During the times of Ancient Egypt, there was a beautiful woman who the people thought was the most beautiful woman in all of Egypt. Pale skin, sea-green eyes, dark obsidian hair... This woman came to become the Queen of all Egypt. Scriptures tell of an epic battle that took place, between the Queen and a great evil. Good triumphed over the evil, but not without great sacrifice. The Queen that the people loved so dearly disappeared without a trace. However, this tale does not tell all. There is one who aided the Queen, one who was misguided by the powers of darkness. This is her story.
It was a hot, summer day in the land of Egypt. You, a lowly slave to nobles who lived in Egypt, were working hard in the fields. Your long chocolate hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, so that it would not get in your way. You were small, and frail, but knew better than not to give your work your all. For fifteen years, you have known what was expected of you, and all you knew was the life of a slave.
You looked up from your work, and glanced at the noble's house. One day, one beautiful day, you would be free from all of this. Free to take control of your own life, to make your own decisions, and maybe own your own house. During your 15th birthday, you had promised yourself this, and also never to own any slaves. You knew how hard the life was.
As your gaze remained on the house, you felt as if something was out of place. This feeling had come to you in the morning as well, the feeling that something was wrong, very, very, wrong. Feeling as if you were just being paranoid, you returned to your work, shrugging the feeling off just as you had done in the morning. It was probably nothing to be worried over.
The sun over head was beginning to set, and you let out a sigh of relief. This meant that your work day was almost over. However, you weren't very eager to return to your small, cramped room, but it was much better than spending the night out in the cold. Plus, there has been rumors flying around about rogue thieves being in the area... They pillaged villages and cities, stealing all that was valuable, and taking women for their own uses. Just thinking of what would happen if they showed up was a scary thought.
You were interrupted from you work by a fellow slave. You guessed it wasn't someone who also worked out in the fields, because otherwise they wouldn't look so clean, and you probably would have recognized them. "Ain?" He asked, as if making sure he had found the right person.
"Yes?" You asked, wondering why a slave from the house would be talking to you. If they were wandering around here on their own, surely they would get in serious trouble.
"The master wishes to see you immediately." He informed, and you stopped cutting away at the wheat you were working on.
After wiping the sweat form your forehead, you picked up the basket full of wheat and began to follow the other slave. "Did he say what for?"
"No, he did not." The other slave replied bluntly.
You wondered if there was something wrong in your work ethic or something else that might have displeased the master. However, no matter how much you searched within your recent memories, you could not find any answers as to why he would want to see you so suddenly.
After putting away what you had cut from the fields, the slave led you to the master's bedroom, and excused himself. You felt uneasiness being in that room, alone, with the master of the household.
You should have run the very moment you were led there. Run away from the very beginning. This is because masters don't just call for a slave-girl to discuss work ethic. No, there were other, much more selfish reasons for doing so.
And you had been oblivious to it all.
Your master was a portly middle aged man, who frightened you. You never dared to look up at his face whenever in his presence. It was the unspoken law of the slaves -- never look straight at your owner's face, or and that of a citizen's. It showed defiance.
"Sir? You sent for me?" You kept your face low. And in doing so, you look noticed that the floor was made of fine tile. It was pretty, and had an intricate design, but people stepped all over it, and only noticed this kind of beauty ever so often.
"Yes, yes. You see, we happened to run out of quality food around here..."
You held your hands together in front of your plain cotton dress. "Oh, well, I'll go out to the market if you wish. There must still be some fresh fish there." You offered, not wanting any trouble.
"No, that's quite alright. I see something much more delicious here."
That uneasy fear that you had begun to feel suddenly spiked up, as you saw him walking towards you. A new, disgusting feeling swarmed through you as his hand landed on your small waist, and it only got worse as it trailed down your leg, feeling you up along the way.
You were terrified, unsure of what to do. A slave shouldn't disobey their master, not matter what the circumstances. They were property, nothing more. Sold and bought like anyother item in the market. But you didn't want this. You didn't want to be used like this. And you really didn't want his hands touching you -- at all.
Suddenly, your head jolted up, and your trembling hands moved on their own accord. Your body's defense system was in action. With all your might, you pushed him away, and ran out. Your master yelled out after you, furious, but you didn't stop running.
Your heart beat wildly, out of fear. Once your master found you again, or if any of the other slaves found you, you knew for sure you would be punished severely. Disobeying or showing defiance to your master was something unheard of among the slaves, for if they didn't kill the person on the spot, they would beat them so severely that they wouldn't dare tell their story to others. All the same, other slaves learned from their examples.
Your tan legs brought you to the bank of the Nile River, and you sat there, hugging your legs close. The master had never shown any interest in you before, and you preferred it that way. You had heard stories of other slave-girls being used for his own sick pleasure, but never once had you thought that one day he would try that with you too. You tried your hardest to push the memory of the event out of your head.
After looking down at the reflection of the night in the water, you calmed down a bit. The dark velvet sky had always calmed you down. And there was also the river that did the same. It brought life to Egypt.
You remained there until the night was at its darkest, and when you looked up, you noticed there was no moon out. It bothered you immensely.
The walk back to the slave quarters was a quiet one, until you arrived. There was total mayhem. Slaves were running past you, and you pulled one close to you. "What's going on here?" You asked, confused as to why everyone was running around like mad men.
"The Thief King Bakura is here! Don't you hear the shouts coming from the city?! They're killing everyone in sight!"
You slowly let of the slave, the name ringing a bell in your mind, but you couldn't place just where you had heard it. Could it be Bakura, your childhood friend? No, of course not. Any news about the village was rare, as if it had disappeared from the face of the planet.
You then glanced over to the city. A orange tint filled the sky. It was burning down. You had not noticed anything on the way back, since you had taken a detour, behind the fields, farther away from the city.
The screams that were filling up the silence of the night were suddenly becoming clearer and louder.
The thieves had arrived at the master's house.
You turned to your left and saw thieves running towards the slaves, slashing down with their swords, spilling the blood of the innocent. The very sight of it almost caused you to hurl. Everything was happening too fast for you to take on. You weren't sure of what to do. Should you run or be killed?
Your legs refused to move, paralyzed by fear.
The main house and the slave quarters caught fire, and you glanced over to the two buildings, horrified. Where were you to run now?
A thief caught sight of you, and a smirk came to his ugly face. Fear gripped onto you, as you turned on your heel and ran. Twice you almost tripped, but thankfully you lost him as soon as the stables came into view.
You ran inside, and secured the lock of the gate, so that no one could come inside. Despite the strong urge you had to run, and get away from there, you knew that there was no other sanctuary.
Sitting on the floor, the air hung heavily with the scent of blood and death. The many screams that filled the night were slowly becoming fewer and fewer, sadistic laughs growing in number.
It was cold, colder than any night you remembered. But you didn't have the courage to search for a source of warmth at the moment, nor did you try to keep your self warm. The screams of other's torment haunted you until you weren't sure you were asleep or not. But you had the feeling you had remained awake all night, fear not giving you the privilege of sleep.
Finally your eyelids were getting heavy from the lack of sleep, an they slowly began to close. Just as they did however, the stables gate crashed open, and light of day flooded in.
You jumped up with a jolt, terrified at the thought that someone had found you. You inched back, until your back hit the wall.
"Who do we have here?" A young man's voice asked out loud, coming into view.
He had familiar white hair and violet eyes. Dressed in a kilt, and a red coat with gold and other treasures hanging from his neck, as well as in a bag that swung over his shoulder, he looked rather sinister.
However you slowly began to recognize him. Same tan skin, his body now well toned, and a new scars were present on his right cheek. Was this the same boy you had remembered from your youth at the village of Kuru Eruna? He looked around the right age...
Just as you debated this, he tan skin grew pale, as if he had seen a ghost. His cocky composure was disappearing.
" 'Kura?" You asked hesitantly, calling him by the nickname you had always called him as a child.
Bakura blinked, a bit taken back. The bag that was swung over his shoulder slowly slumped to the floor with a thud. "Ain? What the hell?" He walked closer to you, as if trying to confirm that you were really there in the flesh.
No one made any sudden movements as tension settled in the air. None of you were sure what to do, and realization settled on you. Bakura had become the Thief King -- he was the one who had ordered the thieves to attack the city. Suddenly, you weren't so sure that meeting up with him again after so many years was a good thing.
Sudden noises from outside caused you to jump, and at that moment, Bakura got a strong grip onto your arm and began leading you away. "What are you doing? Let go of me! Just where do you plan on taking me?" You asked, a good portion of yourself still unsure if you should be anywhere near your old friend.
"I'm taking you out of this dump." He said forcefully, as he walked over to a horse, dragging you with him. He got on a near by horse, and pulled you up after him. Single handed. And well, it seems you still had enough energy to yelp loudly. "Or do you want to stay here -- with all the dead?"
You stared up at him. "Er... no.. But-"
He cut you off. "Alright then. Let's get going before any of the government officials have been informed." And with that, the horse began to move, and Bakura began gathering his thieves to move out into the desert.
"Where are you going? Out into the desert? Are you crazy?"
"Will you shut up already? You're giving me a headache, and I'm considering throwing you off the horse to leave you here." The thief king replied, making you shut your mouth. This wasn't exactly the kind of reunion you had pictured...
okies, I hope all of you liked the first chapter. &&I know there wil be a couple of questions as to why Ain's hair is brown, not purple, as described in You&Atem. Not to worry. The answer to that question will be revealed soon. ^^
Anyhoo, please rate and message, and I'll try to get teh second chapter up asap, seeing as I'm getting a bit busier than usual, and there are more time restrictions for me right now.
