Chapter 10: The Tables Turn
Kara had been waiting at the balcony for a while, and was feeling a little worried that her friend and the foreign prince had not yet returned.
'They looked like they were flying pretty far away,' Kara thought to herself, 'That prince had obviously been trying to win Ryou's affections…why that conniving snake, he must have planned this all along! If only I knew where they went!'
She thought for a moment: then an idea occurred to
her. 'Wait…doesn't that Prince Ali have a brother…? Yeah,
his name was Mariku…I bet he'd know…looks like I'll have to
make him tell me…'
Marik had not moved from his place on the stone bench in the royal gardens. Yami was sitting next to him, looking very forlorn since Yugi wasn't with him, and to pass the time, the two started a game of Duel Monsters.
"I sacrifice Beaver Warrior to summon Curse of Dragon," muttered Yami dully, "And fuse it with Gaia the Fierce Knight to create Gaia the Dragon Champion. Then I play a card facedown and end my turn. Your move."
Marik drew a card. "I play a monster in defense mode. Then I-"
"Prince Mariku!" said a voice.
Marik whirled around to see a rather beautiful girl with tanned skin, brown hair and flashing green eyes. Her hands were on her hips, as if annoyed.
At first Marik was worried that she might have seen Yami, but when he turned back around, the Genie was dressed in bright red robes that were styled a lot like Kaiba's Grand Vizier robes and winking at him to assure him she didn't see anything suspicious.
"May I help you?" Marik asked, trying to sound cool as he stood up casually.
Kara glared. "Your brother took Ryou on a ride on his Magic Carpet and they still haven't returned. You mind telling me where they went?"
Marik shrugged. "No clue."
"Don't give me that," snapped Kara, poking Marik in the chest and putting their face barely inches away from each other, "Your brother is just like all the other princes who have come here, trying ever-so-casually to take Ryou away from the palace on a date as to charm him with money and riches! Just because Ryou actually let him take him somewhere for once does NOT mean that Ali didn't plan this trip from the beginning, obviously finding an exact place that will show him in a good light with his associates, so tell me where they went!"
Marik stared at Kara in surprise. This princess was a bit spoiled, of course, for expecting him to tell her where Ryou and Bakura were just like that, but he could see in her eyes that it was all due to her friendly concern for Ryou.
At last he said, "Ba…I mean, Ali…is much too impatient to plan anything out, and I assure you that this date was quite unexpected. He thought that Ryou would never accept a date, so he thought he'd make sure that Ryou knew that he didn't mean to offend him in any way."
"You…you liar!" spat Kara, "You have to know where they went! You're Ali's brother, for crying out loud! Surely he'd tell you where he was planning to go!"
Marik shook his head. "Not even Ali gets to decide…Yugi figures out everything to do with where he's going. I wish I could help you, but I'm afraid I can't."
Kara stared at Marik in disbelief, the anger fading from her face.
"Oh," she finally said after a pause, looking quite crestfallen.
Marik put a hand on her shoulder, feeling the urge to try and cheer her up.
"They'll be back soon," he assured her, "I doubt Ali would keep Ryou away from home longer than he really wanted to."
Kara laughed shortly. "We'll see."
Marik sat down on the bench, noticing as he did that Yami had vanished back into the Puzzle under his robes, taking the cards along with him.
"What's your name?" the blond asked.
"Takara," the princess replied.
"Takara," Marik continued, feeling a little flutter in his chest as he said her name, "If you're still worried about your friend, I can assure you that Ali won't hurt Ryou in any way."
Kara snorted. "I wish I could believe that."
"Ali sympathizes with the young Prince," Marik chose his words carefully, "He knows how it feels to be trapped in a never-ending circle of boredom."
"Oh yeah, he must have a really boring life," scorned Kara, "Riding a Magic Carpet and going after treasure is so unexciting…"
"Hey, it's not often that Ali gets to have excitement," Marik said defensively, "And he sort of knows how it feels to be judged because he likes guys too…any guy he hangs out with can be accused of being his sex-toy."
Kara eyed Marik with a slightly curious eye. "And what about you? Don't you have problems like that?"
Marik smirked. "Not really. Adventure doesn't appeal as much to me…I'd much rather stay near home…find a girl and raise a family, you know?"
Kara blinked in surprise. "So you're heterosexual."
"Yeah," Marik shrugged, "But I haven't found a suitor yet either. None of the girls I've met before now have ever appealed to me that much."
Kara looked as if his statement had whacked her on the head. "…'Before now?'"
Marik's eyes had a glint of mischief in them. "You're the first girl that I've ever had a real attraction to in my life."
Kara blushed furiously.
"I…I will not merit that with an answer," she stammered as she turned away.
Marik inclined his head. "As you wish, Takara."
There was a pause.
"Kara," the princess said abruptly.
"What?" Marik asked.
"Call me Kara," she explained. It sounded like she was trying to be blunt, but couldn't really force that tone into her voice.
Marik smiled. "Very well…Kara."
Stars were coming into view across the midnight-blue sky as Ryou and Bakura sat on a grassy hill to let Yugi have a rest from his long flight to Greece. After going into the town, shopping a little and then heading down to a crowded restaurant to eat, the two white-haired men were both a bit overwhelmed. The silence seemed to comfort the both of them after their little adventure.
"Ali?" Ryou spoke at last.
"Yes, Ryou?" Bakura looked at him as if worried that there was something wrong.
"Ali…I really don't know how to say this," the Prince began awkwardly, "But it seems that I was wrong about you. You aren't like the others…and for that, I apologize."
Bakura looked startled. "You had every right to think that way-"
"I shouldn't have judged you before I met you," Ryou argued, a smile coming onto his face, "I'm sure…you must hear this a lot from your admirers…but you are a wonderful person, Ali."
Bakura felt himself go red. "That…that's kind of you to say."
There was a pause. Then Ryou stood up and said, "Ali…there's something I must ask you…something very important."
Bakura stood also, feeling a little awkward.
"What is it?" he asked.
Ryou took his hand and looked deeply into his eyes. "Prince Ali Bakura…"
He went onto one knee, not letting go of Bakura's hand or breaking eye contact with him.
"Will you marry me?"
Bakura stared into the slightly shorter man's eyes in amazement, before his face broke into a grin larger than anyone had ever seen before and he practically shouted, "YES! YES, RYOU, YES!"
Bakura pulled Ryou into his arms and twirled him around once before placing him back on the ground. The thief's dark eyes were filled with tears of joy as he and Ryou, for the first time, shared a loving kiss.
Kara pulled away from Marik, feeling her lips and looking slightly surprised. Marik's tanned face was slightly red in embarrassment.
"Mariku," Kara looked slightly awkward as she toyed with a lock of hair near her face, "I wonder…after Ryou and Bakura return…will you…come back with me to my Kingdom? My parents…have yet to find me a suitor…and I'm sure they'd be very impressed with you…as am I," she added, her cheeks going red also.
Marik stared for a moment; then he kissed Kara gently once more.
"I will," he said, "I promise."
Suddenly Marik was jerked backward. A royal guard had seized him and was locking shackles around his wrists and legs as another guard grabbed Kara. They both struggled, looking shocked and terrified and yelling angry words at the top of their lungs.
"YOU LET ME GO! YOU DON'T KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALING WITH-"
"LEAVE US ALONE! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"
"It's not what they want, it's what I want," said a cold voice.
A tall figure with a multicolored parrot on his shoulder stepped out of the shadows, and Marik's eyes narrowed in furious recognition at the sight of him.
"Kaiba!" he snarled, "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"That's none of your concern, Prince Miroku," Kaiba mocked.
"It's Mariku!" snapped Kara.
"Whatever," the Grand Vizier sneered, fixing her with an arrogant eye, "As for you, my dear, I would suggest you keep your temper."
" You are below me in class!" Kara glared at him, "I don't have to anything you suggest!"
"Don't you?" Kaiba asked as he took the Millennium Rod out of his pocket and pointed it at Kara, "My Millennium Rod can control you quite easily, you know."
"You stole that, didn't you?" Kara hissed, "Only royalty are allowed to hold the Millennium Items if they're not being locked away! And even if you do have the Millennium Rod, my Millennium Necklace protects me from you!"
"Whether or not I stole it does not matter," Kaiba replied coldly, "As for your Necklace…" he used his Rod to reach under the collar of her robes and pull the Millennium Necklace into sight, "…it is your choice whether or not my Item affects you…and I think I know what will make you accept my terms."
"And what's that?" spat Kara.
Kaiba smirked evilly, before pulling a knife out of the Millennium Rod and pointing the blade at the chained Marik's throat. "I can kill your little boyfriend."
Kara's eyes widened in horror, and she doubled her escape attempts. "You leave Mariku out of this, Kaiba!"
"Make your choice, Princess," Kaiba didn't look intimidated in the least, "Either let me control you…or lose your future husband. It's your call."
The Princess looked at the knife, to Kaiba, and then to Marik, looking more terrified than she'd ever been in her life.
"Please, Kara," the thief pleaded, "Don't listen to him! Don't worry about me, Kara!"
Kara's eyes filled with tears, and she hung her head. "If you promise not to hurt Mariku, Kaiba…I'll do whatever you say."
"NO!" Marik shouted, "NO, KARA, DON'T! KARA!"
But Kaiba only smirked in triumph as he grabbed Kara's wrist and pulled her away into the darkness.
