5 – New loves, old memories – 3000 years earlier

Arn sat on her windowsill, staring out into the desert as the dawn light played across the sand dunes. Malik grunted in his sleep and rolled over. She had come in late from work, and found him already asleep in her bed. He kept doing this. Determined to get a night where she didn’t come home in the early hours of the morning, he would sneak into her room and wait for her to get home. He’d only caught her once. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that her work hours changed on a daily basis.

She didn’t need as much sleep as her friends, and had got a couple of hours before she left, so now she just waited for him, and the rest of the city, to wake up. This was the time she usually spent reading, or drawing, or writing, but all of these activities called for a light, and she didn’t want to light a candle in case it woke Malik, and she couldn’t exactly go downstairs: she lived in a communal dwelling – one of the places the Pharaoh had had built to house the homeless. Well…house the homeless who could afford it.

Malik muttered under his breath, dreaming. She glanced round to make sure he was ok, and went back to watching the sunrise. She remembered when Ryoko had played matchmaker, getting them together. Arn was grateful to the raven-haired woman: she wasn’t shy, but Malik was – with girls, at least – and she was no way going to make the first move in a relationship: she’d made that mistake before and regretted it. She smiled as memories played around the edges of her mind, enticing her into daydreams. Eventually, Arn grew bored, and succumbed, staring into space across the hot landscape as the day she and Malik got together played in her mind.

---

“Aww, come on! Let me tell her!” Bakura tossed a ball of mud at his friend.

“Quit it! That’s the fourth one in half an hour!” Malik snapped, brushing the dirt off his lap. “You’re really starting to piss me off! The answer is still no, just like it was five minutes ago, and five minutes before that, and every five God-damn minutes since yesterday!” Ryoko sat down on the floor next to the thieves.

“What is with you two? You’ve been arguing for two days now! What the deal?” Malik scowled.

“Nothing. Just bored, and this idiot wont shut up.”

“He’s got a crush.” Bakura teased in a sing-song voice. Malik smacked him in the head.

“Shut up! That the last time I tell you anything!” he sighed. “Fine, I don’t care. Ryoko would have found out sooner or later anyway. Just…don’t tell…her…” Malik rubbed his spiky hair. “It’s all your fault anyway!” he growled at Ryoko. She blinked in confusion, staring at his back as he stormed out.

“Say what now?”

“Malik’s got a crush on that girl Arn, who you introduced to us. He really likes her, but says she doesn’t like him so there’s no point in him asking her.” A slow smile spread across Ryoko’s face.

“Oh, she’ll love this! This is gonna be fun!” she jumped up and ran off to find the girl, leaving Bakura confused and slightly worried about his friends’ sanity.

Ryoko found Arn sitting by the fountain in the main square. She snuck up behind her, as quietly as she could, and was about to grab her when Arn spoke.

“Ryoko, creeping behind someone like that only works if they aren’t looking in a reflection at the time.” She turned around. Ryoko sat on the ledge with her.

“I got something to tell you, and you’re gonna love it!” Ryoko hardly ever got to play match-maker, but she was generally very good at it. “Malik. He really likes you, you know. He wants to ask you out but he’s too shy to.” she paused, watching a small light of hope kindle in her friend’s eyes. Arn’s last relationship had ended badly, and had knocked all her self esteem out of her. “I think that if you flirted with him a little…” she shrugged. “What do think? Give him that little extra encouragement?” Arn considered it.

“How much encouragement?”

“Just enough to show him you feel the same, if you do, that is.” She knew Arn liked him. The younger girl suddenly stood up.

“Where would he be now? Bakura’s place?” Ryoko thought for a second, then shook her head. She opened her mouth to tell Arn that he’d have headed home, then realised that Arn had already darted away. She chased after her, grabbing her before she left the square.

“Arn! He’ll have gone home.”

“Right! Thanks!” she spun around and charged off in the opposite direction. Ryoko caught up with her and kept pace.

“What’s the rush?”

“I need to do this before I lose the courage to do it. See you later!” she put on a surprising burst of speed and left Ryoko behind. The black haired woman sighed, and slowed to a walk to go back to Bakura. Her work was done.

A few minutes later, Arn skidded to halt outside Malik’s house and knocked the door loudly. He opened the door after a second, giving her a chance to compose herself. His light eyes focussed on her.

“Arn? What are you doing here?” before he could say another word she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Suddenly she pulled away, blushing madly, and ran off. Malik stood on the doorstep, stunned. A few minutes later he realised he was still standing there and went inside. He shut the door, and stood in the hall, then changed his mind. He grabbed his cloak and went to find Bakura.

He took the long route, and found himself outside the thief’s cave. Bakura used the deep grotto as a hide out, and it made an excellent meeting point if the got separated on a job. He didn’t knock (due to the caverns noticeable lack of door) and went straight to the back of the, where the gang would be hiding out of sight from passers-by. The sight that greeted him made him feel strangely guilty. Ryoko, sitting with Arn on the floor, the younger girl sobbing in her lap, Bakura patting the crying girl’s back rather pointlessly. Words drifted back to him.

“I can’t believe you did that!” Bakura was saying.

“I know!” Arn sniffed, sitting up and wiping her eyes. “It was so stupid of me! Just Ryoko said all that, and I just didn’t think it all through…I feel so stupid!” she collapsed into tears again. This time, Bakura took her in his arms, giving Ryoko a chance to dry off. The other woman dusted off her dress and brushed back her hair.

“I meant what I said, Arn. He does like you, he just doesn’t know how to show it.” Arn sat up again, swallowing hard. “Men are useless at that sort of thing. Did you know that Bakura got a kid in the street to ask me out for him?” Arn chuckled, and got up. She went out the back way, so she didn’t pass Malik.

Ryoko knew he was there.

“You idiot!” She snapped. “All you had to do was put your arms around her, or kiss her back! It’s not hard!” he hung his head.

“I was just surprised, that’s all…and I asked you not to say anything to her.”

“Go after her.” Bakura patted his shoulder. “Trust me: Ryoko loves it when I follow her if she’s upset, and I’m certain it’s a girl thing. Go cheer her up.” Malik nodded and quickly escaped before Ryoko could yell again. As soon as he left, they slapped high-fives.

“Nice job, Bakura. I didn’t think we’d get him to follow.”

“Well, I guess you’re not the only one who’s a good matchmaker, huh?”

---

Malik came up behind Arn as she sat on the windowsill, staring into space. The morning sun shone full on her face but she didn’t blink, or breathe. Only the colourful light of Shadow Magic playing at her fingertips showed any sign of life in the woman. He reached out and gently touched her shoulder.

“Arn? Come on, babe. Snap out of it. You know this is dangerous…” whether it was the contact or the sound, she woke from her trance, slipping off the sill into his arms as her energy drained. Her eyelids fluttered several times, an unconscious reaction to an hour of no moisture. Her chest heaved as her system realised that it hadn’t taken in any oxygen.

Malik wondered vaguely how she stayed alive when this happened: her powers meant that if she did something that involved looking back – or forwards – the rest of her thought processes shut down, and the magic kept her alive. Apparently no living person should see what is going to happen in the future, which is why the few ways of doing it had such horrific consequences or causes – the Millennium Necklace, held by the High Priestess Isis, was forged from the souls of (somewhat) innocent villagers; Arn’s method technically killed her. She explained how she survived the charm well enough, but he still didn’t like it, and no-one understood why it happened when she looked back at her own life.

She suddenly took a huge breath and sat up. She looked around, disoriented for a second, the looked up into his worried eyes.

“I’m sorry, Malik. I didn’t do it on purpose.” He nodded understandingly. “I couldn’t help it…”

“I know, Arn. Let’s just forget about it and go out.” He pulled his clothes on. “Let’s go find the others.” She hugged him quickly and grabbed her shoes.

A few minutes later they climbed out of the window and down to the street, avoiding the man on the stairs who was calling for Arn’s late rent. Business was slow lately in Arn’s line of work. They grabbed Malik’s horse and trotted to the hideout, riding double with Arn hiding under his cloak so that if the rent-man looked he wouldn’t see her.

As soon as the were out of sight she pulled it off her head, but stayed leaning against him, because it was easier for the man to reach the reins that way and because she was comfortable. The early morning sun was already hot, so Malik kept the pace slow, making sure the horse didn’t tire too badly.

Arn lived on the other side of the city to the gangs meeting point, so it was a long ride. Most of the journey passed in silence, but neither was tempted to break it. Suddenly, around a quarter of a mile from the Nile, they heard a voice pipe up out of nowhere.

“Hey! Could you guys give me a lift?” Maiean stuck her head up out of a bush. They quickly dismounted.

“Maiean? What’s up?” Arn asked. The Priest’s wife just passed her a bundle of blanket. Inside: a baby boy. “Seth?” Maiean nodded.

“I want you to take him to the cave and keep him there until I arrive. I’ll be walking, so it may take a while. If you aren’t staying, give him to Ryoko. No offence to Bakura, but I don’t see him as huge fatherly material.” Malik dismounted and shook his head.

“You’d be surprised. He loves kids.”

“What? Really?” the women shared an astonished glance. Malik snorted.

“Well…he’s like Ryoko: he’s good with kids, but they aren’t so good with him.” He shrugged. Arn grabbed Maiean’s hand and pulled her onto the horse.

“Arn, I’m not taking Malik’s place on his own horse. It’s not a long walk from here. I wouldn’t have stopped you at all if it wasn’t for Seth. I’ll be fine, honestly.” Malik slapped the horse’s rump and sent it galloping off. He waited until they were safely out of sight and started walking.

The girls reached the camp maybe half an hour before he did, so they waited until he arrived before they discussed what happened. This gave Maiean a chance to calm down and get Seth settled. Malik sat down and watched as she set the baby to sleep. He’d never been around kids like the others, and was curious about the strange little rituals Maiean had with her son, such as patting his back after feeding him, or the odd little dancing bouncy way she rocked him when he cried. She explained things happily when he asked, but he hardly ever did, so much of the mother’s ways were still a mystery to him. Ryoko pushed back her fringe and rubbed her forehead.

“So, what’s happened?” she asked. Maiean stroked her sleeping son’s hair.

“Seto and I argued again. He was really angry. Seto’s a good guy, but…he doesn’t have the best temper. Seth was crying in the night, and Seto got in really late last night, so none of us slept very well. This morning I found Seth was ill, so I asked Seto if he could grab a few things from the market for me, medicines and the like. Seto isn’t used to me telling him what to do, and I guess I didn’t ask him in the nicest way possible, but I was worried about Seth, so his feelings weren’t high on my list of priorities.” The others nodded, certain they would have felt the same in her position.

“He threw you out.” Bakura said. It wasn’t a question.

“No,” she replied swiftly “he just shouted a lot. I got scared, grabbed Seth and left. Seto can get violent sometimes, but he’s never hurt me or Seth, not yet. I couldn’t take that risk with my son. I’m sorry I’ve brought this on you guys, but this is the only place I could think of where I wouldn’t be easily tracked down.”

“You did the right thing.” Ryoko reassured her. “Stay as long as you need to.” Bakura didn’t argue. Arn patted the other girl’s shoulder.

“You couldn’t have stayed there, not when Seto has a history of violence and was really angry, even if you are certain he wouldn’t hurt you.” she glanced around. “You might take the risk with yourself, but not with the child.” Her friend nodded.

Ryoko gently took Seth and put him down on a bed against the back wall. Maiean watched silently, thinking about how good the black haired woman would be as a mother. The group sat there, quiet for now, each thinking about the sudden occurrences and the possibilities it brought up. Bakura looked at Ryoko, thinking the same thing Maiean had a few minutes earlier. Maiean looked at Seth, considering where to go from here: she couldn’t go back now. Arn looked at Maiean, thinking whether the woman would accept her offer to stay at her place. Malik looked at the sleeping baby, wondering vaguely where he came from. Ryoko looked at the floor, wondering if she should wash her hair tonight or in the morning.