Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Royal Engagements ❯ Royal Engagements ( Chapter 1 )

Royal Engagements

 

In the city of Hwt-ka-Ptah (Memphis), the Market Place just inside the outer wall was starting to wake up. Shopkeepers opened their shops to sell their handcrafted wares and on-duty guards changed shifts with their day shift doubles. Men went about handling the fields, trading, and daily work. Women cooked, cleaned, raised the children, and shopped. Finally, children giggled and played.

Unknown to the common people of Hwt-ka-Ptah (Memphis), a dark presence, a shadow, was growing. Deep within the Temple of Ra, the Hem-Netjer-Tepey (High Priest) of Magic and Religion, Aten-aknh-Ken, younger brother to the Pharaoh Tetsumosis, was deep within a trance. His senses were on high alert as the darkness swelled within the fair city. He couldn't pinpoint where it was exactly because it was so weak, but he knew it was there. Just out of his reach-he didn't like it. He knew he had to warn his brother. As he came out of his trance, he saw his six-year-old son, Seth Sa-Ne-Maa'et (Son of Truth) Yahm, seated in front of his patiently.

“What is it, boy?” he asked as he stood up.

Seth's icy-blue orbs were innocently wide as he said, “Uncle wishes to speak with you, It (Father).”

Aten-aknh-Ken nodded as Seth added cheerfully, “Me and Atemu are going to the Market with some disguised guards! It's going to be great!”

With a large smile, the future High Priest of Ra, Seth, raced out of the Main Temple of Ra to meet his cousin in the courtyard. Aten-aknh-Ken sighed. He wished his thoughts were as pure and carefree as his son's were. Alas, his thoughts have been tarnished by life and harsh reality. He moaned softly, he felt a headache starting.

 

 

Meanwhile, six-year-old Seth and five-year-old Atemu Khenmes-Ima (charming friend) Yahm, crowned Prince of All Egypt, were dressed in simple un-dyed white linen breeches, worn, weathered sandals, and unelaborated cloaks. They were excited! Today was their first time out into the Market Place. The head guard assigned to them, Sefitar, had repeatedly told them to stay within eyesight of one of the guards, but neither of them listened. They knew enough about sneaking around to know that they needed to stay close to the guards in the beginning and escape later on. Once out of the palace's eastern gates, the group of twelve walked to the busy market.

 

 

Serinai was excited! Today her mewet (mother), Lady Saminah, and her were going to the Market Place. It would be her first time there. Her mewet had been there many times to buy the things she wanted and or needed and Serinai was anxious to go.

“Meweti (mummy), what's it like?”

Lady Saminah looked down at her daughter. Serinai was hopping around her like a toad. She was very amused at her child's actions.

“It's a very busy place, daughter. There are many different people with different backgrounds and pasts that live together harmoniously there. While there, you need to respect all the people no matter what their social standing is, understand?”

Serinai looked cutely lost but said brightly, “Okay meweti!”

Lady Saminah smiled and said, “While there don't wander off to far, okay?”

The five-year-old girl nodded excitedly as they exited their estate and walked out of their family gate and into the Market Place.

 

 

Rinek-Kem-Ka (Black Soul) Yunn has dirty white crazy hair, deep purple-black eyes, and is twenty-five years old. He is a sinner in every since of the word. He has murdered innocent people, mostly children, with no remorse or fear of the Goddess Renenutet, the Cobra Goddess of nurturing and raising children. Since he robs the graves of Pharaohs long dead, he is the worst kind of thief imagined.

Rinek's most recent offence-kidnapping his young nephew, Ba-Ku Ima-Djeret (Kind Hand) Yunn, also stains his honor.

Ba-Ku had been with his father, the current Hem-Netjer-Tepey (High Priest) of Medicine Atennen Ptah-Oten Yunn, visiting his retired grandfather, Kef-Hun Yunn, ex-Hem-Netjer-Tepey (High Priest) of Medicine when his Uncle Rinek showed up during the blackest hour of Ra's journey through the Duat (Underworld) and simply snatched him from his bed.

Rinek and Ba-Ku were standing on a large hill covered in sand, looking at the great capital city of Hwt-ka-Ptah, or Memphis.

Ba-Ku timidly looked up from his position behind his uncle and was spellbound. The capital city of Tawey-Kemet (Egypt) sat proudly in the Eastern sky with Ra shining down on it from the heavens. The pristine white outer walls depicted pictures of Gods and Goddesses, honored Pharaoh's, and the birth of the most powerful magical talismans known to the modern world, the Sennen Items.

Ba-Ku, for the past four months, had been forced to travel with his crazy uncle, to lie, to steal, and to beg just to get a little food to eat. He was tired, hungry, and homesick.

Ba-Ku realized two months back that his father's brother was not sane, but attempting to rob Hwt-ka-Ptah?! That was suicide!

Hwt-ka-Ptah (Memphis), was surrounded on all four sides by sixty feet tall walls that where fifteen feet thick. Each slab that was used to create the wall, almost millennia earlier, weighed three tons. It took more than fifty years to create the city, and he didn't know how his uncle was going to get passed the guards that were positioned outside every gateway.

There were nine outer gates. On each gate there were stationed four guards. Altogether, there were thirty-six outer gate guards. Once you got passed them, you came to the warrior's barracks. Each barrack housed three soldiers that were not on duty. There was about one hundred barracks for a total of four hundred and fifty soldiers off duty at anyone time. Once passed them, you came to the market place where one can get lost in the crowd quite easily. To solve the large crime problem in the city, the current Pharaoh that his father served, Pharaoh Tetsumosis, with the General of the Desert Soldiers, helped created a plan to have thirty-nine uncover soldiers keep watch over the market place in an attempt to lower the crime rate. They had to go to the late Empress for training though.

If you got through the market place safely, you arrive at another wall. This wall if forty feet high and ten feet thick. This is the wall that he and his uncle were most knowledgeable about-The Middle Wall. For, just beyond the wall, are the manors of the nobility of Pharaoh's court. Since he was a young Lord and his uncle gave up his noble status to become a thief, they both knew how to get around the Middle Wall. There are another thirty-six soldiers and nine gates to get through. They also have to get by fourteen more undercover soldiers that roamed about the streets of the nobles' property.

If you are lucky enough, to bypass the entire army safely and without alarm, you finally arrive at the wall that protects the palace. It is twenty-five feet tall and five feet thick. There are seven gates that lead into the inner kingdom and twenty-eight guards to get through.

Lastly, if you can get passed the eleven guards that wandered through the gardens that completely surrounded the palace and temples, you had to get through one of the four public gates to gain entry into the palace itself. Plus get passed the four guards that were stationed at any one gate you chose to go through. The four guards there were very paranoid though. They didn't let anyone through unless they had you name, your reason for being there, and made sure to remove any and all weapons that were on a person. That's not even taking into account all the guards that were INSIDE the palace itself!

“Ah, uncle, why are we here?” he asked meekly. Living with his uncle had taught him a few life preserving lessons. If you didn't want to get hit, act weak. If you wanted to live, act dumb so he would forget about you most of the time.

Rinek glared at his weak nephew and said, “Look around boy! Memphis is the wealthiest city-state in Egypt! Just think of all the riches I can steal and all the beautiful women I can rob and use for my own pleasure!”

His uncle was completely nuts! He wanted to go home! With an amazing amount of courage surging through his little body, Ba-Ku, son of the High Priest of Medicine, Atennen Yunn, stomped his uncle on the foot as hard as he could and punched him as hard as he could in the gut. Much to his shock, Uncle Rinek, fell to the desert floor with a loud groan of pain. Ba-Ku stared in shock. When his uncle twitched, Ba-Ku shook himself out of his stupor, and ran like the Ammut or the, "Devouress of the Dead" was after him. She is a demonic goddess who attends the Judging of the Dead. She is depicted as having the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lioness and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. She waits in the Judgment Hall of the Two Truths during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony, and devoured those who are sinners in life. He reached the outer wall quite quickly.

“Uncle…coming…steal…city! Name is… Ri…Ri…Rinek!”

Ba-Ku collapsed in a dead faint and sun fever. The two guards immediately opened the gates, told their counterparts, and handed Ba-Ku to them for protection and healing.

“You take the boy. We'll take care of his criminal uncle when he gets here.” Ordered the top ranked guard, Amenn.

His twin brother, Bi-Hent, nodded and held the young boy close. The two outer guards closed the gates and readied their arms.