The Pharaoh's Champion

The dead weight of her unconscious head pushed her chin into her chest. Her ears had woken, and all she heard was static, it took what felt like hours before she got any other kind of sensation back, and even longer for her mind to start working.

As she tried to move, there was an unfamiliar cold pinching her wrists. The sound of chains rattled as she tried to move, sending waves of aching pain rumbling down her arms, with a start she realised, they were shackled above her head.

How long have I been like this?

With legs splayed across the cold, stone floor, she fought back a snivel and tried to keep herself calm, but her body betrayed her. Sat in the filth of this cell, she trembled uncontrollably. From behind limp hair stuck over her face, and her eyes struggled to adjust, light was scarce and the darkness was so thick it drowned her vision.

A pang of fear shot through her when she remembered. A large, dark storm was rolling in. The winds told her to run, but she stayed.

Then… Nothing.

The Pharaoh! No… She realised with a start, her eyes fighting to see the empty room. Where is he?!

She called out him with a whimpering sob as she fought the ache in her arms, trying to pull her wrists free. It was futile, these chains were not budging.

"He is not here. You will never find him. He will never find you."

She never backed away. Never. Yet she felt herself shrinking into the cold stone wall at the voice that came from around her.

"Who are you? What have you done to me?" She couldn't hide the tremor in her voice.

A sinister chuckle echoed off the walls. "I told you, you've been in my way far too long."

As something stepped closer, she began to make out some features of the silhouette emerging from the shadows: a cocksure gait, a wild mane of unruly hair, and a voice that oozed something menacing.

Then came into view.

Every part of her screamed that this person was dangerous, even if the slender package all this evil came wrapped in, looked otherwise.

"The Bandit King… Bakura," She wasn't sure if it was a question or not, she had only met him twice if that. Pictures of him had been drawn for warnings and patrols, so she would know his face, and she knew him now.

"Still as perceptive as ever," he rubbed his young chin, "even after all this time."

"Y-you..." Dragging up all the courage she could muster, her trembling body betrayed her as she spoke. "Wh-what have you d-done to h-him?"

"Still concerned about your Pharaoh? You know it's frowned upon to sleep with your superiors. Especially a low-born, such as yourself, no better than the sand I crunch beneath my sandals." The cackle in his voice shook her as he stepped forward, placing a cold, gentle finger under her chin, tipping it ever-so-slightly up. "You should be more concerned with what I've done to you."

He flicked her chin and it fell in exhaustion, straight down into her chest. His eyes roamed all over her body, her clothes were battered and torn, exposing much more of herself than she would have liked.

Her hairs began to stand on end, she hated feeling like prey.

As his eyes were on her, suddenly old feelings came rushing to the surface. He must of seen it in her eyes, a sickening grin came over his face. He knelt down, his hand ran along her creamy leg. She tried to control it, but she couldn't. Anxiety, the fear of being preyed upon, every emotion that led her to chase the path of strength and power.

"Of course, these are no ordinary chains," his hands kept going up, skimming across

her waist and breasts.

She was powerless.

Clenching her eyes shut, she tried to suppress herself. This is a dream, she repeated it to herself over and over, this is a dream, a nightmare, soon I'll wake up and Atem will be there. He'll wake me up… He'll come for me.

A very real voice dragged her back to her horrendous reality.

"They're magic," he grabbed at her chain digging his fingers into her jaw as he made her look at him.

She tensed away, sending an ache travelling through her shoulders that brought out a pained groan.

A satisfied smile cracked his face, "a soul shackle to be precise." He stood and gestured to the cell, "I have trapped your everlasting soul in this place. You will never get in my way again. And I will have my revenge."

Terror rumbled through her and the tears came without warning.

He'll come for me…

"Whatever your p-planning, it won't – work." She spoke softer than she wanted.

He'll come for me… Won't he?

Whatever happened to the strong, confident woman in the fighting pits, standing up to anyone and everyone who stood against her? The woman who could take the punch, and still win. A woman of great intelligence, who followed her dreams. The woman who always knew she could achieve more if she only worked hard enough.

But this woman, the trembling mess stuck in these shackles, was terrified. Uncertain. A ruined shell of the woman she once was.

The shame was unbearable.

"Oh, little lion cub," a hand gripped her neck with a ferociousness she had never experienced before, not even in the fighting pits. "What will your Pharaoh do, without his champion?"

His figure seemed to dissipate into the darkness, like a sinister fog. His laughter boomed through her bones.

With eyes widening in shock, she questioned her reality.

Was he ever here? But his touch, she shivered at the memory, it felt so real.

She was glad of the darkness at this moment. Glad that there was no way to see her reflection, to see the state she had become, and so quickly. Every time she had moved closer to the Pharaoh, something came to drag them apart. Her role was as his protector.

And she was broken.

 ****

He shouted in his mind.

 Is this all just a game?!

 It took a few moments for him to realise he was lying on his forehead.

 A familiar, menacing voice admonished him for sleeping through most of their match. He lifted himself, trying to hide the ache in his eyes and body.

 One thing he knew in an instant, Zahra wasn't in his arms anymore.

Bakura's smug face sat across a long table and an uncontrollable anger pulsed through him. After all this time, all the wondering and waiting, he had finally mustered the courage to tell her how he truly felt in his heart, and she had reciprocated.

 She chose me. His jaw clenched. She could have had anyone she wanted, a quiet life, the freedom she desperately wanted, but she chose me, and being involved with a Pharaoh will leave you anything but free.

 His limp body felt like he had slept for a lifetime, though he wanted more than anything, to leap across this table and smack that arrogant Bandit King back to where he came from, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing him so weak, and so un-composed.

 "Where are we?" he couldn't hide the anger in his voice. "Tell me!"

 They exchanged numerous insults, questions and answers. Each one winding him tighter and tighter.

Then something clicked. "Wait, so if I don't defeat Zorc, then I lose the game?"

 "You'll lose much more than that…"

 Even tighter he wound, about ready to snap. But the time had come to draw his cards.

 ****

 Only the Gods how long she had been here. The tears had long since dried up, and she was left with a heavy chest and scratchy throat.

 Still, the grief kept coming.

 All this time she had believed herself to be independent, everything she did was a choice she had always made. Now she was all alone, left with nothing but darkness and solitude. No one to guide her. She had never been alone before, there had always been someone to guide her. Her mother, her father. The Pharaoh. The winds.

 She had always yearned to be left alone, often people were a burden that only got in her way. Until the Pharaoh had opened her eyes…

 Through sniffs and sobs, she felt the smallest smile tug at her lips, her skin was so tight from the tears, it was an effort. Gratitude helped her break through her wall of isolation, an appreciation that before she ended up in this prison, she had been able to hold her love in her arms, and feel him hold her in return. They had confessed and thankfully, she had no regrets. Even though they were always pulled apart, the snap of their return to one another was stronger every time. Through all the adversity and the tension, they could never truly be kept apart.

Though now, she was not so sure.

Am I just chasing the shadow of our love?

Regret could weigh a ton, she knew that all too well, and in the lightness of her mindset, a sudden urge took hold of her, one she had not felt for an age. Her voice was rough and broken, but she started to sing…

"Winds please sail me… wh-where my faith is without borders.

Take me farther, than my feet could ever wander.

Let me step into the waters, wherever you may call me.

My devotion is made stronger, under the gaze of my saviour..."

As the verse finished, she could swear she felt to cold stone floor turn to luscious grass under her feet.

Suddenly lurching forward, she peered to feet that she could barely see.

Nothing, but as she scrunched her toes, there was a definite feeling of the tickling of thick blades of grass, and yet I wonder.

The palace gardens, that was where she last remembered singing this song. As she took a deep breath, she could smell the fragrant trees and the heat of the sun.

It took a few moments for her to notice the ache in her cheeks. She had broken into a beaming smile of happy nostalgia. Taking another deep breath, fuelled with the scents of a long-forgotten memory she continued.

"I will call upon your name, keep my eyes above the rains.

My soul will rest in your embrace.

I am yours. And you are mine."

 Across her ankle, there was a breeze, soft and meagre, as though trying to tempt her. Then came the same sensation on her other ankle.

With a rush of hope, she continued.

Slowly, like scaling a mountain, the breeze climbed up her leg to her knees and dared to push further still. She had to suppress her excitement. Her friends had returned. The relief hit her like a wall. She wasn't alone in the darkness anymore.

The winds climbed higher and higher until they tangled with her matted hair and gently stroked her scalp.

You need to unlock your powers, you need to find yourself. It was Maahes voice. Even the elation of hearing a familiar voice couldn't quash the dread she suddenly felt. She had no idea how to do what he was asking of her.

The winds seemed to sense her distress and still try to soothe her.

"Thank you, friends," she whispered.

Looking into her cell, the darkness made her blind, she couldn't find her feet, let alone herself.

Blind.

A thought tugged at her mind. Never had she been more attached to the world, than when she was blind. Never had she felt more, smelt more, tasted more, saw more.

She saw her mother.

"Friends, I need your guidance once more," she murmured as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cold, damp wall, letting the sandy, floral breeze envelop her.

As she slipped away, she smirked.

"May the winds guide you." A friendly voice called.

Reality melted away and was soon replaced by a feeling of falling. Not as intense as the first time, this was more akin to the relief of a collapse before you hit a comforting mattress.

 With every passing second, the sounds grew louder and clearer, the winds were bickering with each other again. Her lips peeled in happiness.

 "Friends, you've come back to me."

 "We never left you," there was a feeling of trickling grains, "before, you simply could not hear us."

 "You felt us though," a floral scent filled her nose, "we have always guided you."

 A hearty laugh escaped her as she remembered. At some points in her life, she had experienced a 'feeling', it was sometimes in the form of a sudden cool breeze, a light pulling at her hair or an abrupt scent that caught her attention.

A tingle of awareness.

 "All those times that I felt alone, I had never been truly alone." She shook her head in disbelief.

 "No, my love, you have never been alone." Her mother called.

 "We will always be here for you." Her father echoed.

 "You are a child of the Oasis.' The Goddess spoke.

 "All you needed was help to find us all. You should never be afraid to ask for it," a large palm, more paw than hand, covered in a velvety fur touched her shoulder. "Asking for guidance is the true power of the wise. Remember, it is only a fool who learns from their own mistakes, and not from the mistakes of others."

 She placed a hand over his. "Thank you, everyone, for not abandoning me."

 "Never." They echoed in unison.

 She took a moment to bask in the contentment of being surrounding by loved ones. People who believed in you and always wanted the best.

 "Now," Maahes commanded. "Open your eyes."