Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Catechism ❯ Chapter 3

Gyah, I'm getting writer's block so soon! *Fume*

Disclaimer: Wish I owned YGO. Don't steal my fanfic. I'm not infringing on copyright and I'm not getting paid for this.

Chapter 3

 

It was quite a tragedy. They found the corpses scattered around, the Priest of the Ring unconscious, barely holding onto to life. The team of hunters that had gone with him - their bodies was mangled beyond recognition.

Yami felt like he was going to be sick.

Aishizu checked on her brother, and nodded. “Still alive.”

“We must get him back to the palace quickly!”

No one noticed that all the hunters who had died had been contending for the throne, probably because they had been careful.

But Mahaado was getting to be an excellent spy, and he was not going to let them hurt his Pharaoh.

Never.

 

He had healed fairly quickly, though from the looks the young Healer was giving him, he could use that to his advantage. With a smile, he poured himself a cup of wine.

She blushed at his look and almost fled the room.

Silly girl.

Mana bounced in a few minutes later, carrying her textbook. However, she was quiet for once, and simply read her lesson. She was worried.

If her Teacher died… she would have nowhere to go. Her family had disowned her when they had found out she was going to the Pharaoh's court…

She would have made him some healing potions, but she had exploded three of his golden cauldrons already and she did not think he would appreciate her efforts.

So she read quietly, and Mahaado let himself rest easily, knowing that though ditzy, his apprentice was trustworthy.

 

He managed to keep his secret for several more months, before his Pharaoh found out. It wasn't quite the situation he had wanted Yami to see either.

 

He smirked as he stood from his previously kneeling position, wiping the fluid from his chin with an offhand gesture. The older man groaned as he passed out, wondering why he was suddenly so weak.

Mahaado lifted a hand and watched as bluish-black light flickered over his fingertips. Perfect. It had worked then.

He was dipping into the dark arts, and he knew it. Stealing the life energy of other people was not quite correct. However, he was not doing it for selfish gain, so the gods suffered his indiscretions.

The old soldier was so weak now that he would die a natural death in a few days. He shouldn't have tied to poison Yami.

 

Mahaado tasted everything the Pharaoh ate or drank first, without Yami knowing. His senses and his ability to use and recognize poisons had gone up exponentially since his magic had been sealed.

Plus, he had learned… ways… and of course, he kept broad-spectrum antidotes on hand. No use in getting accidentally poisoned.

But in any case, he carefully wiped any evidence of lovemaking - more like making hate - off his body, and smoothed down his robes. He courteously moved the prone old man onto the bed and covered him with a sheet. No sense in him dying on the floor, after all.

Sleep well, Lord Edfu. You will soon sleep the sleep of death.

He left the room, only to nearly trip over a trembling figure. Ruby eyes were wide with a mixture of emotions he could not immediately decipher.

“My Pharaoh?”

“M-Mahaado…” Yami whispered. “Why?”

 

“My Pharaoh.” Mahaado inclined his head, fingers twitching in the beginnings of a silencing spell. Yami caught the change in posture and nodded. He would wait for an explanation when they weren't in the hallway.

He followed the Priest back to his quarters.

He perched on Mahaado's bed and nibbled on a honeyed pastry nervously. Why was Mahaado… and with him?

It might not be his duty to pry into his friend's private life, but even so, he could feel something smoldering in his heart.

Was it envy?

 

“Why?”

Mahaado lowered his eyes. “Do you truly wish an explanation, my Pharaoh?” The tone of his voice warned that it would not be a pleasant one.

Yami nodded. “Yes, Mahaado. I want to know why.”

Mahaado nodded solemnly. “It was to protect you, my Pharaoh.”

He felt warm all of a sudden. “To protect me? But how…?”

“He tried to poison you, my Pharaoh.”

Yami's eyes slitted, but he motioned for Mahaado to continue. “Did Aishizu not see the danger?”

“Priestess Aishizu may tell the future without lie, but she cannot see everything, my Pharaoh.”

That much was true, and often the Sennen Tauk lay unresponsive. Yami sighed.

“So that was why you killed him? For me?”

“Yes, my Pharaoh.”

 

Yami's brow furrowed. The old man had not been an Elected Priest, so shadow dueling was out of the question, but even so…

“Couldn't you have killed him with magic?”

“Ah, my Pharaoh, I am afraid I have little magic left.”

“Why?”

Such a persistent child, but Yami was his child, to protect and serve and comfort. He tapped the Ring as the points jangled.

Yami was no fool. He knew the danger of the Items - had seen other priests die when their items rejected them…

It explained quite a lot. But even so…

 

The embalmers would be able to tell that the Priests had died of poison, right?

But Mahaado was the Priest of Anubis. He was in charge of the dead, and the proper ceremonies… no one would dare slander him.

Things suddenly clicked in his mind. There was no need for anyone to know, unless the Healers knew more than they let on, but Mana spent much time there, training - she might be keeping an eye out for her Teacher's interests, so that no one would tell.

Fascinating. He had never expected court life to be so subtle. He still had much to learn, it seemed. Even being Pharaoh had not acclimated him enough.

It was time to take a crash course in what he should do.

First, he should keep Mahaado alive. That was a given. He didn't want his friend to die. But the idea of Mahaado protecting him, and the Throne, and Egypt…

It made him quite happy.

 

End Chapter

Completed 4/7/06

Yep, Yami finds out. Not like that'll change much *Grin*