-The Game Of Frailty-
Chapter one: Game Of Frailty
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The cool Nile breeze molded the Egyptian sands into a dull, orange sea. The ever-shifting dunes crawled smoothly like placid waves and crashed into the ivory palace walls. The wind had been particularly bitter this growing season and had been the author to much chaos brewing inside the cramped, sweaty streets of Memphis. The overly worked Memphites already were ornery with the political duels taking place inside the Pharaoh's grand domain, now they also had the fierce drafts, which heaved the coral sand into their already itchy eyes. Clearly, even Geb, the God of the Earth, was troubled with this disturbance in the majestic palace, so much, that he blew hardy winds at the aching backs of slaves and high priests alike; Even the pharaoh was not spared.
The currents silently whirled in the young king's face and yet, his eyelashes didn't even flutter. Showing vulnerability to such puerile things was not in his dignified nature. Therefore, even with the harshest of winds, he stood as erect as a boulder, shielding himself and his kingdom.
A boulder, perhaps, would be the best simile for his hard disposition; for, the outside can be rough or smooth, yet still as tough as iron. The inside just as tough and jagged. There is no tenderness to a rock; it holds no warmth. It is only knows the cold.
His face did not so much as flinch as another gust of the chilling draught splashed upon him. His agitated gaze was not wavered by it either, though it's recipient desired it to be; The Pharaoh's cold stare could not be held for long.
"Please," he asserted, resting his chin in his palm and scowling," do not inform me that you hauled me out of a crucial conference to attend to an artless embezzler."
"W-Well," stuttered the bald, pudgy assistant, trembling on his knees before him," er-He stole gold from your high priests and your royal chambers, sire!"
"And?"
"And-He-er-cursed your glorious name with vile words! Oh, such putrid dishonest words they were, sire."
"And?"
The round man licked at his thick lips nervously, "and-H-He is the son of the great thief Aten, your highness."
"Who?"
"Aten!" Declared the man, his side ponytail swinging wildly." The bandit who plundered you for years when your father was in rule."
"Oh," the high pharaoh sighed listlessly," that sorry excuse for a pilferer who always found himself in chains. Didn't I execute this filth after father's death?"
"Yes sire, but this is his son. A sum of guards caught him sneaking though out the palace. He's being held this second, sire, awaiting your virtuous judgment."
The Pharaoh Yami rose from his flaxen throne.
"Lead the way, Serapis."
Crowds of grimy palace slaves were circled around an equally grimy figure that was sprawled helplessly upon the stone floor. The mucky servants immediately knelt to their knees as the grand pharaoh and his sweeping silk robes appeared on the scene.
" Where is the son of that grime Aten?" Demanded Serapis, his cheeks expanding like a bullfrog," he shall know the forbidding wrath of the wonderful-"
"Thats enough." The pharaoh said, peering down upon the trembling servant, searching for the thief with narrow eyes.
"Ah, you look exactly like your father, young Aten," his callous crimson eyes landed on a cowering, scraggy boy," though you are more malnourished and scrawny then he. What occurred after your father's execution? Did you and your family begin to starve because you found that you could not eat off my palace without paying up the deadly price?"
The boy gazed up through his mop of oily black hair and answered with such a force that was not to be spoken with to the Pharaoh.
"Yes, Pharaoh Yami, my family is starving, thanks to you. My youngest brother is dead, my eldest sister's baby has been miscarried, and my mother can no longer stand on two feet...All due to you." His pensive stare never wavered.
The ruler grinned crookedly. This simple smile was famous through out the entire kingdom for being a quick death sentence. His lips only tugged at such ways when he was devising insane judgments in his mind. Young Aten was clearly aware of this as he began to back away cautiously.
"I'm very pleased to hear that. Getting your foul family off my streets would be such an accomplishment," his smirk widened dangerously," for, as they say, the rotten apples do not fall far from the tree."
Young Aten seemed to have recovered some sort of confidence and took a step forward.
"My father was a great man."
The spectators gasped at the boy's stupidity and cunning. No one spoke to the Pharaoh in that tone. No one.
The young king chuckled lightly," your father was a filthy thief."
" My father stole so we could eat!"
"And for what?" Yami shrilled murderously," so his son could grow to steal as well? -To prolong the death that hovers above your house? He only made you suffer and loll in your own hunger, longer then you should have. What great man is he? Tell me, where is his greatness?"
The honey-skinned boy quieted and lowered his eyes to the dusty stone floor. Yami took his silence as a confession.
He lifted his hand and seemed to brush the boy away.
"Kill him."
"No!" Wailed Aten's son crashing to his knees." Please merciful Pharaoh! Not death!"
"Not so confident now, are we?" Pharaoh Yami said, his leer widening. He had won this duel of words and he knew it. It bestowed him with an arrogant aura that made the now sobbing boy shiver even harder.
"Please!" He cried, seizing hold of the Pharaoh's gold embroidered hem. " My family! They will die! No one has the strength to get food! They'll starve! Please, no!"
"Un-hand me peasant."
When he did not comply, Yami lifted an ominous hand to slap him away--
--But a hand, soft with wrinkles, latched unto his before it could swing down and strike the sniveling boy.
Yami knew who's hand had clutched his, yet he still questioned," who touches the Pharaoh?"
The grasp released and Yami spun around.
"Ah, old priestess Edjo."
The woman he was addressing glowered at him through her graying hair. Her craggy hands were upon dumpy hips, seeming as if she was an aggravated mother scolding her mischievous child. Her pale hair, twisted in flaxen rings and fine mauve robes suggested her high place in society; yet not even she was allowed to touch the Pharaoh without his permission first.
" So why have you halted my actions? If you had no reason, you shouldn't have done so." He stated when she did not speak on her own behalf.
" This is madness, Pharaoh Yami!" The priestess Edjo declared loudly, in her wheezy, aged voice." You and I both know you are not cold enough to sentence a boy--Man to death for providing for his family!"
"He broke the laws this kingdom has been forged on. 'An eye for an eye' they say." He conveyed, sneering," Well, I believe the amount of gold he has stolen will be worth his life in return."
The priestess fumed, looking much like a pig with its pink snout stuck in the air. " This is cruel and unfair! It contradicts the morals your father-"
"My father is dead."
The silence over the small scene was intense and seemed to engulf every wide-eyed spectator, smothering any sudden thoughts that struggled to emerge. Only old Edjo had the courage to speak.
"Your father was a good man with a strong heart. His heart was surely lighter then Maat's feather."
"I have no father other then Horus!" He hissed suddenly.
The ancient priestess beamed smugly. " Nudged a weakness didn't I?"
He narrowed his eyes, retaining his anger inside.
"I have no weaknesses."
Edjo cocked a quizzical eyebrow. "Why, Pharaoh, everybody has their own frailties. Mine and this boy's, perhaps, would be our hearts." She put her saggy hand to her chest," I feel this boy's pain. It chaws at him like wild jackals. He is forced to either pilfer or observe as his family drops to the ground in blind hunger. He followed his heart. Therefore, his weakness is good."
"No weakness is good."
The senile woman smiled lightly. " Yami, what have I taught you? Was it not I who played with you while your father was busy? Was it not I who told you of the power of the heart and how overwhelming it can become?"
"That," he said," was rubbish. The ill-logical side of the heart that houses this 'weakness' does not dwell in mine. Only pure strength radiates in me."
"Every heart has its weakness."
"I have none."
"You," she declared," have to many."
Another tedious silence instilled until Pharaoh Yami suddenly became enraged.
"I told you," he spat lividly towards the guards," to kill him!"
The guards began to haul away the limp figure that seemed to be made only from bones and cloth. He made no movement or sound, but silently took his punishment.
"No!" Edjo hollered," this is in just! Where is your heart Yami, where is your heart?"
The ruler smirked; He had regained his un-nerving control and his arrogance.
"I stated before, I have no common frailty."
"You are a monster," she seethed, ignoring the flabbergasted witness's wheezes and gasps," May you be dammed by your cold heart!"
"Do you envy such a punishment as well?"
"You snide snake! You wouldn't dare put me to death. I helped raise you and your father, you disgraceful little git!"
"Priestess Edjo," He asserted, with an odd glint momentarily flickering in his eye," you forget to whom you speak. I am no longer your little pet who follows you aimlessly, I am the supreme Pharaoh."
Her rage was too immense to bottle with sassy words. She began to yell freely at him, " you're still the little Yami who was scared when Ra slept and the world was dark. You're still the little Yami who was devastated at their mother's funeral. You're still-"
"Quiet." It wasn't a request; it was a command by the high ruler himself. The priestess respectfully remained silent.
"You have disrespected me for the last time. You let this lowly boy," He motioned at the seemingly lifeless figure, sprawled in the guard's hands," be your downfall. Because of this 'weakness of the heart' you speak so fondly of, I have concluded on allowing this runt to live."
Priestess Edjo gazed up into the fiery crimson eyes, hardly believing. She had made an impact on one of his decisions? Her eyes lit up with joy as the heavy stone in her heart was lifted away. Was the Pharaoh truly softening?
"And you may take his sentence."
Those words rung through her head coldly, shattering every sense of sanity she possessed. The pharaoh had condemned her to death and now her fate was sealed like a tomb. She was to die a disrespectful death. The on- lookers watched in concern and curiosity, waiting for her to sob loudly like the starving boy had.
Their jaw's dropped when she began to laugh.
Her rich chuckle, tainted with distress and pain echoed through the stone corridors and reached ears that hadn't the slightest clue what was going on just a few steps away.
" I see not what is humorous."
"Pharaoh!" She finally said," in securing my future you've secured yours as well."
He raised a questioning eyebrow. Had he made her insane with just his judgment? No, Edjo was stronger then that, both emotionally and magically.
"Don't you see, naive one? You're hexed and I am your hexer! I curse you, here and now, before your people. I curse you, dear Pharaoh Yami!"
" You say you don't believe in the weakness of the heart, well I'll make you believe! I curse your heart! I curse it with every fiber inside mine. May your weakness come upon you so powerfully, that it takes form. Yes, form, shape, body. Let him come to you, for he will. And when you try to think of anything other, he will flounce back into your mind. He'll be your only thought and only dream. He'll be both your gift and your demise."
To the untrained ear, her senseless words seemed like random babble, but Yami, who was fully aware of such things, knew it to be more. It made the small hairs upon his neck spring and tingle.
She smiled softly," but my dear Yami, I know you have been corrupted by this heartless world. This coldness has stolen your voice and your heart. I will give you a chance to gain the warmth back; a chance to feel that exhilarant sensation in your heart you once dubbed love. If you can learn to love your weakness, you have won this shadow game. You have beaten my curse. But, with every strike you deal him, your fate grows closer to the abyssal shadows. Love him and you win, kill him and your as good as insane. For he is have of you; the forgotten half you forgot much to early. Win, and your prizes are beyond words; a love beyond love. You will wake each day to Ra and praise him for the blessing of this bewitching graciousness. Lose, and your mind is given to the shadows to maul upon. Yugiou, can you beat the Game of Frailty?"
"I-I can beat any game, but this is besides the point." He quickly regained his dispostion."You are just delaying the inevitable. Before my guards execute you, you should praise Hathor for your over reactive imagination. It bestowed you with a few more seconds of life. So long, Edjo, Priestess of the 16 Dynasty, and may Osiris lay 'peace' on your eternal soul."
The guards began to heave the battered old woman away. Before they were to far out of ear shot, he made sure to speak clearly to the remaining guards:
"Lock this filth away in the dungeons. See to it he starves to death."
"Curse you, Pharaoh Yami! With every magical energy inside me I curse you!"
He thought that would be the last he would ever hear of Priestess Edjo.
------
He strolled restlessly through the barren corridors with a single hand clutched to his temple.
'Damn this forsaken headache!' He howled in his mind, asserting more pressure upon his forehead.
He had to much to do to have such a headache. He still had to look over the scribe's scrolls on the population increase and meet with a European merchant who was to sell him foreign wheat. He also had his daily prayers to look to and his nightly duels. He could not lie out for even a day.
Oh, but this headache was blinding. It made the solid world around him swirl and shift under his feet. The pain was shrill and sharp, like hundreds of tiny needles were being pierced into his head. Bells were ringing inside, pounding on his skull and shaking his ears. It felt like his mind was trying to split into two.
And just as sudden as it came, it went. It seemed to blow away with the wind that had slipped through the window. How very mysterious...
To make matters even more stranger, an odd sound arrived in the passage. A sound, the dingy walls hadn't heard in a sum of years, A little boy crying.
Without another thought, Yami rushed to the weeping. He didn't understand why, but he did. Maybe it was the heart-wrenching innocence that fueled each tear, or the fact the sound was coming from a part of the palace no one but him and other royalties were allowed into.
When he saw what was sobbing, his heart almost gave way. It was-- Him? No, no, that was just too foolish to think. This boy had the same crown of spikes, but looked nothing like his sturdy self. Yami's skin was sun kissed and resembled the sweetest of honeys, this boys was a pale alabaster, like a beautiful foreigner's. He was also considerably smaller, manifesting the appearance of a young child. He was leaning against the ivory wall, with his knees to his chin and humble arms crossed so his eyes remained a secret.
"W-Who are you?" He found his voice to be softer then he intended it to be. It was demanding all the same.
The boy gazed up into Yami's face, making him stumble backwards almost.
He blinked his stunning violet orbs that were laced with pure innocence as another crystal tear rolled carelessly down his flushed cheek.
"I'm your weakness..."
The Serious Side: OO That, was the worst thing I ever read.
Miao: X.x Err--- I hope you guys liked that. They'll be more coming soon! Er-- If you liked it ;
The Serious Side: -.-;; Please, just drop dead.
Miao: I told you, as many times as you say it, it won't come true.
The Serious side: -.-;;
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