A/N: Thanks again to my reviewers, Aqua girl 007 and YamiBakura1988, and to my new reviewer, Kiterious! Reviews are what keeps us writers ticking!
ooOoo
Chapter 9: Sincerity
"Ra, what's happened to you two?"
As the two entered the camp, Mana gestured to Bakura with a throwaway motion with her thumb. "Binky boy here decided it'd be fun to run into a wall," she muttered. She stalked past the nonplussed rows of thieves and stormed into the tent designated for her use.
"Ra," Marik repeated, looking to Bakura. "Ra, Bakura, what did you say to her?"
"Something stupid, apparently," Bakura growled. He glowered in the direction of Mana's tent. "I said I'm sorry, alright?"
His apology was met with stony silence.
"It must have been very stupid."
"Shuddup, Marik." Even though it was late night, Bakura took a seat beside the slowly-dying embers of the fire. His and Mana's appearance seemed to have drawn a crowd of thieves, so he reluctantly relayed the cockatrice incident. Missing out a few embarrassing moments, of course. It wouldn't do for everyone to know about the repeated arguments with the princess. By the end, Marik still didn't seem satisfied.
"So what put her in that mood?"
"I think I may had implied that I didn't need her help back there," Bakura admitted. "I think I may have said something along those lines on the walk back..."
"Implied?" Marik repeated doubtfully. "Bakura, I hate to break it to you, but subtly when it comes to words isn't your thing."
"Alright! So I may have told her quite plainly that I didn't need her help, and that I didn't need a woman to help me out, and that I would have done fine without her, thank you very much!"
"Ra, Bakura. You need a crash course on women."
"Oh, and I suppose you're an expert?" Bakura bit back.
"It wouldn't take much to be more of an expert than you."
Rishid appeared to break up the beginnings of the argument. "Come on, this isn't doing anyone any good. And, Bakura, you are aware that you're bleeding, right?"
From Rishid's directed gaze, Bakura guessed the wound was at his head. He raised a hand and gently prodded his forehead, only mildly surprised to find the sticky surface of dried or drying blood attached to his skin. "Bah, that would be from the wall incident. Why didn't anyone tell me earlier?"
"I guess we had more pressing questions at hand," Marik suggested brightly.
"What? Like lecturing me on how to talk to women? Thanks, but it's not that pressing. It's not my fault that she overreacts so easily."
There was the sound of something being thrown angrily against the inside of Mana's tent.
Marik and Rishid looked back to their friend, unimpressed expressions settling over their faces. "I think she heard you," Rishid commented solemnly.
"Perhaps it's best if you apologise."
"Me? I think you've forgotten who you're talking to."
Marik glowered over at his friend and got abruptly to his feet. "I guess we did. Come on, Rishid; we both know he's never going to listen to us. I don't know why we thought this time might be different."
ooOoo
Bakura got the distinct impression Marik and Rishid were disapproving of his fallout with Mana. And his fallout with Mana did last for the next three days. By the fourth day though, Bakura felt it necessary – not for his peace of mind, but to make his two second-in-commands get off his case – to make another attempt at an apology.
Well, perhaps it was closer to being coerced; the truth of the matter was, by the fourth morning, Marik not-so-subtly suggested that Bakura should help Mana fill the water gourds before they headed off for the day's journey. And Bakura, with the instinctive feeling that Marik or Rishid weren't about to give up any time soon, had agreed. With as little grace as he dared manage.
"Marik suggested you could do with an extra pair of hands," Bakura remarked curtly, standing at the side of the trickling river with no immediate movement to lend his aid. The camp was a good five minutes' walk away from the stream, so at least they didn't have an audience to their discussion.
For her part, Mana didn't look up at the thief. "Really? Well go back and tell him that I don't need him meddling in my affairs."
"I would, but Marik would probably just tell me to come back again. He' stubborn like that." With the same air of boredom he watched the princess fill the containers with water. Mana was struggling with one of them; Bakura could see her hands shaking slightly as she lowered it into the stream. Her grip slipped for a moment and her fingers dashed themselves against a rock.
She quickly reclaimed her hand, nursing the grazed knuckles with her other hand. "Ow! Damn river!" She leant back on her haunches, muttering probably non-too-complimentary comments under her breath.
"What's the matter, princess? Hurt your delicate, princess hand?"
"Oh, give it a rest, Bakura," Mana snapped. She brought her other hand away from her knuckles to find that the grazes were beginning to bleed slightly. "I'm not in the mood for your humour."
"You haven't been in the mood for my humour since... oh, ever." When she failed to reply, Bakura's brow furrowed; usually his remarks prompted more of a response. "Oh, come on, princess; this isn't still about the cockatrice thing, is it? I said I was sorry, what more do you want? I didn't expect you to take it to heart so badly."
Mana abruptly rose to her feet, turning round to glare daggers at the young man. "You are the vainest... most pigheaded... obstinate person I've ever met!"
"Oh, and apparently saying sorry makes me vain?" Bakura snapped.
"Yes!" She rounded on him, dropping the gourd to the ground and poking Bakura in the chest with one grazed finger. "It's always about you, isn't it? I'm upset, so it must be because of something you've done! You just can't handle the idea that perhaps you're not always the main thing on everyone's mind!"
"So... it's not because I said I didn't need your help?" he slowly ventured.
Mana huffed and brushed away one stray strand of brown hair that had fallen before her face. "I was only angry over that for the first day," she admitted. "But you can be so blind sometimes. Think about it, Bakura; we've been travelling for over a week now and still this ring of yours hasn't brought us to Apep's door yet."
"We have a month."
"To get there and back. Do the maths," she growled. "We have thirty days, max, to find the Puzzle and return it to the capital to prevent Atem's death. That gives us fifteen days both ways. We only have another week to find the Puzzle."
"Princess, do you really think King Ahknemkhanen would allow his only son – the crown prince, no less – to take a thief's punishment? Especially with the aforementioned punishment being death? Trust me, sweetheart, Atem isn't in any danger."
He received a slap for his words. "I wouldn't bet on that," Mana said in a low voice. "Last time I was there, it sounded like the priests were pretty adamant that someone would have to take the punishment. And Atem is counting on you."
"Too bad for him then," Bakura replied idly. He rubbed one hand over his now-bruised cheek, unfazed by Mana's actions. "Anyway, I'm searching for Apep's shrine, thanks to you. That's more than I was initially going to do."
Glowering in irritation, Mana turned around and started to fill the remaining containers. She ignored the cut skin on her hand, accidently starting the bleeding again. After watching her struggle for a few more seconds, Bakura groaned to himself and knelt down beside her.
"Here, let me help."
"I'm fine."
"You're bleeding."
"I'm fine," she repeated grouchily.
"You're stubborn, is what you are," Bakura grumbled. He snatched away one of the containers and took the task upon himself. "Then again, you must have been stubborn in order to get this far," he added, slightly quieter.
"Is that a compliment or a complaint?"
"Take it how you will. I still think you must be either stupidly noble or just plain stupid to risk your life for a near stranger. Was it duty that made you come?"
"No." Mana's voice was softer this time. She paused in her chore, as if thinking for the first time the reasons for her all-too-rash actions. "No, it wasn't duty that did it, although perhaps it was a contributing factor."
"What about love then? Rishid suggested that you did it out of love."
Mana smiled ruefully. "I wish I could say that I did. That would sound... noble, or at least romantic."
"So you don't love Atem?"
"I have only met him once... Love would be too strong a word. I respect him for the deeds I've heard that he's done, and I enjoyed his company during the celebration, but love..." Mana's gaze saddened. "That would imply I actually knew him. I think... I could learn to love him. I think that, given the chance, we would love one another and would be very happy together. I just haven't had the time to yet."
"So what made you do this? It's all pretty extreme for a potential love."
"I suppose it is pretty extreme, but... that isn't the reason I'm here." The princess paused entirely in her task, her gaze resting sadly on the rocky surroundings towering over them, her eyes not meeting Bakura's. "I guess I did it because... because I believed I could make a difference." She laughed quietly, but in a rather subdued manner. "When I put it like that, it sounds stupid."
"It does, kind of." Bakura looked to Mana, attempting to read her mood. He was slightly unnerved; he hadn't seen Mana this vulnerable since... he couldn't remember when. She had always had that annoying, rather enthusiastic or irritated attitude to her. He couldn't remember her ever bringing up her past either. "Princess, you are royalty... Surely you can click your fingers and the servants will be falling over themselves in haste to serve you."
Mana laughed again. "Right, because that's making a difference." Her voice became bitter. "Ra, I couldn't even choose my own husband; what makes you think I'd have the power to make any real changes?"
"I thought you said you could learn to love Atem?"
"Yes, but..." She shook her head. "I would have liked to have had some say on the matter. My father and Atem's met for political discussions, wanting to bring our two kingdoms together – and what better way than through marriage? Anyway, my role was always to be married off to some other royal for connections; I suppose I should count myself lucky that Atem is a likeable guy my own age. You see, it was my older brother, Mahado, who would inherit the throne. That makes me pretty expendable, unless something happens to Mahado. In which case my husband would take the throne, and I wouldn't be any better off anyway."
Bakura paused to consider Mana's words. "Sounds like a pretty boring life."
"It's been the plan for as long as I can remember," Mana replied bluntly. "Marry another royal, settle down, be the perfect wife... You come to terms with it after a while."
"Why don't you run away then?"
Mana looked to Bakura with disbelief. "With you?"
Bakura looked flustered. Mana even believed she saw the beginnings of a blush. "I didn't mean... I meant... just leave it all behind," he eventually spluttered. "Just run away one night and disappear into the crowd. The world is a big place, believe me, princess," he added, more composed this time.
"But I... I can't. It would be deserting my own kingdom... my father... my brother... everyone who has expectations of me..." Mana stumbled. "I couldn't just abandon everyone. It wouldn't be the right thing to do."
Bakura smiled wanly. "I should have guessed you would be too noble to take that suggestion." He got to his feet, picking up the few containers he had actually filled. "Come on, princess, time to head back to camp. The sooner we head off, the sooner we can find Apep's shrine and find the Puzzle. That's all you're here for, after all."
Mana collected the rest of the water holders, carefully scanning the thief's face. There had been something in his voice that was unfamiliar. So unfamiliar that it took her the entirely of the walk back to place it.
It was sincerity.
