The unusual trio kept a brisk pace as they dodged between the wild trees and the occasional mossy boulder. The roars of the conjured dragon had long faded away, yet their 'unofficial' leader still seemed grim.
"We'd best be wary- I've heard tales of hunters and bandits who roam these forests, seeking all kinds of 'prey'..." Bakura trailed off dourly.
Malik snorted at the white-haired deviant. "That sounds like a load of- YAAAAGHH!" There was a sharp flurry of movement; followed by a loud snapping sound, like a bowstring being fired. Malik let out a howl of shock as he found himself abruptly hoisted into the sky.
"A snare trap!" Ryou watched as the golden-haired youth dangled helplessly above them. "Oh no... quick, help me find the counter-weight- wait, Bakura?" The young nobleman glanced around, only to pause when he saw the foul-tempered blacksmith hadn't even slowed his steps after Malik's displacement.
"Bakura?! Wait!" The distressed young lord called out to the other man. Bakura stopped walking, but only his head turned back towards the others. "We can't just leave him up there!"
"Why not? Someone else'll surely find him." The amateur sorcerer gave the blacksmith a suspicious glare, and Bakura muttered over his shoulder, "eventually."
Meanwhile, Malik was letting out what was undoubtedly curses in some foreign tongue while he thrashed wildly against his bonds. But the huntsman had set a good trap, and no matter how Malik twisted and twirled, he could not foil the ropes.
"He can't possibly get down on his own! We need to help him!" Ryou pleaded with his white-haired captor.
But Bakura wasn't so easily convinced. "I already saved his d*mn life once; if I do it again he'll never leave me alone!"
"Oh?" Ryou felt a sudden burst of inspiration, and he held back a smirk. "And when he dies out here, from thirst or exposure or beasts; then who do you suppose his spirit will haunt for all eternity?" The slender aristocrat wryly proposed.
The irate 'ogre' pointed one index finger at the writhing foreigner and hissed: "We went over thislast night! Ghosts don't exist!"
"Oh? Really?" The smile on the prince's face was unexpected as he replied in an almost derisive tone. "And who do you think would know better: a random village blacksmith, or someone well-trained by a renowned sorcerer in the most mystical arts of all knowledge?"
Realizing the noble whelp was right, Bakura let out a harsh sound of vexation. Annoyed, the pale smithy pulled out his favorite dagger and sliced through the main rope with one swift motion.
Malik yelped as he suddenly fell back to the forest floor. He let out a soft groan as he righted his body and checked himself for injuries.
"Malik! Are you okay? I can heal anything minor..."
"I think- I think I'm alright." Two violet eyes narrowed in annoyance as they landed on Bakura. "No thanks to you, you *ss!"
"Tch. You truly think you have cause to call me as such, when your own foolishness and chatter are to blame for your ignorance?"
"You could've warned me!" Malik stuck out his tongue as he stood up, brushing the pine needles off his clothes. "And furthermore, if I DO end up dying while completing this ridiculous quest, I'll be sure to come back and torture you for the rest of your miserable days- you can be sure of it!"
"I wouldn't be so certain of that." Ryou admitted pleasantly. "After all, there's never been any verifiable proof that lost souls can return to our realm in any effective form!"
"WHAT?!" Bakura finally came to a full halt as he rounded on the smaller youth. "You outright lied to me, you wretched little imp!"
But the gentle lord remained undaunted as he calmly replied. "You do forget, sir blacksmith: I'm coming with you of my own free will- which means that I will maintain my personal autonomy and judgment when it comes to matters of unnecessary deaths-by-proxy."
"He's not even a citizen of your own bloody kingdom!" The metal-worker countered. He knew that most royal families were considered 'eccentric,' but this was absurd! "Why do you even care?!"
The white-haired prince shrugged. "He has yet to harm me or my kin- what reason do I have to want him dead?"
Bakura felt his resolve wavering. "You just haven't been around him as long as I have! Trust me, he never shuts up!"
"His comments are amusing enough, and I always desire to learn more of foreign lands and their inhabitants." Ryou admitted while gesturing at the forest around them. "Besides, this is wild woodland; where bears are known to roam- it's always best to make some noise before traipsing right onto a hungry bruin's dinner table."
"Wait, so bears in this country eat at tables?!" Malik blinked in genuine astonishment. "How odd!"
Bakura was ready to scream his misfortunes to the heavens, when he heard a startled *gasp!*
The prince had managed to somehow step in some sort of small animal hole. Evidently he'd fallen in an awkward manner. "Oh, ow... I seem to have twisted my right ankle." Ryou carefully pulled his lower leg out of the hole. He then tried to gingerly test the joint, but was left wincing the instant his foot met the ground. "Ouch..."
Malik watched curiously as the prince hobbled to a standing position. "Can't you heal yourself?"
The wizarding apprentice sighed as he leaned against a young maple tree. "My healing magicks will do the trick, yes; however they are directed by the blood that flows through the veins. Which is swift and sure in the case of a cut or scrape sort of wound, but for something like this..."
"It's slower to heal." Bakura butted in.
"Right. My body won't sense any blood loss, so the affected area is only receiving the typical flow associated with average circulation."
Malik blinked again, and Ryou hastily added, "-so it will take some time."
"Oh..."
"In the meantime, it would help if I could stay off of it- does anyone see a good walking-stick or a- ACK!" Ryou cried out as he was yet again hoisted over the blacksmith's shoulder. "B-Bakura!"
"Like I said, we were sent to fetch you- I doubt Lord Marik would be pleased to find that you've been crippled in the process. I value my own daily 'blood flow' too much to risk his unpredictable wrath."
"..." The prince seemed rather miffed, but evidently not enough to warrant further protest. So the three carried on in this manner, the two 'commoners' marching while the shy nobleman clung to the blacksmith's shoulders. This left him plenty of time to ponder the bearer's words. "And just what, exactly, is your tie to Sir Marik then?"
"We were 'hired' (so to speak) by Lord Marik to retrieve you." Bakura answered in a flat tone.
"But- why?!" The young prince seemed troubled by this declaration, and his voice rose as he spoke. "I don't understand... we have no quarrel with his realm- in fact, my father recently sent aid when a sudden landslide blocked their city's main thoroughfare during the harvest season."
"He's making arrangements to marry you!" Malik cheerfully exclaimed.
"WHAT?!" Ryou nearly screeched in shock, teetering on the blacksmith's shoulder. "What do you mean, 'marry?!'"
"It's a ceremony in which you'll be bonded for life-" Malik added helpfully before he was cut off.
"No, no- I know what marriage is, it's just- I-I can't just marry someone I've never even met before!" The prince felt the air suddenly vanish from his lungs as he felt a panic attack coming on. "That's ridiculous!"
"Pfth, please. Cut the 'shocked' crap- you're a member of a royal family, and you royals are always making arranged marriages." Bakura retorted rather bluntly. "I wouldn't be surprised if the king already had someone else in mind for you!"
Shock turned to indignation, and Ryou shook his head firmly from his lofty perch. "My father would never approve of such a thing, and besides; I'm only second-in-line! My elder brother Akefia is the next in line, so I have no need to... sire... heirs." He trailed off awkwardly.
"No one's expecting you to give birth." Malik pointed out in what was clearly meant to be a helpful manner. Bakura gave him a sideways glance of disbelief, but apparently the prince wasn't as shocked.
"I- I suppose that's good..." Ryou murmured distractedly, "but I really don't want to promise the rest of my life to someone I haven't even met- wait..." A thought suddenly struck the young prince, and he frowned. "Why didn't Sir Marik come to fetch me himself? Surely a lord of his standing would not send such a small party to retrieve a royal prince? I mean, no offense; but there are only two of you, right?" Ryou glanced around, as if more men might be hiding behind the nearby trees. "It's most odd..."
"Quite frankly, the great 'Lord' holds the deed to my land, and that *sshole threatened to jack up the taxes on my meager parcel by a thousand percent if I didn't go on this stupid 'quest.'" Bakura sourly replied. "As for why he sent only me, I don't know." He jerked one thumb towards the blonde tag-along. "This moron joined me later on."
"Hey!"
Ryou bit his lower lip in disappointment. "That's horrible- I can't say I approve of such blatant bullying. I'm liking this 'Marik' less and less by the minute."
Malik quickly gave Bakura a furtive gesture by shaking his head and quickly running one finger across his own throat. Bakura glanced quizzically at the blonde, back to the prince on his shoulder, and then back again to the blonde.
The bewildered 'ogre' slowed his pace and tried to lean sideways so he could speak quietly with his comrade.
"What's wrong with you?!" He whispered madly. "I'm not going to kill him! I want my land back!"
"NO! I meant that you need to kill the conversation!" Malik hissed back. "Listen, you need to play up Lord Marik more! Make the young prince like him! I mean, if you tell him the guy's a giant *ss, he's not gonna want to meet him! And then we'll have to fight the little monarch every step of the way back! Capisce?!"
"Oh..." Bakura frowned as he realized what Malik was saying. 'Great, so now I have to play a freakin' matchmaker as well?! This job sucks...'
"Just say something enchanting about him- and make it sound unforced!"
Bakura nodded once before returning his attention to the prince. Not sure what to say, he went with one of the most obvious points he could extol. "So, uh... Lord Marik's got muscles."
Malik struggled not to walk into a tree as he pondered that 'enchanting' and 'unforced' statement. 'Smooth, Bakura. Real smooth.'
"I've never really been much for muscular men." The shy prince admitted as he was carried along. "I much prefer brain over brawn."
'Well, with Lord Marik, you're probably screwed over on that front...' Bakura thought to himself, but decided not to mention it aloud. "Er, he's really rich..."
"Um, and I'm likely richer...?" Ryou stared downwards in confusion as the pale traveler blanched.
'Sh*t, I forgot, he's a prince... that's even higher-up on the snob hierarchy...' The desperate iron-worker began grasping at straws. "Er, he's got a really big... erm, castle?"
The shorter youth sighed and suddenly slipped down to the ground, leaving the surprised smithy empty-handed. He then turned to face his strange escorts. "Look, I know what you're both doing; and I appreciate it. Really. But I'm not going to just marry someone right after meeting him."
The two travelers looked somewhat dejected, so the prince spoke on. "But don't worry- I'll go with you so you can get your land back, alright? After that, I'll find another way back home. We're still on good terms with Lord Marik's people, so I doubt he'd be foolish enough to try and kidnap me."
Malik tried not to snort at that last statement. 'He kindof already did...'
Meanwhile, Bakura was baffled- why was this upper-class royal helping two peasant strangers? Normally, he'd suspect this was all a trap, but honestly... he couldn't see how the prince gained any advantage from it.
'Hmph... though I cannot risk losing my land, I must confess; I feel a bit of sympathy growing inside for this naive little fool...'
