Winds howled, and sand swirled as a cloaked figure riding a horse, approached the walled camp. The darkness of night made it almost impossible to see the figure. Normal human senses would notice nothing usual about this night, but for the master of these lands, it caused him unrest.
'The Bandit King' was known for his reputation, a vicious man with a loyal band of mercenaries who would stop at nothing to expand his territory. Who destroyed villages and towns, leaving no prisoners.
To those who heard the tales, he was nothing more than a thief. But to those that met the creature, knew the true horror and power the being held.
The mortals worshipped the creature as a God, and the creature claimed more followers as he raided the towns and villages close to his territory, which was constantly expanding. His army was growing, and his reputation was reaching new heights.
The sentries outside the camp stood to attention, as the hooded figure drew closer.
"Halt! This camp and the surrounding land is private territory! You are not allowed any further!"
The figure however, did not stop, dismounting its horse, and walking up to the gate. Both sentries drew their swords, causing the figure to smirk.
Effortless wasn't the word to describe how easily the sentries fell, motionless and lifeless.
The figure stepped into the camp, which was quiet apart from the sentries at certain points. With that, the figure slipped through the shadows, quiet and careful. It made its way to the door of a building, lingering in the entrance before movement was spotted in the shadows beside it, and none other than the Bandit King stepped out.
"Malik, what are you doing here?! I knew I sensed another demon, do you not have innocent creatures to torment? You know not to approach my territory" The other demon looked amused, and lowered his hood.
"Why Bakura, I thought you loved my visits, besides I hear you caught a new prize that I have been interested in for a while."
Bakura gave a smirk, before stepping further into the room.
"Why yes, did Yami tell you? Always looking to cause trouble. To be fair, the prize did wander into my territory, and of course I have been keeping an eye on him since that night. I just figured, since the opportunity arose, I thought I would take it. First come first served, do you not think?"
Malik moved slowly, running fingers over fine fabric, causing Bakura to tense up, eyes never leaving the other demon. However, Malik took no notice as he moved around the room, examining his surroundings, looking far too comfortable.
"Rather nice place you have set up here, it has been how long since we last spoke? Since you deserted our master?"
"200 years" Bakura defended quickly. "And I was enjoying the peace and quiet that I have made for myself far too much. Besides, I did not desert Yami, he gave me the opportunity to leave, which I did without hesitation. Anyway, what do you want Malik? Why are you here?"
The other demons grin looked wider, and only then did he turn to look at Bakura.
"Yami wants control of the Pharaoh of Egypt, and he is asking for help from us underlings. He wanted to enquire with you, as you have a lot of mortals at your disposal. Of course he sent me, because we are still on good terms."
Bakura snorted, and gave a violent shake of his head.
"No, I fought for him before. He owes me for the service I provided. I am not risking my life, and the lives of my followers for a fools errand. He wants the King of Egypt? He can do that without my help. He should go about it the way us 'underlings' do, by making deals and being demons. Just because he is considered one of Lucifers generals does not mean we have to do as he says. He has no control over us Malik, we obey Lucifer directly, and to be honest when has he given a thought for the mortal world? Yami can flaunt his status all he wants. But I am not following him, and not ruining my years of work to get this place the way I like it."
They looked at each other, and Bakura turned on his heel.
"He does not control me any more. I was granted freedom after I fought for him, he breaks that then he breaks our deal."
Malik nodded, and turned back to the door.
"He considers himself above demon rules though, you know exactly what he is like. Anyway I shall leave you to it. I could try to persuade you to come back and join our wonderful leader, but to be honest I do not care enough. I was asked to come, so I came. I really should stop by more often though, this is a rather nice place you have" Malik turned, and gave a soft wink to Bakura, before he vanished.
With that, Bakura relaxed visibly. It had been a long time since he had been in touch with the demon world. Yami was considered the strongest in this area, and was constantly interfering with other demons, and mortals alike. The fact he was going after the Pharaoh just confirmed his arrogance. True demons were stronger than mortals. But the Pharaoh had numbers on his side. Even if Yami was strong, there was no way he could hold off thousands of mortals, no one but Lucifer was that strong.
He did feel unrest though. That visit was far too short, especially for Malik. He was the type of creature to linger and cause further problems. Why he had decided to travel all this way, just to bother Bakura was strange. Even if it was for Yami, well Yami knew never to choose Malik for jobs. Some would say the creature was far worse to deal with than Yami, a bloodthirsty brute of a demon who preferred torture over deals any day.
Bakura sighed, walking back to the bedroom. Ryou slept soundly on the bed, and the demon could not help but smile. He had known the mortal for such little time in demon years. He had fallen for mortal vices many times, but none more so than Ryou. He treasured the human more than he cared to admit. If Yami found out this weakness, there was no doubt Ryou would be used against him...he had to keep him safe.
-x-
The next day was the same as the previous, mortals working for their Master. Securing the wall around camp, digging, bringing in water.
Akefia woke up to the sound of talking outside the building. He had been imprisoned for a few months now, staring at the same walls, receiving beatings from Bakura for disobeying him. But he still refused, there was no way he would obey this monster. The tanned man gave a stretch, before looking at his wrists...there were no chains? He was free!
He shot up, running to the door, before he was met with the bright crimson eyes of the demon.
"Good morning Thief, you are eager this morning. Ready to obey me yet?" The grin caused Akefia's own expression to turn sour, and seeing Akefia's expression caused Bakura to chuckle.
"Well what do you expect? You have been living in the camp, but not contributing for a while now. Besides, the reason I brought you here was because of your physique. Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way" There was a pause between words, and Akefia grew more suspicious, but he was not about to fall, not now, not when he had spent so long fighting.
"You are stubborn, are you not? I like that, it is nice to have a mortal that has a little fight. These followers of mine make my life easier sure, but there is nothing like having a stubborn one to break. Bring him" Two large men stepped forward, and grabbed Akefia, who tried to struggle, but there was no way he was strong enough. Being stuck in chains for months, and suffering beating after beating had really made him weaker.
He was dragged out into the square, it seemed the whole camp was out to watch, even Ryou, who stood on Bakura's balcony kept an eye on the situation.
Akefia grunted as he was forced to the ground, shooting another cold glare at Bakura, there was no way he could break him, he had been through so much worse, so much torture. This was nothing.
"This mortal, has decided to defy your master. For that he will be punished, if you do not wish to suffer the same fate, show your loyalty to me."
The crowd of mortals collapsed to their knees, causing a sneer to form on Bakura's face.
"Well then, I guess that answers that concern. Kneel thief, give up. You will never escape, obey me, and your life will become so much easier. You can help me rule the world, your skills, my power, we would make an excellent team you and I"
Akefia refused, standing stubbornly as straight as he could, before the two men holding him forced him to the ground.
"Now then, I guess the hard way will have to do. Well not for me, I find this part rather fun. This is going to hurt, and this is going to cause you mental anguish as well. Just a side affect of demon magic on a mortal mind, though you have already experienced it, have you not? Please do not hold back, the more screams of agony you make, the happier you will make me"
With that he lifted a molten hot iron from a nearby fire pit, the tip was shaped in the form of a pentagram, with script not known in the mortal world. The demon started muttering in a language, chanting words. Black smoke surrounded the iron, before causing it to glow bright red. With that Bakura stabbed the metal into Akefia's skin, right on the hip of the mortal, who could not help but gasp in pain. However, apart from that he refused to make a sound as the dark magic travelled through his body. It was painful, the torture was ongoing. The burning iron melting into his body, and the pure power of magic travelling through his veins caused him to hiss. He could not yell, he would not give up. Akefia knew he could fight this, he had been through so much worse. He would not fall, not break, not to this demon.
After what felt like an excruciating amount of time, the torture finally stopped. He felt the scarred skin peel from the molten hot iron, and heard Bakura chuckle darkly.
"Look at that, now you are an object belonging to me. This mark stops you from leaving the camp. You could have had your freedom, if only you obeyed me, but here we are"
Akefia snarled, struggling against the two men who held him down.
"You tried to kill me once Thief, and you witnessed first-hand how well that worked out" The grin grew as the demon circled the mortal, eyes never leaving him.
"I will break you, pretty thief. I will stop you fighting me. One way or another, you will succumb"
Akefia was dragged up by the two men, as Bakura looked over him.
The other took the chance to spit in the demons face, causing Bakura to hiss and grab him by the throat, slamming him against a nearby wall.
"You're lucky I like you thief, otherwise your head would be mounted on my wall."
They both glared at each other, Akefia struggling to breathe against the tightness in his throat, slowly turning red at the lack of air. When he thought he was about to pass out, Bakura dropped him.
"Send him to dig, use whatever means necessary to get him to work."
The two men who had a hold of Akefia grabbed him again, and dragged him back through the camp.
Bakura turned back to the crowd, before he moved back to his building.
"Get back to work! You know now, the punishment if you don't obey!"
With that the crowd dispersed rather quickly, and Bakura walked into the building, to be met with Ryou, watching him carefully.
"He is unexpectedly stubborn, I thought he would cave by now. No mortal has stood up to you for this long" The younger muttered, and Bakura scoffed.
"Because you do not know any better. Most people succumb because they are petty farmers. This man has been through plenty in his lifetime. He will be harder to break."
Ryou frowned, and moved back when Bakura stepped further into the room.
"And does that annoy you, Master?" The demon sat on plush cushions, and beckoned Ryou to come closer. Ryou did as he was asked, and Bakura touched the back of the mortals neck, causing him to shiver.
"It makes it more fun. I would rather fight, I enjoy the suffering of others after all. Sometimes having this peaceful life can be far too boring. Having a bit of hatred and rivalry really livens things up."
Ryou relaxed carefully, looking towards the door. Of course Bakura loved this, it was very rare he had conflict. He only hoped Akefia was wise enough to know when to stop fighting. After all...obeying Bakura was not too bad in the end, he had followed him all his life though, so he could be biased.
-x-
The night was clear, and quiet. Stars covered the black sky, and shone as brightly as ever. Akefia stared up at them, with longing.
His back ached, and his feet even more. Bloody and sore from being beaten and forced to work. Branded by a iron...like he was some animal. This demon was vicious, perhaps giving up would be the best option. There was no way he could keep fighting an immortal creature of such sadism and hatred. It would be easier...safer if he just surrendered.
But giving up the fight would make him a slave, a useless sack of skin who would be forced to do as the master pleased...he had to keep fighting, there was no way he could give up his freedom, as long as he had air in his lungs, then he could keep fighting.
A sound at the door caused him to stir, and look up carefully...not the master, there was no way he could handle another beating. Not right now, he needed rest. Was the plan to exhaust him into submission, cause him to feel so much pain.
Just as he saw the shocking white hair, he moved back, before kind eyes met his, and he lowered his guard. Ryou, of course. They looked so similar, him and the demon.
"I am not meant to be here, but Master is busy with other things, so I have a little bit of time. I brought some things to clean your wounds, if you would let me" After pausing for a minute, Akefia allowed him, giving a soft nod of his head, and Ryou stepped further into the small room.
"I am sorry, about what happened to you. Master has never had a toy as stubborn as you"
"I am not a toy!" Akefia shot back stubbornly, causing Ryou to jump slightly.
"Of course, sorry about that. Master sees you as a toy, something that can be broken...he likes the challenge you know, enjoys having someone to fight back" Akefia moved away from the touch, glaring at him.
"Why are you here? Why are you helping me, do you not have your master to please? Why are you disobeying him for me, when he says you are ever so loyal" The Thief King turned to look at the petite man fully, who lowered his eyes to the ground.
"How do I know, whatever I say to you will not be transferred back to that monster? Hmmm. Are you pretending to be sweet to me, so you can be his little spy? Is that what you are playing at? You can lie to me all you want, about not being here, and your Master not allowing you to come see me. But as far as I am concerned, you are just another ally of him, and he is my enemy. So get this over and done with then piss off. There is no need to try and make pleasantries, I know why you are really here, so stop with the lies"
Ryou frowned, and moved to carefully clean the wounds, without giving a reply. Akefia hissed now and again when an especially raw wound was touched, but other than that they sat in silence, with the flickering candle Ryou brought in the only source of light, and heat.
When Ryou had finished, he moved to stand.
"I am not being a spy for Master. I do want to help you. Master is being exceptionally cruel to you for some reason, and he said if it was not for your importance you would have been dead long ago. He had a man...I am not actually sure it was a man, perhaps another demon like himself, he came last night. They were speaking about someone, and I am sure it was you. Whatever Master sees in you, another creature is after it too. I like you, and as I say, I do want to help you. Now, if you will excuse me I need to get back."
Akefia did not understand why Ryou was telling him this, why he was offering help. But right now it was possibly a stupid idea to reject the only source of kindness that he had received in many years. Perhaps he was suspicious, but this...kid had never caused him any problems. He could try to let his guard down.
What was he saying?! This was a trick, a trick by the demon to get him all comfortable with Ryou. There was no way he would fall for this...sense of security. He had to fight the trick, no matter how kind Ryou was, there was no proof. As he had said, the Master had been with Ryou all his life, there was no way he would betray the creature that had been with him for so long.
Ryou left the building, having left the candle with him. He took a chance to stare at the light, the single flame flickering and dancing against the sandstone wall. Life was awful, and what had Ryou meant by another creature coming to see the Master. Another demon? And why did Ryou think it was after him? No matter what, something was going on, and he wanted to escape before he found out more. But having this mark...this symbol on his hip was not going to help. He had to find a way to escape, and at the moment...submitting to the demon was the only option, and he was not sure he wanted to do that just yet, but with his freedom on the line, he was not sure he would have another choice.