Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 16

“You will return to the palace to stand trial, Bakura!” Mahad was snarling, his Magus of Illusion locked in battle with the thief mage’s Diabound.

“Return to the palace?” Bakura demanded, with a bitter laugh which made the messenger that the Pharaoh had sent flinch, “For a trial? What trial? The Pharaoh has already decided I should die, has she not?”

‘She?’ The messenger couldn’t help but wonder as Diabound loosed an attack that tore up the ground and nearly blew Mahad and his mage away. As it was the pair had to pick themselves out of the sand.

“If I had my way, you would die for your crime, right here and now!” Mahad snapped at her, his Magus covering for him as he got up.

“My crime?!” Bakura stared, in furious disbelief, “My only crime was to trust the Pharaoh! That treacherous, backstabbing witch! I should have outted her secret to the rabble years ago and watched them tear her apart! Diabound!”

Another blast flew through the air. This time Mahad and his Ka beast managed to dodge it and it struck one of the nearby buildings.

“You betrayed her!” Mahad seemed to be considering something as he stepped back, moving away from the battle slightly, “She trusted you and your men nearly killed her!”

“I have done nothing to her! Not yet!” Bakura retorted, her eyes narrowing, “And she’s the one who ordered my execution! She wasn’t even noble enough to see the sentence through herself!”

Mahad paused, confusion obvious on his features and Bakura took the opportunity it presented. Her Ka beast vanished for a moment before appearing behind Mahad. The High Priest had just enough time to half turn to see what was happening before he was blasted at point blank range.

The messenger watched in horror as Mahad screamed in agony as the beam of light struck, consuming the High Priest, whose cry died as he did. Then he had to shield his eyes from the sand and dust that had been kicked up by the attack.

When he could look again, when everything had died down, he saw the Magus of Illusion warp and shift, taking on a new form, one that looked a lot like the newly deceased Priest, before fading away entirely.

Bakura moved towards the crater where the High Priest had once stood, a look on her face that spoke of an odd mix or shame, victory, delight and disgust. She picked up all the remained of the High Priest, the golden treasure that had been entrusted to him when he had joined the upper echelon of the court and stared at it for a moment before looking around at the few remaining men who had come with Mahad.

As one they turned and ran. She didn’t let them get far before she destroyed them and turned to the messenger’s hiding place.

Having seen what had happened to the High Priest, he didn’t even bother trying to run. Instead he bowed at her feet, hoping that begging would make her spare him.

“Please.” He tried, “Please, I have a wife and child. I’m not a warrior, or a mage, I’m just a messenger.”

“Oh?” Bakura growled at him, “Look at me.” The messenger did just that, willing to follow her orders if she would spare him. “I think your message is for the dead. Should I send you to give it to them?”

“No!” The messenger backed up, “No, it’s for you. Only for you. From the Pharaoh.” And he didn’t care that the Pharaoh was a woman, or that Bakura had been helping her lie to the people, he just wanted to live.

“I don’t want to hear anything from her.” Bakura snarled, pointing the blade she had been wielding against Mahad at him.

“Please…” The messenger begged, terrified now, “Please don’t kill me.”

“Leave.” Bakura growled at him, lowering her weapon, “Now. And you can pass a message onto her majesty for me.”

“S…sure, whatever you want.” He nodded.

“Tell her that for breaking her word and attempting to bury the truth, I pass judgement on her. When next we meet, she dies.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 14

“Lord Mahad!” The High Priest in question looked up from his scroll to see a panicked looking noble, “It’s the Pharaoh! He’s…”

There was a loud explosion from outside, causing Mahad to rush over to a balcony. As the smoke cleared, he saw the Pharaoh, who was protecting Mana and looked like she was nursing an injury. She had summoned an armored knight of some kind and was facing down three men and three huge beasts. The guards who were supposed to be protecting the pair were sprawled all over the courtyard, unconscious or worse.

Mahad called his personal Ka beast forth and sent it down to help the Pharaoh, before racing out of the room and shooting down the stairs, reaching the courtyard in time to see his Magus of Illusion and the Pharaoh’s warrior take down the last of the men, leaving him conscious to answer questions.

“Who sent you?” The Pharaoh was demanding as Mahad joined her, her breathing rough and uneven, causing concern.

The man just spat at her, earning himself a punch from Mahad.

“I would answer his questions.” Mahad recommended, even as he wanted to punch the man’s lights out, “Because if I have to ask the dungeon keepers to get it out of you, you won’t survive it.”

“I’m not afraid of you. Or your torturers.” The failure of an assassin snorted, “And it won’t matter for long anyway.”

“What do you…” Mahad was cut off by a groan from the Pharaoh. Mana caught her as her legs gave out underneath her, her hand falling away from the wound as she passed out to reveal a dark purple vein like pattern spreading out from the still bleeding injury. “Poison!”

“Check him.” Mana snapped as the man chuckled vindictively, “A smart assassin keeps the antidote on them, just in case they get anything on them.”

Later Mahad would wonder how Mana knew that, but he didn’t waste the time now. Instead he moved to counter the man’s struggles as he tried to prevent Mahad searching him. It didn’t take the High Priest long to find a sealed clay jar with a liquid inside. “Is this it?” Mahad demanded as Mana tended to the Pharaoh as best she could.

“Is that what?” The merc smirked at Mahad, only to get a fist to his jaw.

“The antidote!” Mahad snarled, “Is this it?”

“Why would I tell you even if it was?” The mercenary asked, still grinning, “I’m dead any way you slice it and this way I take the target with…” The man stiffened and shut up as Seth, who had taken on the Millennium Rod just that morning stepped into the courtyard and took control of the man’s mind.

“Mahad?” Seth demanded, concerned as he beheld the scene.

“Is this the antidote?” Mahad asked the man again.

“Yes. You have to ingest it.” Seth forced him to answer. That was enough for the holder of the Millennium Ring, who cracked open the jar and tipped some into the Pharaoh’s mouth. He had to help her swallow but the moment she had her breathing evened out a little and the purple veins seemed to start receding.

“Who sent you?” Mana asked the man, knowing that Seth would force him to answer honestly.

“I was paid by a woman named Ba-Khu-Ra.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 10

If there was one good thing to have come out of the former Pharaoh’s demise, it was that Akhenaden had been the last person to see him alive before he had suddenly sickened and died. This meant that the Pharaoh could openly have him investigated and finally confront him about the truth of the items directly.

“My Pharaoh,” Akhenaden sounded panicked more than anything as he was confronted in a closed court that involved just the High Priests, Ba-Khu-Ra, representing the wronged parties, and the Pharaoh herself, “I have only ever done what is best for Egypt!”

“Then explain yourself.” The Pharaoh demanded coldly from her throne, “Explain what it was you did without holding anything back. The Scales will tell us if you’re lying.”

He didn’t. Not one word he uttered was a falsehood. He didn’t keep back how he had picked Kul Elna, the village of thieves, to be the tribute needed to save the country. Nor did he lie about how he had to brainwash some, but not all, of the men he had taken with him to make them follow his directions.

Ba-Khu-Ra listened, trembling with rage, as he spoke about slaughtering her people, using their blood to power the ritual to create the Millennium Items that had saved Egypt during the last great war. She even just about managed to keep herself in check as he described sending his men to wipe out every last man, woman and child.

It wasn’t until he admitted to burning down the entire village to destroy every last piece of evidence, including the bodies of her entire village, dooming them to an eternity in Duat, that she snapped, Diabound appearing and only not killing the man because the Pharaoh’s own summoned monster got between Diabound and its target.

“Ba-Khu-Ra!” The Pharaoh’s tone was sharp, echoing the pain the former thief’s Ka beast had inflicted on her summoned creature, “Stay your hand.”

“You heard him. He deserves death!” The girl snarled, her naga like creature snarling at the Pharaoh’s warrior on horseback.

“Death may well still be the sentence.” The Pharaoh informed her, glowering at her uncle who trembled under her gaze, “But I have a task for him first.”

“But I have waited years for retribution!” Ba-Khu-Ra protested, causing the Priests to murmur angrily about her disrespect.

“And you will have it.” The Pharaoh swore, causing her uncle to pale, “But not until he’s ensured that your people will get their chance at journeying through the afterlife.”

“My Pharaoh?” Ba-Khu-Ra asked, startled. Was she seriously promising to ensure that the people of Kul Elna weren’t left as wandering spirits for the rest of eternity? Was that even possible when the bodies were no longer available for burial?

“I swear, Ba-Khu-Ra, that the people of your village will get justice.” The Pharaoh promised, “And their eternal rest, as is their due. However,” Ba-Khu-Ra grimaced as the Pharaoh turned to her uncle, the God King’s tone softening slightly, “He was doing what he thought was best for Egypt and it is true the country would have fallen without the Millennium Items. It is because of this that I must allow him this chance to atone for his crimes, by making him set the wrongs right with his own hands.” She looked at the former thief, something in her gaze asking the other girl to understand, “Under your supervision, of course.”

The thief turned mage smirked at that announcement. The Pharaoh was trusting her to judge when Akhenaden had atoned? Then he would be working for the rest of his natural life for there was nothing he could possibly do that would make up for his crimes. It wasn’t as satisfying as killing him but she would enjoy watching him try even if the voices that had haunted her since the destruction of her village screamed for his blood.

“Th...Thank you, my Pharaoh.” Akhenaden stammered, bowing low to Egypt’s ruler. “Thank you for this chance.”

“Just don’t make me regret it.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 9

“Go away!”

Mahad let out a sigh. As a first order went, that was pretty clear, however... “I’m sorry, my Pharaoh, but I can’t follow that order.”

“Don’t...” A half sob emerged from the room he was trying to enter, a stifled, half hidden sound that spoke of someone attempting to deny grief, attempting to stand strong when all that was wanted was time and solitude so that their collapse into misery went unnoticed. “Just go away, Mahad.”

Despite her words he couldn’t let his friend bare this alone. Though Mahad could not have known that her father would sicken and die within a day of learning the truth of the Millennium Items and confronting his brother, he could not help but feel responsible for the former Pharaoh’s death.   

The priest took a deep breath, well aware that, should she desire, the newly crowned Pharaoh could have him killed without a moment’s notice. Then he pushed open the door and stepped into the darkened chamber within. The sun had long set, but none of the torches within had been lit. The inhabitant of the room, who had fled there the moment her duties had been done, didn’t want the light.

It took Mahad’s eyes a few moments to adjust and he left the door ajar to allow some of the light from the hallway into the room.

Once he could make out outlines in the darkness, he moved towards the lump on the bed, avoiding the discarded regalia as he did so. He sat next to the lump, which was facing away from the door.

“My Pharaoh.” Mahad put his hand on her shoulder gently, aware that he had already crossed the line and that this was sacrilege. Touching the Pharaoh without their permission was punishable by death but he had already refused to follow orders and entered the Pharaoh’s bedchambers without permission. At this point he was already risking death. “I’m sorry...”

A loud sob escaped the girl on the bed. That was the only warning he got before she wheeled around and latched onto him, sobbing into his chest. Mahad hesitated for just a moment before wrapping his arms around her, letting the distraught ruler cry herself out.

“It’ll be okay.” He murmured, rubbing her back, “It’ll all be okay.”

He stayed there, holding the sobbing Pharaoh until she cried herself to sleep, and then laid her down gently and moved away from the bed, pausing by the shadows near the door, where a figure was hiding.

“I’ll look after her.” Ba-Khu-Ra promised from her hiding place, “Go settle the morons. I won’t let anyone disturb her until she’s ready to deal with them.”

“Thank you.” Mahad was surprised by her willingness to do this for the Pharaoh.

“I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for her.” Ba-Khu-Ra snapped. “Now go.”

For once Mahad didn’t object to the former thief trying to order him around. Instead he went to deal with the fallout and left the slumbering Pharaoh in the care of the one person in the entire palace that he could actually trust not to bend to the other High Priests.

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 8

She had expected Mahad to be insufferable when he had finally taken his place amongst the High Priests of the Pharaoh and took on a Millennium Item.

She hadn’t expected him to enter her room in the palace, pale and wide eyed, trembling like a leaf, and sit down on her chair, his voice trembling as he spoke, “Ba-Khu-Ra... I...”

“So you finally believe me?” The thief turned temporary ‘servant to the Crown Prince’ so she could be around for the investigation the Princess was pushing, asked as she took in Mahad’s demeanour.

“Y...Yes.” Mahad’s tone echoed his disgust and disbelief as he stared at the Millennium Item in his hand. “How could the Pharaoh do something like that?” He asked, staring at her, eyes still wide, “How could he...?”

“Apparently he couldn’t. He had to send his brother to do it for him, remember?” Ba-Khu-Ra growled, pacing the room.

“I’m going to demand an audience with the Pharaoh.” Mahad decided, “He needs to be told if he doesn’t know already.”

“Why not let her highness confront him? She’s less likely to get the...” Ba-Khu-Ra drew her hand across her throat. “Not that I mind if you want to put your head on the chopping block, but I have plans to fulfil before I die.”

“Because I don’t want the Princess involved.” Mahad shook his head, “Considering the lengths they went to bury this information, I doubt even she would be safe and Egypt needs her.”

“Huh.” Ba-Khu-Ra supposed that made some kind of sense. As much as she wanted the Pharaoh and his brother to pay for their crimes, the anarchy that would befall Egypt if there was no heir when the Pharaoh died wasn’t worth it.

“I’ll go.” Mahad straightened himself out, “I can show him the proof using the Millennium Ring and he’ll have to atone for what he has done.”

“I’ll come with you.” Ba-Khu-Ra surprised Mahad by deciding. “I’ve been waiting for years for someone to confront the Pharaoh with proof and I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Besides someone has got to watch your back. I can’t be bothered to break in a new minion at this point.”

“I am not your minion.” Mahad scowled at her.

“No,” Ba-Khu-Ra allowed, “But you are her highness’s and between the pair of us, we’ve got you well trained.”

Mahad just stared at her for a moment longer before a small smile settled on his features, “Alright, but I’m not sure you’ll want to see the illusion when I show him...”

“The illusion would be nothing compared to living it and I’ve done that already.” The former thief shrugged, “Let’s go.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 7

Mahad let out a frustrated huff as he stalked down the corridor. 

When he had been assigned to teach the newest of the Priesthood, he had thought it might be a blessing in disguise. His investigation into Akenaden’s secrets had hit a dead end. His contacts had been out to the village only to find that time and the desert sands had buried any evidence that had been left behind. The only things left were the burnt out husks of the buildings and ruined signs that it had once been a thriving village.

With only the thief’s word to go on Mahad couldn’t accuse Akhenaten of anything. The ghost town, what had once been the Village of Thieves, would remain a nasty little secret unless new evidence came to light. That was, if the thief was telling the truth.

So he had looked forward to teaching the newest of those who would one day be Priests until he had realised that the boy had been ‘training’ at home with the priests of his local temple and had developed bad habits that would need to be retrained.

It wasn’t so bad. Seth at least had grown up outside the palace, so he didn’t have the arrogant attitudes that Mahad often ran into within the palace walls. He was a lot easier to deal with than the thief girl too. Though she had gotten more tolerable over time, Ba-Khu-Ra of Kul Elna, who now lived within the palace walls and was often found in the presence of the ‘Prince,’ was still the brash, obnoxious thief she had been when he had first met her.

But still Seth was suspicious of something and Mahad was pretty sure that, for once, it wasn’t to do with the thief in their midst. He had seen the common born mage watching the Princess like a hawk and Mahad had a horrible suspicion that Seth knew.

He wasn’t sure what to do about it either. Seth was a Priest. He couldn’t just order him to stay silent or threaten to ‘remove’ him from the equation. The Princess could, but he would have to bring it up to her first and he didn’t know how.

The question was taken out of his hands when he finally reached the Princess’s rooms to find Seth already there, demanding answers from her highness while Mana and the thief looked on.

“Mahad, close the door behind you.” The Princess didn’t give him a chance to say anything to any of them. He did as he was ordered, well aware this would be a loud conversation and that it would require privacy. The moment it was shut, the girl turned back to the angry and confused Priest, “Right, Seth, you were saying?”

“Mahad,” Seth turned to the other Priest, irritation obvious, “Please tell me I’m not the only one in this place who has the eyes to see what is in front of them?”

“No.” Mahad shook his head, “I’ve been aware since just after Anubis killed the Prince. I believe most of the palace are suffering from wilful blindness. They’re seeing what they want to see, or believing whatever they have been told to believe.”

Seth nodded his understanding, before turning back to her highness, “And the reason for this deception over all of Egypt?”

“My brothers are dead and I cannot be Pharaoh. My royal husband can but I am not allowed to marry outside of the bloodline.” The Princess explained, “My mother passed on many years ago and for some reason my father has been unable to provide any children from the harem since she died. This leaves me as the last of my line.”

“And your uncle has no children?” Seth looked surprised.

“He has one son, two years older than I am, but both he and his mother went missing during the war, just after the Millennium Items were created, and no one ever found them again.” The Princess shook her head, “And I cannot and will not marry Akhenaten.” Especally after what Ba-Khu-Ra had told her, but Seth didn’t need to hear about that.

“And without a clear line of succession there could be an uprising, or worse riots and chaos when your father passes on, though I would hope that that would be a long time yet.” Seth understood. “What of your brother. If people believe you to be him, what happened to him?”

“I ensured he was buried with his name, in his tomb and with his tools and toys.” Mahad reassured him, “He will not walk Duat.”

“Does the Pharaoh know?” Seth’s next question made the Princess pause, having wondered that herself for the last year and a half herself.

“I don’t know.” She admitted slowly, “Sometimes it seems like he is just as wilfully blind as the rest of the palace and then other times he says or does something that make it obvious he knows who I really am.” She frowned slightly, “If he’s aware of it, he hasn’t stated it outright and as long as he’s content to leave it so, so am I.”

Seth nodded, clearly thinking, “What is it you need me to do?”

“Seth?” Mahad was surprised, considering how set in tradition the other Priest was, he had been expecting much more of an argument.

“As long as the Pharaoh is letting this continue and it’s what’s best for Egypt, I will assist in keeping this debacle going.” Seth replied, shrugging at him, “Now,” He turned back to the Princess, “What is it I can do?”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 6

“We could take a break if you want?” The Princess offered, easily able to see how frustrated her student was getting.

“No.” The thief grouched, glowering at the hieroglyphs. They were beginning to make sense, but it wasn’t as easy as she had thought it would be. She was actually embarrassed at the amount of trouble she was having. The Princess made it look so easy, but then the eleven year old had learned to read and write at a much younger age, mostly by sneaking into her brother’s lessons. “I’m going to get this.”

Doing so would make breaking in and out of tombs so much easier. She would be able to read the warnings that the architects had left for themselves so they could avoid traps. She would also be able to work out what scrolls were valuable and could be sold to certain parties for a high price.

She just had to understand what the hell each of the symbols actually meant. Hieroglyphs were really complicated and symbols could mean different things if they were paired with different symbols and the whole system of writing made no sense. Hieratic script had been much, much easier to understand, even if she still struggled with it a bit.

Still she had a fellow student now. She was pretty sure it was Mahad’s revenge on the Princess for dropping her on him. Mana, who had been the Princess’s best friend and who had gone home for a while after the Anubis, had returned to the palace to be there for the ‘Prince’ and Mahad. She, of course, had known the difference instantly and had had to swear herself into secrecy along with the rest of the Princess’s small group of confidents, but Mahad had decided that she could catch up on her missed studies by learning from the Princess as he didn’t have time to teach between his own studies and the investigation into Akenaten’s misdeeds.

Frustratingly Mana already knew how to read, but that was fine because Bakura was learning plenty from just watching the Princess try and teach the other girl magic.

“I do have one idea,” Mana commented as the Princess’s stomach rumbled, as she stretched, having taken a break, “What about a trip to the kitchens?”

“Food?” The Princess perked up, having been just as irritated as her student. She knew she was hitting a barrier with Ba-Khu-Ra and she wasn’t sure how to get around it. She wanted to, but she didn’t know how.

“Sure, whatever.” Ba-Khu-Ra wasn’t going to object to a free meal. Money wasn’t too much of an issue any more, not when she tended to make a slight detour each time she left the palace ground. However she had lived with nothing for so long that she wasn’t above taking advantage of free food. “I could use a break anyway.”

They quickly packed up, carrying their tools with them as they made their way past the throne room and down to the kitchens. They were nearly there, in fact they could smell the food cooking when they bumped into the Pharaoh and a couple of the priests.

Well aware of Ba-Khu-Ra’s feelings towards her father and the rest of the High Priests, the Princess subtly gestured to Mana as she spoke with her father. Unfortunately Mana didn’t get a chance to pull the thief girl aside before her father turned to the two girls.

“And who are you two?” He asked, looking them over.

“This is Mana.” The Princess spoke quickly, gesturing to the girl, “And...”

“I’m Ba-Khu-Ra.” The Princess only just managed to keep any signs of distress off of her features as the thief girl stepped forward with a bow and a surprising amount of deference. Still the Princess couldn’t help but hold her breath as the thief straightened and continued, “Of Kul Elna.”

The Pharaoh didn’t respond to the name but Akenaten did. If the Princess had had any doubts about the fact her uncle was involved in what had happened to Ba-Khu-Ra’s village, they vanished as she watched her uncle turn as white as a sheet and backup slightly, staring at the thief as if he had seen a ghost.

Now they just needed hard evidence and they could take it to her father and get justice for the thief girl’s home.

“They’re Mahad’s students.” The Princess spoke up, drawing attention back to her, “We’re learning magic together.”

“And where is Mahad?” The Pharaoh asked, “I require a word with him.”

The Princess hesitated. She wasn’t sure where Mahad was. He had spoke about needing to speak with some contacts and vanished a few hours ago. “I’m not sure.” She said slowly, thinking, “Lessons are over. We were just about to do some extra revision and get a snack.”

“If you see him, send him to the throne room.” Her father nodded, looking thoughtful. “Something important’s come up and I must speak with him urgently.”

“Yes, Father.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 5

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

“You WANT her to come back?!” Ba-Khu-Ra grinned slightly at the outrage in Mahad’s tone as she waited for the right moment to reveal herself to the pair in the classroom who were about to start their lessons for the day. “My Prince, I say this with the deepest respect. Have you gone stark, raving mad?”

“No.” The Princess protested, “But we tied. That doesn’t happen!”

“My Prince, think about this for a moment. You want a thief in the palace purely based on the fact you didn’t beat her?” Mahad sounded irritated, “You cannot be serious.”

“I am.” The girl sounded amused by her friend’s mood, “Besides, I didn’t think she would turn down the chance to learn how to control her powers properly.”

“I wouldn’t.” Ba-Khu-Ra stepped out of the darkness, causing the Princess to jump. Her guardian drew his dagger and glowered at the thief in their midst. “So here I am.” She glanced down at the short, sharp blade, “I’m here to fight, I’m here to learn so put that away before you hurt yourself.”

“Mahad.” The Princess called, putting her hand on her guardian’s arm, “I’m the one who made this agreement so she’s my guest.” She looked at Ba-Khu-Ra, “But we won’t be visiting the treasury again.”

“A shame. I so enjoyed our last trip there.” The thief smirked at her. She still had the majority of the treasure she had liberated from the vault the last time she had been in the palace, squirreled away in a safe place where no one would think to look for it. “So how do we start this thing off?”

“With you sitting down and shutting up.” Mahad pointed to a table and chair, “And reading this scroll.”

“Reading?” The thief blinked, “I thought we were using magic. Where does reading come into it?”

“You don’t know how to read?” The Princess looked shocked.

“We had teachers in my village,” Ba-Khu-Ra shrugged, thinking about the extortionate fees the scribes had charged to teach children, “But that was a very long time ago, when I actually still had a village to call home.”

“What, did they kick you out?” Mahad spat.

“You haven’t researched anything, have you?” Ba-Khu-Ra shot back, angry.

“Why should I accept the word of a thief?” Mahad demanded, glowering back.

“You’re just as bad as the rest of them.” Ba-Khu-Ra snapped, magic beginning to manifest as a dark aura around her.

“Hey!” The Princess got between the pair of them, glancing between the two. “That’s enough. Both of you.”

“Step aside, your highness.” Mahad glowered at Ba-Khu-Ra over her head, “This thief isn’t fit to step upon the palace grounds.”

“Are you ordering me to move?” The Princess stared at him, shocked, “Seriously?”

“It’s a recommendation.” Mahad replied, pausing just long enough beforehand to realise how his last sentence had sounded.

“Look, Princess,” Ba-Khu-Ra made the title sound rude, “I don’t think this is going to work. I refuse to learn from some stuck up, arrogant ass who is so blind he refuses to see past the end of his nose.”

“You’re accusing the priests of evil.” Mahad glowered at her, “How can I take you seriously?”

The Princess paused and turned to Ba-Khu-Ra, a concerned and surprisingly unsurprised look on her features, “Which priests?”

“Finally.” Ba-Khu-Ra threw her hands up in the air, “Someone who’s willing to listen. Your Uncle is the worst of the lot, but those ‘golden treasures?’ Well,” She smirked at Mahad, “What’s your teacher taught you about blood magic?”

“That’s quite enough.” Mahad spoke over the Princess. “Your highness, I can’t teach her until she knows how to read, so perhaps you should find another teacher.”

“I’ll teach her to read.” The Princess informed him, “And until I have, I’m tasking you with finding out what in the names of the Gods my Uncle did.” She looked at Ba-Khu-Ra, “I know my uncle, I know he’s... wrong. I’ll listen, even if Mahad won’t.”

“You won’t like it.” Ba-Khu-Ra warned her.

“Even if I don’t like it, I will do what I can to fix it.” The Princess swore.

“You can’t fix it.” The thief scowled at her.

“Let me try.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 4

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

“So...” Ba-Khu-Ra asked as she hovered around the Princess’s bed, unwilling to go too far while everyone was watching her carefully. “Does this mean I won?”

“No.” The girl shook her head, winced and brought a hand to the back of her head where it had hit the marble floor, “We got caught.”

“We were in the treasury.” Ba-Khu-Ra hissed, irritated despite the bag of gold and jewels hidden in her tunic. “I won.”

“No, we were in the doorway so technically neither of us won.” The Princess hissed back, “And I just saved your life, so a little gratitude would be nice.”

“Gratitude?” Ba-Khu-Ra snapped back, keeping her tone low, “When you’re trying to screw me out of my treasure?”

“Look,” The Princess glowered at her, her own voice barely above a whisper, “I’ve just gotten you permission to study magic with MY teacher. And I can see that full bag, the guards might have missed the extra lump in your clothes but I haven’t. You’re not as hard done by as you’re making...”

The thief scowled and moved away as the physician darted into the room and came straight over to their patient. He was closely followed by Mahad, who, though Abasi called him over, first darted over to the Princess’s side where he got into a very quiet but very intense conversation before he was politely shooed away by the healer.

“Outside.” Mahad growled at her, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her out. When Ba-Khu-Ra dug her heels in, he leaned in and whispered, “Unless you want me to tell the guards your secret.”

“I’ll tell them hers if you do.” Ba-Khu-Ra subtly gestured towards the bed.

Realisation settled on Mahad’s face, then anger. “Outside now.” He snapped, one hand reaching for the bronze dagger at his belt, the other still wrapped around her arm.

She was pretty sure she could take him in a fight. He was softer than her, more spoilt from the life inside the palace and while he had obviously been trained to defend himself and his charge, she was pretty sure that he would fight fair while she never had.

She followed him out of the room and down the corridor. Amusingly in the time it took them to find an out of the way corner, she had already worked out six different escape routes, none of which required magic to use.

“I should kill you.” Mahad snapped at her the instant they were alone and could not be overheard, drawing his dagger.

Bakura responded by stamping on his foot, forcing him to let her go. She slipped straight into the darkness, vanishing with practised ease but sticking close enough for him to hear her voice. “If your Princess wanted me dead, she could have had me killed already. But perhaps I’m not the one you should contemplate ending.” She moved around the room, circling him, keeping him off balance, “There’s far worse than me within your walls. But then I’m the only one who knows the evil for what it is.”

“What do you mean?” Mahad demanded, concerned and confused and still angry.

“Look into your priests and your precious golden treasures. And try asking about a village called Kul Elna.” Ba-Khu-Ra taunted, “Perhaps you’ll know what I know by the time I come back for my magic lessons. Or maybe not. Perhaps you’re just as blind as the rest of them.” With that she was gone, slipping into the darkness with practised ease and escaping out of the nearest window.