aknadin broke off what he had been about to retort with. "Yes, your Highness," he said. "Along with Amenhotep's little girl, and the illusion mage prodigy."
"Both people who are frequently in Kay's company," Lord Aknamkanon finished. "I assume they went to inquire after the whereabouts of their friend. He has not taken his assignment of bedrest well, from what I've heard."
I bristled. How dare he make fun of me when he thought I couldn't hear!
Lord Aknamkanon continued, "Send them to bed. Tell them that I will ensure young Kay gets to bed safely."
"You're not alarmed at all that he's roaming around the palace after dark?! Getting into… Isis knows what kind of trouble?! That boy is dangerous, and you're taking an incredible risk in indulging him-!"
"He has also left his chambers at night before. Yes, Aknadin, I am aware of it. Kay told me the first time he crossed paths with me on these outings that sometimes, he simply needs fresh air to clear his head." He chuckled. "You can hardly fault him - after growing up with miles of desert to explore, the palace must feel suffocating by comparison." His mischievous look faded to tired, resigned worry. "Whether he is in good enough health to sneak out… that is an argument better had with Kay himself."
Lord Aknadin scowled. "I have said this before, Aknamkanon, but you are far too trusting. This is the same boy who has been caught in suspicious scenario after suspicious scenario - flouting rules and poking around in all the places he's not meant to be! I wouldn't be surprised if he was listening in right now, with that camouflaging trick!"
I pulled back a little, tensing up. However, Lord Aknamkanon simply chuckled again.
"How, Aknadin?" he asked. "This watchtower is separated from all the others and to climb up to this balcony from the roof is strenuously difficult even with rope. Maintaining a spell while doing that? You must think this young man is superhuman."
"You're not stupid, brother. You know as well as I do how great his magical power is. Comparing it to the average contestant in this contest is like trying to compare the sun to a candle flame. The only magical aura I've sensed that rivals his is-"
"Mine. As you have said," Lord Aknamkanon said. "However, I stand by what I said previously, your mistrust of Kay is hardly warranted. Are you sure you don't just want him disqualified because he reflects poorly on Seth?"
Lord Aknadin made an angry, choking noise. "His relationship with Seth is not the topic of discussion. Didn't you say he introduced himself to you by almost slitting your neck?"
Lord Aknamkanon smiled fondly. "Only because I startled the poor boy. He apologized immediately, and he made it clear that, in his home village, being slow to draw meant death."
"Hmph. I suppose I cannot sway you. At any rate, we've digressed from my real question. What are you doing up here?"
"Do I need to give a reason to visit this place? Especially when her spirit feels so near…"
"Does she sense that you bequeathed the sword, perhaps? To the most unlikely person imaginable, at that?" Lord Aknadin asked, a cold smile - or perhaps a grimace, it was hard to tell in the dark - creeping across his face.
"And again, you insult Kay in conversation that has nothing to do with him."
"Has nothing to do with him? He is the one you gave it to! After waiting fifteen years for a worthy successor to catch your eye! Why him?"
"Why not? I have found no fault with him. Neither, I'd wager, would she. In fact, I think she'd be proud."
"Proud," Lord Aknadin scoffed. He turned. "Fine. I shall leave you to your work, your Highness."
He then left the balcony, and I could faintly hear his footsteps on the stairs leading down.
Lord Aknamkanon stayed.
"Kay? Is that you I sense up here? If you're there, come out. I dislike having to resort to stripping your illusion away by force. It's rude, especially after you did so much just to get up here." He closed the scroll he was holding. "Of course, my old mind may be playing tricks on me, and I am only talking to the wind. But I don't think that's true, is it?"
I froze, mentally berating myself for thinking I could avoid the vigilance of the Millennium Pendant after failing miserably at it before. Could I climb down? No, he'd hear that. Jump? No, he'd definitely hear that, and he and the guards would find me nursing a broken leg, if not sprawled across the roof with a broken neck, come morning.
Reluctantly, I let the illusion drop.
"I can explain-" I began.
Lord Aknamkanon simply smiled. "Come onto the balcony, Kay. I'd hate for you to fall from this height."
I slowly climbed over the balcony railing, inclining my head in a bow as I stood up.
"It's as my brother said, you have a habit of turning up in odd places, don't you?" He winked mischievously. "I thought of asking you to reveal yourself when he mentioned you could be watching, but with the mood my brother is in, I doubt he'd have appreciated the joke."
"Ah… right," I said, confused, waiting for a punishment. I knew the Pharaoh was cruel.
And even my own mother would - and had - beaten me for snooping into her private things!
"I assume you've been yearning to get out of that bedroom ever since I sent you there the other day. As I don't doubt you overheard, your friends were quite worried to find you gone."
"I was feeling better," I said, annoyed that I had to once again explain it. "I can determine my health for myself. I have gone back to training quickly after an injury like that with no trouble."
"Climbing the watchtower seems extreme for a first training venture after being injured," Lord Aknamkanon observed.
"I… was curious. I've seen you up here frequently, and I wasn't sure what it was for. None of the servants knew."
"Ah. Well, you didn't have to sneak up here. I have nothing to hide."
I looked around, finding the only thing of note to be a table with the Pharaoh's scroll on it. I started to reach for it, only to stop myself and look back at Lord Aknamkanon.
Lord Aknamkanon smiled and nodded.
Hesitantly, I picked up and opened the scroll.
I didn't know what I'd find. Arcane spells, a record of his secret thoughts, some forbidden knowledge.
Instead, what I found was-
"A star map?" I muttered.
"Disappointed, are you?" Lord Aknamkanon said with a good-humored grin, his blue eyes glittering.
I rolled the scroll back up, debating what to say. Saying I was disappointed would be proof I had been looking for something else. What if he caught on I was searching for suspicious things to use against him?
"Don't worry. I have no doubt you'd imagined a far grander purpose for this tower than simple stargazing," Lord Aknamkanon said gently. He looked off into the sky, his smile fading. "Khepri always adored it. When we were children, it was one of the few things that could keep her out of trouble," he said with a laugh. "That map, and the others I keep up here? She drew them herself."
I found myself tracing over the carefully-drawn lines of the star map on the table, imagining the queen inking them in with her reed pen. There were some smudges where she'd carelessly put her hand on the still-wet ink, and the writing was a messy scrawl, lovingly naming each star as if they were old friends.
It felt… human. Far more than I ever expected to think of her. She was inconsequential in Mother's story every time she told it. Just another reason why what he'd done had been despicable.
"I'm sorry, Lord Pharaoh," I finally said, retracting my hand from the scroll.
"There's no need to apologize. I have wanted to share this place with someone for quite some time. Khepri wouldn't have wanted it to be locked up to collect dust."
I looked at the map again.
"Now, while I'm sure you feel well enough to be out and about," Lord Aknamkanon said. "My brother has taken issue with these outings, and I assume you want to avoid that."
I did want to avoid that, and now I had quite a bit to think about.
Lord Aknamkanon walked with me down the stairs of the watchtower, and pressed a switch on the wall that opened a hidden doorway in the wall. He closed it just as Mana and Maahad ran up.
"Kay! I couldn't get to sleep so I decided to see how you were doing and you were gone and I had no idea where you went so I went to find Maahad for help looking for you, and then we ran into Lord Aknadin and he said the Pharaoh said you were fine and-" She practically tackled me into a hug. "I'm just so glad you're safe! How many times did I say to stay in bed?! How many times!?"
Maahad quietly cleared his throat, gesturing toward Lord Aknamkanon, who was smiling in resigned good humor.
"Eep! Sorry, Lord Pharaoh!" Mana cried, hurriedly joining Maahad in a bow.
"Rise. As I promised, Kay is alright, and, I assume, going back to his room to rest. You two best be returning to bed as well."
"Yes, Lord Pharaoh," I said, trying to keep my voice even, as Mana exclaimed, "Thank you, Lord Pharaoh!"
As Mana pulled me back toward my room, launching into another scolding for sneaking out, my mind was still on what I'd just discovered. That tower was completely inconsequential? Once again, I'd hit another setback. And now I had no more leads.
I did overhear some things from Aknadin, but a lot of it is information I already knew. At least I learned where the tower entrance is. I could always use that.
However, once again after a conversation with the Pharaoh, I was left with more questions than answers.