Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ The Tales of Hierakon's Empire ❯ Chapter 7

Jin was exhausted and in pain as he headed back home in the cold, Egyptian night. His skin was horribly torn and bleeding from the multiple cuts the whip had caused when he back talked to one of the guards. Every time he breathed, it struck his body with horrible discord. Placing his hand on the small of his back, he could feel the sticky substance roll over his fingers, giving him the only warmth he was allowed that night.

 

Sighing with a shake of his head, he wiped the blood off on his dirty cloth he wore for work. It was kept up by a rope and was slightly torn in some places, almost revealing his sensitive organs underneath. The burlap cloth rested on his mid thighs on the front and back, making it rather uncomfortable for him at times.

 

Making his way through the sand, which was being chilled by the cold, night air, Jin stopped in his tracks when he noticed a temple nearby with a fountain of majestic white marble, flowing with clear water. “I guess I could get cleaned off in there even if these places make me uncomfortable as do the people within them…”

Jin headed for the entrance of the large Hypostyle Hall, which belonged to the god of Horus. Seeing the ten foot tall colossi of Horus as the falcon god made something inside of Jin queasy as he made his way towards the pillars, glowing from the flames of the torches nearby. Embracing his body, he shivered as he made it into the main area of the temple where a large statue of the falcon god was erected around many hieroglyphs depicting his life on Egypt's soil. The chilled, bleeding slave made his way towards one of the torches lit in the temple to attempt to warm himself.

 

“So hot during the day and so cold at night—sometimes it is unbearable to be here on this hellish plane,” Jin mumbled under his breath. His weary sight piercing through the flickering flame, he saw some images of Horus with another goddess it appeared. Squinting through the extreme heat that caressed his tanned skin, Jin reached beyond the torch to touch the etched in art of the falcon Lord and the unknown lady to Jin.

 

“You best be cautious when speaking of the sands the gods and goddesses rule over,” Darwishi remarked from behind the young slave.

 

Jin snapped his head around, removing his hand from the clay wall's etched in images and hieroglyphs; he eyed the royal priest standing behind him. The man wore leopard skin robes and a cotton, knee length skirt without any sandals to keep his feet from being blistered from the hot sand. The many jewels he had on his wrists and neck glistened off of the fires surrounding the temple walls. His dark brown hair was cut incredibly close to his skull, making his sky blue eyes the most alluring thing on him. Trying not to buckle under someone wealthier than he, Jin stood his ground with a slight shrug at the priest. “What—what are you talking about?” Jin asked with a cock of his brow.

 

Darwishi held his hands behind his back, peeking out at the dark Egyptian world that resided beyond the temple pillars. “The Egyptian gods created Egypt, and it is best to not downgrade their hard work. Your life was even given to you by the Egyptian falcon Lord himself.”

 

Jin wished he could tell the high priest he didn't believe in the deities they worshipped, but he dared not as he held his tongue. “Look—can you help me? My back is bleeding, and I don't have a bath at my home to clean it.”

 

Darwishi shook his head at the thought of a ratted slave touching the holy water within their temple. Shaking his head, he placed his hand upon Jin's shoulder. “I am afraid I cannot allow you to bathe in the holy water within the temple walls. Such water is reserved for priest and priestesses only.”

 

“It figures,” Jin scoffed somberly. “As a slave, you get shunned by everyone.” Scratching an annoying itch in his wild, dirty hair, Jin headed back out of the temple as he flinched at every step he took within the sand as the cold wind bit at his opened wounds. Making it to a nearby building near the palace entrance, Jin sat down for a moment with a grunt. “I cannot go home this messed up. My wounds will have a hard time healing without infection.”

 

His head leaning against the building wall behind him, he gazed up at the stars he could see in the clouded sky that night. Weariness that crept up on his body like a predator vanished at the sound of a young girl fussing nearby. Opening his weary eyes, he peeked through his dirty hair to see the young princess with the healer, Bennu, he remembered seeing before.

 

“Bennu, I don't want to go to the temple today!” Rehema whined as she pulled against the healer's firm hand, which was wrapped about her tiny wrist. “I want to go and play with Omorose!”

 

“Rehema, hush now, young princess,” Bennu demanded softly in the night as she helped her down the glistening, marble staircase. “You know what your duties have of becoming a blossoming princess, now act like one. You need to get ready to be the queen of Hierakon, and will be the wife of the next man to rule on Horus' behalf, so you must be ready!”

 

Rehema was still reluctant to head for the Temple of Horus. She would often be dragged there three times a day if not more depending. Sometimes her father would send her there if she so much as said a sinful word. Dragging her feet in the sand, she sighed through her nostrils, looking over at the redhead she felt staring at her. Pausing in her footsteps, she pointed to the man against a building a few feet away. “Look, Bennu, it is the man I told you about!” She said with a smile.

 

Bennu followed Rehema's gaze to see the sullied, abused slave sitting there in the dark. She could just barely make him out from the horrible dark. His eyes seemed to pierce through the dark, making her blood run cold at the mere sight of them. Her grip on the playful, young princess became weak, allowing Rehema to slip on through her grasp to run towards the slave. “Rehema!” Bennu exclaimed softly, trying to snatch her arm back into her hands only to fail. “Rehema, get back here!”

 

Rehema didn't care to listen as she made it to Jin without hesitation. “Hi,” she said with a wave of her hand. “I didn't think you would be awake now.”

 

Jin offered a smile to the young princess, remaining on the ground where he was seeing as it pained him too much to move. “I thought young a princess, such as you, were in bed by the time the sun set.” Pointing at Rehema, he chuckled softly, “Where is your friend—the doll that nearly ran away from you?”

 

“Oh, I gave her to my sister so she could sleep with her tonight,” Rehema answered with a shyful twist of her body, her hands behind her back as she spoke. “Where is your phoenix necklace?”

 

“It's at home, princess,” Jin answered softly. “I cannot bring such things with me when I work for your father, the Pharaoh. It would be destroyed before I completed it.”

 

Rehema tilted her head in confusion, peering over her shoulder at Bennu, who eventually made it to the young princess and the weary slave. “My dad wouldn't do that…would he?” She asked the healer and Jin. She knew her father to be strict, but never would he snuff their creativity.

 

Bennu shot an angrily look at Jin, shaking her head at the slave as well as waving her finger. “How dare you say such things about the Pharaoh! Speak anymore and you may find your head removed!”

 

“Now, that isn't nice,” Jin boldly replied softly in the night. “You should let the child know what her father says is right and wrong for slaves and people of all classes.” He eyed the young princess with a chuckle. “Young Princess, your father's guards just happen to relay his messages of brutality upon us even harsher than the Pharaoh himself would.”

 

Rehema fiddled with her jewels she wore around her neck. She wasn't sure what Jin meant with such words that were beyond her level of understanding. Bennu's hand soon upon her shoulder, she looked up at the woman with a tilt of her head. “What does he mean?”

 

“He means nothing, princess. Why don't you go home to the young man who needs you?” Bennu asked with a slight growl.

 

The young princess walked over to Jin to grab onto his wrist gently. Pulling him a bit, she tried to make him stand. “You should be at home sleeping. Come on, come on!”

 

“Rehema, don't touch him!” Bennu nearly shrieked, covering her mouth at her touching a slave in such a manner.

 

Feeling the Egyptian princess tugging away at him made Jin's injuries stretch. Hissing in pain, he clutched his eyes shut with a low growl of displeasure. “Oh, princess, please stop! I am in—too much pain to move.”

 

Rehema released Jin's wrist gently, with a bit of concern conveying her expression in the densely lit empire. “What is wrong?” She asked, her voice cracking a bit as if threatening to cry at the mere sound of him being in horrific tenderness.

 

“I got whipped too hard today, princess,” Jin explained from where he sat. “I have bleeding cuts on my back. I was hoping to get the priests to wash it off, but they rejected me, so I am left out here, bleeding to death.”

 

Looking up at Bennu with a pouty expression, she pulled gently on the healer's skirt. “Bennu, is it alright if we bathe him in the palace?” When she saw Bennu about to shake her head in disagreement, Rehema pulled a bit harsher on the healer's skirt. “Please, please, please? You took care of that other man, so why can't we take care of him for a moment?”

 

Her fists clutched tightly at her side, Bennu bit her lower lip at the predicament she was placed within. “Fine,” she grumbled, grabbing onto Jin's wrist to pull him upward whether he liked it or not. “But, Rehema, if your father catches us we will be in big trouble, so please do not mention this to anyone, okay?”

 

“I promise!” the young princess cheered, her once pouty expression replaced with a smile. “Let's go, let's go!” Running slightly ahead of the two seeing as Bennu couldn't walk very fast with the injured slave, Rehema skipped along, humming like a pleased meadow lark.

 

Grumbling softly under a sigh, the healer allowed Jin to use her as a crutch, leading him through the darkest parts of the empire to enter through the back way of the palace. “You owe me for this! Don't you forget it!” she hissed at the slave, her sea green orbs blazing with threat.

 

Grunting under his movements, Jin merely winced, sighing through his nostrils. “Whatever, lady. I doubt anything I can do will suffice such a treasure as what you ask for.”

 

 

 

Rousing from the nap she was taking curled up in one of her lounging chairs across the room away from the drugged prince; Omorose threaded her slender fingers through her espresso tresses, placing her gaze upon the canopy bed that now rested in the dark. She could hear him snoring, indicating he was still out from the concoction Bennu laced his wine with, pushing herself up to take a look around.

 

“I need to light some candles. I rested longer than I expected.” Walking over to her small alter where a statuette of Horus sat upon a silken cloth flanked by two candelabras, the elder princess pulled the basket out she kept her extra candles, lighting sticks and amulets in, plucking a few incense sticks out with the lighting sticks to give the room a better scent since it wreaked of spilt wine hours old. Lighting one of the pyre sticks with one of the torches hanging on the wall, she made her way around the room lighting the candles, placing more light within the once pitch dark room, placing the incense in appropriate burners to allow the pleasure of jasmine to permeate the room.

 

Taking another look at the slumbering prince of Maladraad, Omorose felt disgusted she still had four more days to spend with him, grabbing her brush to sit upon her stool in front of her mirror to smooth the tangles out she placed in it when napping.

 

“We're almost there, come on!” a young, familiar voice called in a half whisper, alarming the elder Hierakon princess.

 

“Be quiet, princess! The guards will hear you and then we'll be in trouble before we even begun to get into it in the first place!” Struggling with the injured slave, Bennu felt unclean, and smelt of Jin's blood and sweat, making her want to bathe to purify herself once more.

 

Blinking with a tilt of her head, Omorose pushed her hair over her shoulder, placing her sandaled feet upon the marble floor, tapping across the reflective surface to step out onto her balcony. Looking down at the ground below, she saw her sister, Bennu, and the redheaded slave they encountered earlier in the day, nearly making her panic.

 

“What are they doing? If father sees that slave in the palace he'll have him killed!” Turning on her heels to shove the translucent curtains aside hanging over the eave of the archway leading from the balcony back into her room, Omorose sprinted across her room to the double doors. “Okay, I have to be calm. If the guards see me running, they'll think I'm in trouble.” Taking a few deep breaths, she slowly let the breaths out, containing her wild spirit. “All right, here we go.” Pushing the doors open, she made her way into the corridor, nodding to the guards flanking her door. “I'm going for a brisk walk. The prince is napping and should be fine. I…left him a note,” she lied, hiding behind her perfected façade, starting down the hallway in hopes of not being stopped on her way to the bathing room.

 

Guiding Jin through the concealed back door Bennu had secretly made a century ago for her mysterious endeavors in and out of the palace, she had Rehema push the limestone door closed so it resembled part of the wall, further hobbling down a dimly lit, damp passageway.

 

“Rehema, you must stay quiet from here onward! The guards are patrolling. If they hear us through the walls, I'm in for a beating and you'll be locked in your room for a while as punishment for disobeying the Pharaoh's rules,” Bennu warned in a hushed whisper as she helped the slave along, concerned about his temperature since he felt clammy to her, unlike before. “We have to hurry. He's ill and needs more than a bathing.”

 

Keeping up on the other side of the redheaded slave, Rehema looked up into his face, which conveyed exhaustion mixed with pain, prompting her happiness to fade at seeing him so worn on the verge of passing out.

 

“Bennu, he looks really bad. At this rate, we won't get there in time before he bears all his weight on you,” she whispered, creasing her brows, feeling her heart start to break at knowing he'd probably die of infection if left in the damp, dark passageway.

 

A rat scampering by the size of a small cat, the healer pursed her painted lips, sighing heavily through her nostrils. “Don't be so pessimistic; we're doing fine.”

 

“She has a point, Bennu. You're always so stubborn,” a masculine voice chuckled from behind them, his bare feet padding against the cool, uneven stone flooring. “Come on, I'll help you. But this cannot get out anywhere or my priesthood days are over.” Taking Jin's other arm; Darwishi draped it around his leopard skin clad shoulders to speed up the process of getting the slave where he needed to be.

 

A faint smile gracing the healer's lips, Bennu placed her sea green gaze ahead of her, the torchlight enshrouding them as they trudged along. “Thank you, Darwishi. We are all risking a great position to please the princess, but I cannot let her be sad since she is growing attached to this man.”

 

“He makes pretty necklaces. He said he was going to give me one when he can,” the princess piped in, walking ahead of them in reverse, turning to skip along every so often so she wouldn't trip on the uneven stone.

 

The high priest frowned upon the words circling around, humming lowly in protest. “Princess Rehema, you place yourself as well as this slave in great danger getting too close to one another. If anyone of higher standards sees you with him your father will have him beheaded, and you, my dear, will be placed in sanctuary in the temple for a month on act of cleansing. Do you want that, princess?”

 

Perched on the third step leading up to one of the corridors into the palace, Rehema fiddled with her emerald drop necklace, sighing. “No, Darwishi, I don't. But I want to be his friend. I could do it in secret, no one would know about it.”

 

“You're wrong, princess. The Pharaoh would summon for you at some point when he knows you are supposed to be in your room studying, and he'll be furious if he knows you've been hanging around with an unholy slave,” the high priest corrected her, aiding Bennu in pulling Jin up the granite steps with a grunt.

 

Clenching her fists together at her sides, Rehema had had enough of the two adults berating her against her own wishes, glowering at them behind their backs. She was higher in hierarchy than they were even if she were much younger, putting her foot down mentally. I will go see him if I want to! I'm a princess; I can do whatever I want! “Can I at least get my necklace from him when he is able to bring it to me somehow?”

 

“Who knows, princess? The man may not make it through the night if he isn't cleaned up to perfection, rested, and doctored with my concoctions,” Bennu relayed, taking a good look around the corridor before bringing Jin the rest of the way out, the bathing room not much farther from the secret passageway hole.

 

“Damn, you people are quite harsh,” Jin growled, his wounds hurting him every step of the way. “Will you take it easy?”

 

“Be quiet, slave,” Darwishi ordered silently as they headed for the door not too far away. “We will all be found out if you don't.” He looked down at the young princess close by with a nod at the door, which was closed. “Princess, will you please get the door for us?”

 

Rehema pushed the door open, listening as it moaned slightly upon its hinges. Walking on inside, her sandaled feet tapped upon the marble flooring. The large, marble tub resided close to the wall with a few crimson colored drapes blowing contently about the tub as they hung on a silver, circular railing upon the ceiling. Many jars littered the area, filled with cleansing oils and bath salts.

 

Darwishi and Bennu helped Jin on inside, allowing the young princess to close the door behind them once they entered. The High Priest sat Jin onto the wicker stool within the bathroom as Bennu drew the water. Kneeling on a pillow with gold tassels hanging from the corners, the healer tried to get the water warm before addressing the young princess.

 

“Princess Rehema, you need to leave this to us,” she whispered, the steam rising from the marble tub. “I do not wish you to be here when we bathe him.”

 

“But can't I help?” Rehema asked in a soft whine.

 

“Rehema, there will be things done here you are too young to witness,” Darwishi interrupted, placing his hands upon her shoulders. The last thing that he wanted the princess to witness was not only the agony the slave would be in as the slashes were washed, but his full, unclothed body.

 

Jutting her bottom lip out slightly, the young princess reluctantly turned to leave the room, knowing the two were solid in their ways when they made a point for her to leave, reaching up to push the door open. The sound of rapid footsteps could be heard echoing down the eastern corridor towards the bathing room making Rehema wonder who was in such a hurry.

 

“I am going to kill them! Father will be furious!” Panting through her nostrils to keep pace with the source of air in her lungs, her sapphire oculars fell upon the cracked opened door etched with hieroglyphs, grabbing the small wrist of her sister to yank her out into the open.

 

“Ow! Omorose, what gives? That hurt!” Rehema wailed on the verge of tears, peering up at her elder sister irritably.

 

“What are you doing with that slave in here? You know he isn't allowed!” the elder princess hissed under a loud whisper, narrowing her gaze. The course of the day had worn on her without her knowledge, making her quite callous where she normally wouldn't be.

 

“I'm just helping him! He'll die if they don't clean him up, sister! Do you want him to die?” Warm tears making a trail down her ivory cheeks, Rehema sniffled, trying not to burst out into a full sob.

 

Her chest heaving from her running, Omorose looked into the hurt expression her sister conveyed, recalling well the redheaded slave as the living partner to the cerulean haired one beaten badly two suns ago. Loosening her grip on Rehema's wrist, she leaned over to throw her arms around her in apology. “I'm sorry, Rehema. I'm so sorry… I've been under too much stress lately. That outburst was uncalled for.”

 

Sniffling once more to clear her sinuses, the younger of the two hugged her elder sister back, managing a faint smile. “It's okay, sissy. I just want him to be okay, like you did the other slave.”

 

Catching a glimpse of Bennu and Darwishi preparing the scarlet haired slave for his doctoring and bathing, Omorose creased her brows slightly, reaching to shut the door to give them their secret privacy. “Come on. Let's go play for a while, okay? It's going to take them a while to get him cleaned up.”

 

Pulling away from her sister to peer up at her with a tilt of her head, she blinked softly. “What about Djoser? Does he know you're out roaming around?”

 

Growling under her breath lightly, Omorose kept her smile, leading her sister away from the bathing room down the corridor. “He's sound asleep. He'll be just fine until I return to my room later.”

 

 

 

Lightly rousing from the deep slumber induced upon him, the Maladraad prince groaned as he placed his hands over his head in agony. He had a headache immense enough to make any man go mad, his sight blurry from just waking up. Gathering his weight, he sat upon his knees, rubbing his eyes to clear them of sleep, massaging his left temple as he took a look around the spacious room. He saw no sign of Omorose, which made him quite angry, his chocolate gaze falling upon a turned over chalice beside him on the tray of scattered food. Wincing from the pain lacing through his skull, he recovered from the sudden attack, picking the wine goblet up to examine it. The last thing he recalled doing was drinking the wine before blacking out, making him suspicious since it happened more than once in the past when he would visit. Bringing the mouth of the chalice to his face, he sniffed of the left over contents, wrinkling his delicate nose at the pungent odor of hour old peyote cacti extract, a sneer etching over his curled lips.

 

“You cannot escape me, fair princess. I know your conniving little trick, and I will not fall prey to it any longer.” Tossing the golden chalice aside in disgust, he grabbed his head once more in extreme pain, hissing through his teeth. “A trip to the temple to aide in this pain sounds good for now. Later, she will find I am no longer a fool.”

 

Sliding off the canopy bed, the Maladraad prince ambled his way to the double doors like a drunken man with a hangover, snapping at the guards on his way out.

 

“Clean that room up to perfection! The princess shouldn't have her bed reeking of wine, now should she?” Djoser mused, flashing his charming, though haunting grin before hobbling away, trying not to heave due to the peyote left in his system.