Ryo wasn't an ordinary vendor who sold ordinary items. He didn't consider himself an extraordinary vendor in any way, nor did he boast of his vials, rant about his crystals, or rave about his amulets. Indeed, he was a very bashful vendor.

Unlike the others, who bargained deal upon deal every day, trying to sell at high quantity and not high quality, Ryo Bakura sat behind his stall, waiting patiently. He would sit and sit and sit, watching as people glanced over his table. One or two people would ask him about his wares, but they were the ones who looked with polite interest and never bought.

Nobody was interested in alchemy.

However, one day, as Ryo was setting up his humble little stall, a boy with white hair just as his own ran past. Two guards chased after him, but he disappeared easily into the crowds of chattering villagers and shouting merchants.

The guards stopped in front of his tiny stall, looking around frantically for the boy. A moment later, they spotted Ryo's small and hunched figure as he was straightening out the strings on his various luck amulets, and immediately stomped over.

"I don't think that's him," the first guard said dubiously.

"Well who else do you know who has long white hair?" the other proclaimed.

"He couldn't have ducked in there and changed so fast," the former reasoned.

The second guard ignored the first and leered at Ryo, who chose to ignore their presence in favour of laying out his crystals on their individual accompanying cloths. It wasn't very long before the guard's fist slammed on the table, making Ryo's carefully done layout disappear into a mess of glittering stones and tangled string.

"Hey, thief," the guard said gruffly.

Ryo watched him with a calm interest and shook his head. "No, I'm not a thief," he said softly. "I'm an alchemist."

The first guard's brow raised in surprise and realization. He tried to step in but the second pushed him back.

"Thieves are known to be liars, but alchemists? No way. I'm taking you back to the palace to be tried in front of the council, scumbag."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Ryo told him, his voice never rising above a murmur.

"And why not?" The guard reached to grab his wrist but the first caught him.

"This man is Ryo, you fool!" he interrupted. "Ryo Bakura, the man who shares his name with that petty thief, and the one High Priest Seth told us not to trouble," He hissed.

Ryo nodded when the former looked at him for confirmation. "Yes, that's right. However, there is one small detail you're missing."

The second guard folded his burly arms across his chest and frowned. "And what might that be, runt?"

"Bakura isn't just a petty thief."

Author's Note: Something I've been working on for a while now, a little AU I cooked up with Ryo as an Alchemist in Ancient Egypt. Unlike a lot of my other multi-chapter stories, I plan to finish this because I've already gotten a lot of it typed up and I know where it's going :)

Hopefully you guys enjoyed the prologue enough to stay with me on this project?

Review if you wish!