Ishizu’s Gift Part 5
Tea swam to the shore, pulling herself up onto the rough sandy bank. Her breathing was coming in pants as she glanced down the river to the location of the small boat. They would be docking soon when the morning sun appeared in the distance. However, she would make sure to be far away. Pushing from the ground, Tea made her way towards the small village. If she had any luck of getting away, she needed directions and some type of transportation.
Most people were sleeping when she walked down the small road. In the distance, Tea could see the horizon starting to glow. Her heart gave a painful clench as she realized that soon the duel would begin. That thought alone with the pain she was feeling kept her moving. Towards the edge of the village was a small stable. A young Egyptian man was walking around, tending to the animals within it.
“Miss, are you okay?” He asked as he placed the metal pail down upon the ground.
Tea nodded. “I need a horse or some type of transportation plus directions back to Cairo.”
“Unfortunately, I do not have any horses for you to use. Cairo is quite a walk from here, but if you follow the river, you should have no problems finding your way.” He was pointing a small path in the distance
Tea followed the direction the man was pointing. A small path lead between the small hills that wrapped around the bends of the river. By boat, it was taking them almost all night to arrive at the location where the duel was taking place, but that was also due to the pace the boat was travelling. However, the girl knew that if she waited around nothing was going to change. She had to keep pushing forward, one foot in front of the other. Maybe Cairo wasn’t as far as she thought.
Thanking the young man, Tea turned to follow the path that lead around the small hills. However, as she was about to take the long walk back, she heard her name being called out in the distance. Fear started to grip the young woman as she peered over her shoulder. He was running towards her. His eyes were blazing red as his face held anger and fear. Tears began to pool within her cerulean eyes. She wanted to drop down and cry wondering why he had followed her. He should be on the boat, preparing for what was ahead.
The young dancer shook her head and took off running. However, exhaustion from the swim had started to catch up with her, and the once nameless pharaoh quickly caught her. He reached out and grabbed her fluttering hand, pulling her towards him. She crashed against his chest as he wrapped both arms tightly around her small waist.
“Let me go,” she yelled as she hammered her fists against his chest.
Atem tighten his grip as he pulled her towards one of the abandon buildings on the outskirt of the village. Tea tried wrestling with him, bringing her knee to his groin. He dropped his hands before dropping to one of his knees, a hiss of pain echoing out of his mouth. Tea took the opportunity and tried to run out of the building, but Atem quickly pushed forward, colliding his body against her own forcing her to the ground. Her hands fell to the side before one came directly across the side of his face, the sound echoing loud within the small room.
Atem flattened his body against the young woman, draping his legs over hers while gripping her arms tightly above her head. She continued to thrash underneath him, rolling her body from one side to the other. Once more, her knee came in contact with him causing another sharp hiss to escape his lips. The movement caused his body to move from hers just enough for her to pull away from him. He growled deeply within his throat as he pushed to his knees and grabbed one of her legs pulling her down upon the ground once more. She rolled and kicked at his hand. Once released, she back peddled out the door and quickly stood before running once more.
Tea didn’t wait. She quickly ran towards the hills, hoping to gain some distance. The sun was starting to rise giving the land a cool fog across the sandy ground. She wrapped herself around the first hill before stopping and leaning against it. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back allowing her breathing to slow.
It wasn’t long, though, when she noticed a shadow over her body. Tea opened her eyes. The once nameless pharaoh stood before her, small beads of sweat coating his face and neck. His crimson eyes held something that caused fear to race throughout her body. She was never afraid of the pharaoh especially when things went dark within his duels or before she even knew who he was. However, at this very moment as he walked to her, his hands clenching within tight fists, she felt fear within her bones.
Tea knew she couldn’t stay. Pushing against the rocks behind her, she quickly turned only to feel a hand roughly grab her, throwing her hard against the rocks. “Don’t.” His voice was rough, but it held darkness within it as he placed his other hand on the other side of her. “This has gone on long enough.”
Tea shook her head, tears spilling from eyes to drop upon the ground. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Atem tried to control the anger, the darkness that was trying to possess him. His voice came out thundering as he yelled at the young dancer before him. “Why in fucking hell did you jump?” He spat.
Tea gasped, her eyes going wide with fright. “The duel. You. Me. I couldn’t.” The words were a shattered mess. She shook her head again and pulled her arms, trying to break his grip as each word was spoken.
“Damn it Tea,” he growled. “I don’t fucking give a damn about the duel.”
The young dancer continued to shake her head. “For crying out loud, Atem, you just don’t understand.” Her body began to go limp against the wall. The pharaoh dropped his strong grip allowing her to slide to the ground.
“Then make me,” he demanded as he dropped down to one knee, his one hand lingering by the side of her face.
Tea snapped her head, anger building behind her cerulean eyes even as tears continue to fall. She roughly pushed his hand away before falling forward to her knees. With each thrust of her finger into his chest, she heatedly explained her reason, “This duel is the end. Are you stupid or just plain blind? This is goodbye, forever.” She stopped to breathe deeply through her noses before standing and glaring down. “I love you, and the pain of knowing what happens is killing me. I rather be far away from here or at least never have known you. Then the feelings that keep clenching my heart would not be so painful.”
Tea raised her leg and kicked the pharaoh hard against his chest, forcing him to fall to his back. She didn’t wait to see what he did. Instead, she took off running towards the remaining hills, hoping to find some location to hide for the time being.
Atem rolled to his knees. The darkness that he was trying so hard to control kept pulsing in his mind. Clenching his hand into a tight fist, he slammed it into the ground before pushing to his feet and racing in the direction the young dancer took off. There was no way in hell he was going to allow her to do anything stupid especially if that something was going to get herself killed. If it took force for her to understand, then force was going to be his answer.