Sands of Time (Complete)

Chapter 6: A Safer Egypt

Aadila had finally managed to calm herself down and as she looked out the window, the first thing she noticed was how dark it was. The sun had set hours ago and she was surprised that Atem was the only one that had come to check on her. Beyond her knowledge, Atem had told everyone that she was not feeling well and was resting in her room. He was also giving his father a cold shoulder because Atem still believed his father was the reason she was hurt. He was somewhat right, because his father had brought her into something that she didn't want to be a part of and he had told her the secret her parents had kept from her. 

Aadila grabbed a cloak and made her way to the gardens so she could clear her head. She made it her duty to take away some of the powers of those Items that she had enabled Aknadin to create. When she was reading the spell to him, she left out some important information. The spell had another one included, which allowed for the creation of an additional item. This bracelet would allow for Aadila to have some power of her own, so she could punish guardians that were taking advantage of their power. There was one problem, she didn't know how she was going to get the souls she needed. Instead of the souls of the wicked, this item required the souls of the innocent and she couldn't just go into the city and kill innocent people. She came up with an idea. 

Lifting the hood of her cloak over her face, she hurried toward the stable, grabbing her horse and hurried to the front gate. On her way, something made her stop. There were hundreds of the kings soldiers making their way toward the gate, being followed by Aknadin and some magicians. She knew what was going to happen, so she decided to follow them, the creation of this item could wait. She didn't know where they were headed, but she wanted to try and save at least one person from the massacre about to unfold. The army walked for miles and they finally came to a stop at a small village that looked like it was in ruins. Aknadin's voice boomed as he gave his orders. "Now, soldiers! Do the duty of your King and claim the souls of Kul Elna!" A sudden cheer engulfed the land and the men moved toward the unsuspected village. 

Kul Elna? But that's the village of thieves! Aadila had remembered her father speaking of this village once or twice over the years. He even said that a long time friend of his was living there. Aadila kicked her horse and made her way down the to village, dodging all the chaos and destruction. People were being lead down a staircase leading into the earth, looking as if it were a temple of sorts. Aadila hid her horse and went down herself, searching for someone to possibly save and without looking for long, she found him. A young boy around her own age, hiding behind a pillar, watching the fate of his family unfold before his eyes. He was probably the most innocent of all the villagers, so it only seemed right that he be the one she would save.

She grabbed his arm and pulled  him away from the sight, continuing to hide her face under her hood. The boy began to cause a fuss as she dragged him toward the surface. Aadila began to get tired of it and his protesting would get them caught. "Listen, would you just stop!? I'm trying to help you! Get on the horse and stop making such of fuss!" The boys face was shocked, either from the fact that the unknown person was trying to help him or that it was a young girl trying to help him. The boy followed her and got onto the horse Aadila had hid earlier. They quickly started making their way out of the village, but someone noticed them and began chasing after them. Aadila was even more frightened of who the man was, it was her father. Tears began brimming her eyes knowing that her father had just possibly killed his dear friend knowingly but she knew that he would never agree to take part in a massacre like this. Something else had to be going on.

Encouraging her horse to move faster, she made her way to the Nile River, there she would drop the boy off quickly and then make her way back to the palace. After some time, it appeared as though her father had given up to catch them, because when she was almost at the river, she looked behind her and saw that no one was following her. She sighed in relief and continued with her plan. 

After reaching the Nile, she stopped the horse at the river bed and said, "This is where I leave you. I have arranged for a man to come and get you. You will have a new home, a new family and a new life. You must promise, however, that you will never speak of what you saw today. It's for your own safety." Aadila looked behind her and saw that the young boy was crying and what child wouldn't after losing his family and village. Aadila saw herself in the young boy. "Listen, I know you're scared, I know you're angry but this feeling will pass."

"How do you know? You look as though you are from the palace and there no one understands what it is like to lose something special to them because you are so protected." The boy said fighting back tears.

All Aadila could do was giggle as she thought to the first time she had yelled at Atem for not being able to understand her feelings. "Actually, I do know what it's like. Before I lived in the palace, I lived in a small village, not much bigger than yours. Some thieves came one night and engulfed it in fire. They also killed my mother. I didn't lose my entire family but I lost my friends, a loved one and many people who I cared for. Don't let these clothes fool you, I know more about what you are going through than you think and I do know one thing. You will get through this, it will take some time but you will be happy again." Aadila looked up river and saw a man on a horse coming this way. "Here is the man that will take you to your new home. I must get going."

The little boy slowly got off the horse and started to walk toward the oncoming horse, but stopped. "My name is Bakura. May I ask yours?" The boys looked up at the girl and saw a reflection created by the moon light. Her coral eyes pierced through the shadow created by the hood. 

"No, I'm sorry I can't. I wish you the best of luck Bakura." With that the young girl kicked her horse and she made her way back to the palace.
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Silently, Aadila returned her horse to the stable and snuck back into her room. Placing the cloak on the small table she was about to lay down until a voice said, "Where were you this late?" The voice belonged to her father.

"Father! I, uhhh, well, I went for a walk in the gardens. I had to clear my head." Her voice had worry and her father appeared from the shadow of the corner he was hiding in. "Why are you up so late?"

"You know why, don't you?" Aadila tried to deceive her father by giving him a confused look, but that didn't phase him from getting her to admit the truth. "I was in Kul Elna this evening. The strange thing is, I swear I saw someone with this exact some cloak riding away from the village with a thieve on the back of his horse. You wouldn't have anything to know about that, would you Aadila?"

Her father's voice contained anger and sadness. He knew his daughter had seen something she shouldn't, but how did she know about it in the first place? "No, I have no idea what you are talking about. I have been in the gardens for a few hours." She kept the straightest face she could, trying not to show her father the signs that she had witnessed a massacre. 

All Tarik could do was sigh. "Aadila, sweetheart, I know you were there. Just tell me how you knew." His voice was soft now, still containing the sadness. "Your cloak that the Prince had ordered to be made for you is one of a kind. No one that had seen it before would be able to mistake it as someone else's. You should not have come to Kul Elna, what if something happened to you? Do you think that I would have been able to survive another death within my dear family?" 

"You had kept a secret from me all these years, so I am keeping one from you. It's only fair, is it not?" Aadila's voice came out as cold as it did when she tried to keep Atem away from her earlier that day, but this time, she meant it. 

"A secret, what are you talking about? I would never do..."

"Stop lying! I know that you and mother brought me here as a child because I was good for dead! Why didn't you tell me?! Don't you think that that is something that I should have known!?" 

Tarik had a shocked look on his face. "H-h-how did you ev-ven know?"

"That is for you to find out, father! Now I have a question for you. You told me that you would never harm people who have done nothing wrong. What makes you think those simple thieves deserved the fate that Aknadin decided for them? None of them deserved to die like that." Her voice was quiet so that no one outside the door could here what she was saying. She had seen a shadow stop in front of her door, so that meant someone was listening into their conversation. 

Her father continued the conversation in a hushed tone. "It was to create a safer Egypt. I did only what I thought should have been done to protect you and your siblings. If I'm guilty of a crime, let the Gods make the judgement."

"Even though you had to kill a dear friend?"

"Yes. And if given the task again, I would do it all the same." 
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The person standing outside the door of the young girls room was Aknadin. He hand't realized that the young girl had followed them to Kul Elna until he heard her father mentioned he saw her there because of the cloak. He smiled at the fact that she kept her end of the bargain and didn't tell her father about the spell they had performed not much earlier. He noticed the young girls father as part of the troupe that was assisting him and he knew better than to have him see what was about to occur, so Aknadin kept him on watch to make sure no one could get away. Luckily for Aadila, Aknadin hadn't heard the fact that she saved someone. 

Aknadin moved away from the door and down the corridors of the palace, trying to get adjusted to the Millennium Item that had chosen him. The Millennium Eye. He felt this new found power growing within him but that could not hide the fact that he was heart broken. To do this one thing to save Egypt, Aknadin had to give up his beloved family. His beautiful wife's vision appeared in front of him and he broke down. The idea that his son would never know of his royal blood haunted him. He thought it unfair. 

My son, I'm sorry.
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The next morning, the army of men had come to take over the city. The laughed as they saw the Pharaoh and his guardians being the only people standing in their way. This would be the easiest battle of their lives. Charging toward the palace, the seven stood their ground and finally the Pharaoh gave the order to invoke the power of each individuals item to protect the city. 

Aadila watched from a peak that many did not frequent. Dakarai had shown her the passageway to get there a week earlier and she decided she had to see first hand what she had caused. Monsters formed in the sky, all beyond anything she could ever imagine. They had defeated the army of thousands without any trouble and Egypt was safe. 

A few hours later, the city was celebrating the victory their mighty Pharaoh had accomplished. Aknamkonon looked proud of what he had created but that was only because he didn't know what was behind the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. 

Aadila walked the palace grounds thinking of when she should take her plan into action to create the eighth item. As she was walking with her head down, she bumped into someone, causing her to fall backwards and slightly embarrassed.  A laugh came from the person she had run into and then said "I thought you where going to look up eventually. I apologize for not telling you I was in your way." Aadila looked up to see Atem, who had his hand extended toward her and his face contained a warm smile. 

Aadila grabbed his hand and Atem helped her to her feet. "I'm sorry, Atem. I guess I was just too lost in my own thoughts. What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn't you be with your father enjoying the celebration?"

"I came to look for you actually. I had a matter I wanted to speak with you in private." 

They went and found a very quiet area of the grounds, which happened to be Aadila's favourite portion of the palace gardens. Sitting on bench, Aadila turned to the young Prince and asked "What would you like to speak to me about?"

Atem was nervous it was hard for Aadila not to tell. He looked into her coral eyes and said, "Yesterday, at the lesson, the teacher had told me that I should start thinking of a person I wish to have by my side, as my queen." Some blush formed on his face as he looked away from her capturing eyes. 

"Oh, well I'm sure you will find someone to your liking. I bet the names of the noble girls teacher gave you were beautiful." The young girl hid the fact that she was saddened by the mentioning of the topic. For almost two months her feelings for the heir of the throne had become more than that of friends. She wanted to stay with him in this life but she knew that she would not be part of the list of nobles eligible. 

"Yes but I wish for more than beauty. I want someone that isn't afraid to speak their mind to me, tell me if I'm making a mistake and not be afraid to tell me what I don't want to hear. I want someone who treats everyone as her equal, even if they are the poorest of the poor, someone who is kind to everyone."

Before he could continue Aadila spoke. "One of the girls might have those qualities. You never know until you meet them, right?" 

"But I have already met that girl." Atem looked into the mesmerizing eyes that he had fallen in love with. 

"Oh, well, she must be a lucky girl than to have caught your attention." Aadila looked at her hands in her lap. 

Atem let out a small laugh. "You don't get it, do you?" Atem grabbed one on Aadila's small hands and lifted her chin with his other. "I'm saying that, well, I want you to be my queen, if you are okay with the idea, of course." Aadila was shocked due to the happiness she had just heard. She didn't know how to respond, so she kept quiet. "Aadila, I need an answer. I don't know how to take your silence" the prince said with a chuckle. 

Aadila finally composed herself and answered, "I'd be honoured."