Something feels off, but Mana can't quite pinpoint what makes her feel this way. Her morning begins like it usually does. She starts off on the floor in her room after wrestling with her covers all night, eventually rolling off the bed and being too lazy to get back in. The sun shines bright into the sky, bringing a hint of warmness in her room.
Being greeted by the scent of her mother's amazing cooking gives her just the amount of energy to get up, get dressed and prepare to dig in. She expects a warm good morning from her parents once she reaches the table. Instead, she sits down in silence, eating her food while her mom and dad stand at the prep table with their backs turned to her. She can hear them murmuring about something. Her mother is biting one of her nails while talking through her teeth. Her father has his hands folded and eyes lowered, occasionally resting a reassuring hand on her mother's shoulder.
Feeling a pair of eyes on them, they both turn around to see their daughter's concerned gaze. "Are you finished eating honey?" her mom asks. Mana scarfs down her remaining food before nodding. "Why don't you go outside and play?"
"Are you okay mommy?" Mana asks.
"Everything's fine," her father replies. "Now go along now."
Everything isn't fine. Sitting outside underneath a tree, she observes the fellow villagers. They're aren't doing their normal tasks. Instead, they're boarding up windows and gathering as much food as they can to put to the side. Even if she wanted to obey her parents' orders by playing, there aren't any kids playing right now.
A hand waves in front of her face and she lifts her head all the way up to see Bakura towering over her.
"Hello friend!" Bakura says sitting down next to her.
Mana doesn't immediately answer, bringing her gaze back to the villagers. She can tell by the way they're acting that something isn't right. A shoulder nudge from Bakura brings her out of her thoughts again and finally gives him eye contact.
"What's on your mind?" Bakura asks her.
"It just feels like something bad is about to happen," she replies, hugging her knees close.
"Mana…don't say such things."
"Don't you feel it too?"
Bakura exhales. The truth is, he knows what's happening. But he doesn't want Mana to worry. With her being younger than him, he has always been protective of her. But it seems like she has caught on. "You're quite perceptive, you know that?"
"Eh?" Mana tilts her head, not knowing the meaning of the word.
Bakura dims his eyes. "Never mind."
"Why is everyone acting so weird?" she presses.
Bakura frowns. "It's because…there's a possibility that all of Egypt could be in trouble."
"What?!" Mana yells in shock.
"There's talks about an invading army on their way, probably as we speak."
"That's so scary!" Mana balls her fists to her chest fearfully. "What do we do?"
Bakura smiles assuringly. "Don't worry. I'm positive the pharaoh and his royal court have things under control."
"You sure?"
"Yeah! Pharaoh Aknamkanon is all about peace. He won't let anything happen to us!"
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Fire, destruction, death and the screams of his people is what wakes Bakura in the middle of the night. His room is dark, empty and quiet as it always is at this time of night. Getting up from bed, he stares out of the window where the moon glows in the night sky.
"What an odd dream," he comments to himself. "Or perhaps…a nightmare." He continues to observe his village. There are no lights, signaling everyone is sleeping. And he knows he should be doing the same.
"At least it was only a dream," he yawns, about to turn away from the window until he sees a glimmer of light on the horizon. "What's that?"
Outside of the palace, Aknadin along with a small group of the kingdom's soldiers, arrive at the village of Kul Elna carrying torches and spears. Aknadin stares down at the quiet village. But looks can be deceiving.
"There it is. The village of Kul Elna!" he announces to his troops. "A village of bandits and thieves that are known to rob the royal tombs! Our kingdom is in peril because their actions have angered the gods!"
He had briefly explained to the pharaoh the spells within the Millennium Spellbook. In fact, he went as far as to tell Aknamkanon that it uses dark alchemy. But he never went into detail about the ritual itself.
'To perform the ritual, dark alchemy requires many human sacrifices. I must do it to protect the kingdom, but it's inhumane,' Aknadin thinks to himself, lowering his head and closing his eyes for a moment. 'So I can never tell the pharaoh. Forgive me, brother.'
Accepting what will happen, he opens his eyes and addresses the soldiers behind him. "We will judge them and make them pay for their crimes! Don't let anyone escape!"
A once quiet night, is soon filled with the frightened screams of the villagers of Kul Elna. Men and women are backed into corners as the soldiers progress with their spheres in hand. Houses are broken into and inhabitants are dragged out and led to their doom.
This is a nightmare. Just one terrible nightmare. At least that's what Bakura tells himself as he hides behind a wall after making a run for it. But no matter how many times he attempts to 'wake up' he cannot. Has the army the adults were talking about already started their invasion?
But as he takes a closer look at the clothing of the army, he comes to a painful realization.
'Those are royal soldiers. But why?' he asks himself. 'No! This must be a huge mistake!'
"I found another one," a soldier says, wrapping his arm around Bakura's neck and lifting him into the air.
"No! Stop!" Bakura cries, having been taken off guard. He tries to kick his way out to no avail. The solider is much too strong. "Why are you doing this?! Why?!"
"There's no use in struggling."
"Let go! Let me go!" He opens his mouth wide and then bites down on the soldier's arm as hard as he can. The soldier lets out a pain filled cry, loosening his grip which is just enough for Bakura to get away.
Everything is happening so fast he can barely register what's going on. One moment he was sleeping and the next his village is being invaded by the pharaoh's army. He covers his ears to block out the screams while simultaneously trying to find another hiding spot.
There were multiple cries coming from the villagers at one point. But as time goes on, it is reduced down to a single voice who pleads for their life until they are silenced for good.
He closes his eyes as tears begin to fall. The only thing that comes to mind is 'why'? Why is this happening?
Why are they being punished in this manner?
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Mana slowly sits up with a sleepy gaze. The blanket partially covers her body while the other portion drapes off the side of the bed. Waking up on the floor is the norm and hardly ever fazes her anymore. Her parents even gave up on telling her to get back in bed, since the floor was always where she'd end up eventually.
She gets the idea to surprise her parents this time around. She will try her best efforts to stay in the bed. Maybe if she sleeps on the side closest to the wall, it will be harder for her to fall off. Scooping up her blanket, she throws it on the bed before climbing in. Then she sits on her knees, trying her best efforts at straightening it out with her hands and feet.
A loud thumping noise makes her stop what she is doing for a brief moment. Are her parents up at this time of night? It wouldn't be an odd occurrence if they are. Maybe they're about to check on her. Luckily, the blanket is back on the bed and all she has to do is lay down and pretend to be sleeping. She smiles internally, thinking of how proud her parents will be to still find her in bed like a big girl.
A shriek makes her soul nearly leave her body and she places her blanket over her head. Her eyes are fixated on the door as her heart begins to pound so much that she can hear it in her ears. A manly grunt follows, only making Mana more anxious. Was that her parents just now?
"Mommy?" she calls out. The sound of a man crying out makes her flinch and her eyes tear up. "D-Daddy?"
Soon, all she hears are screams, this time, from the outside. Sniffling, she reluctantly sits up and peeks out the window. She is filled with instant regret, watching as soldiers dressed in brown garments and armed with swords begin attacking the village. They break into homes, leaving nothing but death and devastation behind. Fires begin to rise in each house and the cries for help become almost deafening.
Is this the invading troops Bakura was referring to?
She jumps out of bed and runs for her bedroom door, only to be met by flames to her horror. "Mom! Dad!" she screams at the top of her lungs. When she gets no response, she slowly backs up until her back hits the opposite wall. They're gone. She's sure of it. Her parents are gone and her village is under attack.
But Bakura said the pharaoh would have everything under control. So why is this happening?
She gasps. "Bakura…!" Is he okay? Is his village meeting a similar demise as hers?
After making it out the window, she gives one last look to her home. In the blink of an eye, everything she has known is up in flames. The areas in which she napped or played are all covered with litter and blood. It's taking everything within her not to crumble right where she stands. But with the invading army still in the area, she knows she has to stay strong and most importantly, make it out alive.
Seeing an opening, she runs down the road as fast as she can. The tears in her eyes practically blur her vision, shielding her from the casualties that lay around her. Only a few more steps and she will be out.
Just as she is about to step foot outside her palace, a soldier steps out from behind one of the crumbled buildings, grinning mischievously at her. She stops in her tracks and attempts to run in the opposite direction, only for him to lift his sword and swipe down. She dives out of the way, but the pain still slashes through her shoulder. Out of her peripheral view, she can see the blood shooting out of her new wound and her legs give out from underneath her.
Her face hits the sand and a tear trickles over the bridge of her nose and onto the ground beneath her.
'But…why…?'
She can see the silhouette of the man who hit her about to strike down on her again and she prepares for the worst. This is it. This is how she'll meet her end.
Instead, the bloodied sword drops right next to her and the ground vibrates from the man presumably collapsing as he lets out his last breath.
Breathing heavily, Mana's eyes scroll up to see a hooded man carrying a bag over his shoulder. But what really stands out to her is his golden eye. He crouches down to her, observing her wound.
Her vision begins to fade completely as she stares into the golden eye. She can see his lips moving as if he's trying to talk to her, though she hears nothing, nor can she make out what he's saying.
The pain has become unbearable and she wants nothing more than to close her eyes and hope this is all just a horrible nightmare.
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His plan worked. After successfully doing the ritual, the Millennium Items have been created. With its power, it ultimately led them to victory against the intruding army using its magic and the ability to summon monsters using their ka. Aknadin received a lot of praise from his brother and comrades in helping save Egypt. On one hand, he was happy he finally received some sort of recognition after living in his brother's shadow. On the other hand, he knew the horrific things he had to do in order to make this happen.
Though he brought soldiers with him to Kul Elna, he ended up being the only survivor. In a way, it might have been a good thing. The less people to survive, the less likely the possibility of word getting out about what happened.
On his way back to the palace, he stumbled upon another village, destroyed by the evil army. The only one who remained was a little girl who he just so happened to see on occasion in the palace. Guilt overcame him after what happened in Kul Elna and he didn't just want to leave the girl to be killed, let alone die from her injuries. So he brought her back to the palace.
"How is the girl?" he asks one of the doctors while standing in the infirmary.
"With a cut that deep, she's lucky to be alive," the doctor tells him. "Physically she should make a full recovery. Thought I worry about her psychological state after witnessing the destruction of her village and the slaughter of her people."
"Yes. Unfortunately there were no other survivors. It's a shame there were any casualties." He can't help but think if the pharaoh had acted faster, the girl and her family would have been spared.
"Two villages, right?"
Aknadin nods. "Hers and Kul Elna." It's what he told the pharaoh and the royal court in order to conceal the truth of what really became of Kul Elna. And it's a story he plans on keeping until he's in the grave.
"She has a long healing journey in front of her."
The prince overhears this as he stands outside the room, holding a book under his arm. Seeing the doctor and Aknadin about to exit, he retreats into the shadows until the coast is clear. Then he walks in silently, going up to her bed and sitting on it with his legs crossed.
He opens his book, giving her watchful gazes every so often to make sure she's okay. When the war ended, everyone was rejoicing and felt a sense of relief. But he had no idea that there were people who perished. If only all of them had been saved.
He can only imagine the amount of grief Mana will have to process once she wakes up.
But it's a grief he knows all too well himself.
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AN: And there you have it, chapter 2. How's everyone liking it so far? Leave a comment and let me know if I should continue!