Wow, thanks everyone who reviewed. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I even rocked someone's socks. Thanks again! You gotta respect the reviewers. You're who I write for -
And yes... I'm aware that Marik should've been like "You're the healer! HAHAHA!" But I totally forgot about how it WOULD be obvious, so I address that quickly in this chapter. I had to make it so Marik just grabbed anyone and didn't know whom he grabbed. Yeah... wasn't really thinking, huh. Sorry and thanks for catching that XD
Chapter 3- Death or Submission
The next few moments were spent in complete silence. The woman looked first at Ryou for a time, then her gaze went to Marik, as if for confirmation. Marik simply stared straight at Ryou with calm, scrutinizing lilac eyes. Ryou by now had cast his eyes downward, for all the eyes on him were making him ill at ease.
Finally the woman spoke. "Please Marik, I'm not sure if the boy's words are true, but can he come with me just in case? My husband will surely die!"
Marik finally broke his fixed stare on Ryou and looked to the distraught woman. "Very well, but I shall accompany you also."
"Thank you so much Master Marik!" she cried, then bowed, then motioned for Ryou and Marik to follow her and they all exited into the morning light.
The woman's house wasn't very far away- just a few shacks down- and soon they were all standing before the old man who lay silent in the small bed.
"Please help him, son," she said.
Ryou looked to the woman and smiled reassuringly saying the exact same thing he had said to the family of the young girl not too long ago. "You don't have to worry anymore, soon this will all be over."
Kneeling down, he took the old man's hand into his and like before, the room went dark seemingly leaving Ryou and the old man alone. Ryou's body gave off a white light that throbbed with each passing moment and then slowly, it passed onto the old man's body. For a moment, it just seemed to remain on him until steadily, it absorbed into his body and was gone.
Ryou opened his eyes, which he hadn't even noticed were closed and looked to the old man. For a moment, he was still, and then slowly his eyes stirred beneath their lids and opened.
The room was silent but for a moment, and then the lady sobbed out loud and rushed to her husband's side and cried and cried. Ryou almost felt like he had done nothing. No one paid him any mind, there were no thanks; it was like he was only good for one thing.
Turning slightly, he stood up but was immediately faced with Marik's cool stare. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. What would he say? What could he say? Now that Marik knew the truth about him, there was no telling what he would do.
But, before Ryou could think any more, he was grabbed by the wrist and dragged out of the house. Marik let go of his arm and walked a full circle around Ryou before finally speaking.
"So this is your secret... to think that all along I had captured the healer. That day in the Palace I just took the person closest to me, but I got the healer after all." His voice sounded anything but triumphant. It sounded instead as though he were mocking himself. "I've been trying all along to find out why the Pharaoh treasured you so much, and the answer was right in front of me the whole time."
Ryou trembled slightly and avoided Marik's gaze. He knew what was coming... the fear, the rejection, the casting away. Who was Marik to actually accept people who were different? He probably killed them.
Marik narrowed his gaze and forced Ryou's chin up so he was looking directly into his soft brown eyes. "What's wrong with you?"
Ryou's eyelids felt heavy. "I'm...fine."
"You're barely holding yourself up," he said, bringing his hands to hold his shoulders, lest he should collapse.
Ryou shook his head, "Really, I feel..." Before he could finish the sentence, fatigue struck him like a rock and he fell forward, right into Marik's arms. Everything was going black, but one thing stayed fresh in Ryou's mind as he clutched lightly on the dark lavender robes that softened his fall- Marik smelled like desert flowers, and those were his favorite.
When Ryou opened his eyes, it was dark out. Sitting up, he rolled back the linen blankets, which had covered him, and stood up from the bed he had been lying on. He recognized his surroundings immediately.
"Marik's room," he said quietly. His stomach seemed to turn. "And it's night..." Marik was not one to forget something so easily, so Ryou knew he'd be back soon to see about Ryou's end of the deal.
What was he going to do? He couldn't just let Marik have his way with him, but if he didn't, he would be killed. Oh, how desperately he wanted to go home, to the palace, and to be with Yami. Instead, he was stuck in a living hell with one of the most sinister people alive.
And then, there was the fact that Marik knew about Ryou's gift... and curse. It was a wonder that he was still alive now. In fact, why hadn't Marik killed him earlier?
A sound beside him caught his attention, and when he turned, Rabaku stood silently in the doorway.
"Ryou, Master Marik has told me to tell you that you have one more day to think about what your choice will be. He is occupied elsewhere."
Ryou was slightly surprised. "In the middle of the night?"
Rabaku nodded. "He has been busy ever since he brought you back here. Once again, he will not be back until later in the night."
Ryou blinked. Marik had brought him here? But why? "Why did Marik bring me here?"
Rabaku shook his head. "Not many people can figure out Master Marik. He is an enigma to us all. Maybe he likes you."
Like? Now that could actually be comical. "I'm sure that's not the case. Where does Marik go every day?"
"That, dear Ryou, is something I cannot tell you... for I myself do not know... Get some rest, and be glad... for you are the first that Marik has not killed on the first night... I must go, for I, too, have business elsewhere. There will be others to guard you. Farewell." Turning, he disappeared out of the passageway and into the shadows.
Ryou sighed and sat down on the bed. Nothing made sense. Hopefully, tomorrow would bring more answers.
Ryou was awake bright and early the next morning only to find Marik sitting beside him and watching him.
"Sleep well?" Marik asked, the well-known glare on his face.
Ryou swallowed hard and sat up. Still, he couldn't find words to say.
Marik stood up and crossed his arms. "Come with me."
Ryou didn't protest. He jumped out of bed and was at Marik's side in an instant. They walked outside into the calm light that showered them from above and were met instantly by a small crowd. Ryou recognized the woman and man in front- it was the couple he had aided yesterday. Ryou wanted to panic, but Marik placed a hand on his back and urged him forward, as if he knew of his uncertainty.
The woman came forward and smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "Thank you for saving my husband. I prepared this basket for you. It's filled with different dried foods. It's all I have to offer."
The husband came to her side, smiling kindly as well. "Thank you, young man. I owe you my life."
Ryou was shocked. He had been sure that the couple had forgotten about him the moment the man was cured... but they hadn't, and now they were giving him a gift? It just didn't seem real.
Taking the basket, Ryou was still hesitant. "You owe me nothing. As a healer, it's my duty to help people. But," he smiled as well, "Thank you... for thanking me."
These people weren't afraid of him at all. If anything, they held him in higher favor.
Marik took ahold of Ryou's hand. "Ryou and I have business to take care of, so he must leave you now."
The others nodded and Marik guided Ryou until they were over the bridge built over the small stream that ran through the center of the area, and into another building. As soon as they were inside, a middle-aged woman greeted them instantly.
"Good morning, Master Marik. The hot bath has been prepared."
Marik barely even paid her any mind, instead dragging Ryou by the wrist. Halfway to the bath, Ryou yelped and Marik bolted to a stop.
"What is your problem?" he asked.
Ryou slapped a hand to his mouth and shook his head.
Marik glared and yanked Ryou closer, once again causing him to let out a small cry of pain. His sight went immediately to Ryou's wrist, which he had a firm grasp on. Uncurling his fingers from the slender limb, his sight was met with a deep lavender and cobalt contusion. "How did this happen?"
Ryou swallowed hard, but answered truthfully. "It was just...from the rope the other night."
Marik sighed. "What am I going to do with you, Ryou?" Grasping instead onto Ryou's upper arm, he lead him on to the bathing room, but continued to speak. "You're a healer who needs healing. How ironic. Can you even heal yourself?"
Ryou shook his head, saying "No."
"I didn't think so."
Ryou was surprised Marik hadn't backhanded him yet. It seemed to be his favorite cure for Ryou's complaining on the way from the Palace to here. And Marik taking a bath was another thing. Where was Ryou going to go? Hopefully not in with him...
"All right," Marik said suddenly, "Get in."
Ryou looked up quickly. They had entered one of the bathrooms and he hadn't even noticed. The bath itself was quite large, taking up at least a third of the room. It was a deep triangular basin with steaming water and spices and it looked heavenly. But wait, hadn't Marik told him to...'Get in'?
"What?" he asked.
Marik rolled his eyes. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Get undressed and get in the water."
Ryou took a step back. He had to get undressed and then get into the water? Whose bath was this exactly? In the end, Marik's hard stare convinced him to hurry, and so he peeled off his clothes and dipped quietly into the soothing water.
Oh gods, it felt wonderful. The water seemed to take away every ache, pain, worry, and fear out of Ryou, and for a moment, he was back in the Palace with Yami.
"Pharaoh, why do you not look upon me with fear when so many others have cast me away?"
Yami smiled. "You're one of my dearest friends, Ryou. Your powers are what I have to thank for me standing here today."
Ryou cast his glance downward. "But what if one day I lose my gift? Will I be cast back out into the streets?"
"There is only one way for you to lose your gift... and I don't think that will happen for a while. But Ryou, I don't keep you here just because you can heal people; I do because I know you're a trustworthy and kind person. If anything should ever happen to you, Ra forbid, then I will do whatever it takes to help you...just like you did for me. Understand?"
Ryou nodded. "Yes."
Ryou suddenly felt someone shaking him by the shoulders and opened his eyes only to face dark violet ones. Instantaneously, he was jerked back to reality.
"Don't do that," Marik said. "If you drowned in here I wouldn't have the pleasure of killing you myself." Taking a seat on the edge of the bath, he said, "Hurry up and get clean. I haven't got all day."
Ryou sunk down in the searing water and washed himself, but not long after he had started, Marik grabbed his hand and pulled him in front of him. In Marik's hand was a small cloth and on his face was determination.
"I am going to have to do this myself." Slipping from his robes and leaving only a plain white kilt on, Marik eased into the water and in front of Ryou.
Ryou backed up but ran right into the marble wall of the tub. Great. Now he was in a bath with one of the most dangerous men alive, naked as well, giving Marik the opportunity to try anything. But wait, they had a deal. Nothing would happen until tonight, right? Since when was Marik a man who kept his word though, he killed people without a second thought. Raped then killed. But no! Must stop thinking about that! Somehow he'd find a way out of it. He just had to find Marik's weakness... But did he even have one?
"What's wrong with you?" Marik demanded, grabbing Ryou by the shoulders and dragging his forward. "I have to lug you everywhere. I'd marvel at the day you actually walked by my side willingly." Wringing out the small towel, he used it to scrub Ryou's arms and chest, an action that caused Ryou to once again draw back. "Ra damnit! You act like you've never been touched by another man before."
"I haven't!" Ryou said. "...Other than you."
Marik focused an unsympathetic gaze on the ivory-haired teen. "Just come here."
Ryou seemed to feel a sudden change in the atmosphere as Marik lightly drew the cloth down his cheek. The next thing Marik said surprised him even more.
"Sometimes you have to let others do things for you, instead of always doing things for others." Continuing, he said, "You are tied to the gift of healing, but you are also bound to its curse... I just can't figure you out."
It was true- what he spoke of the curse, but Ryou didn't want to be reminded of that now.
Marik's words were calm, and his touch seemed almost gentle. Each small contact seemed to draw sparks along his skin. He suddenly felt cold in the warm bath. And those eyes... they were drawing him in.
Red light! Stop! Go no further! There is no way he was thinking all these things about Marik- the guy who kidnapped and threatened to rape him!
Too late. Ryou was already drawn in.
Marik dropped the cloth idly into the water and his hands grasped soothingly onto Ryou's bruised wrist. "Does it still hurt?"
Ryou nodded his head. "Sort of, uh, yes."
Marik elevated a brow and lightly massaged the injured wrist running small circles upon it and kneading it gently. "How about now?"
"Um, much better..."
How could Marik be so two-sided? One minute he's threatening to kill you, the next he's practically making you fall in-
NO! That was NOT happening. Killer-alert! Serial-RAPIST! Ryou had a job to do! Find the weakness, find the weakness. Gosh darn it! Weakness!
Marik released Ryou's wrist. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Not at all, I mean, no."
Marik sighed. "Very well, we're finished here."
Ryou went to stand up, but was pushed back down. Looking surprisingly at Marik, he barely had time to speak before their lips were brought together for a fiery kiss. Marik's tongue begged for entrance, and Ryou was too stunned to fight back so it was granted. Marik's tanned arms snaked around Ryou's waist drawing them together and Ryou all but struggled. He even found himself instinctively shutting his eyes.
Why was this kiss so different from the one on the night before last? On both occasions he was taken by surprise, but this time... did he actually want the kiss? No...that couldn't be... Still, something was nagging him in the back of his mind. Didn't he have something he had to do?
Marik was enjoying every second. He had longed to savor Ryou's lips again ever since the first night he had. By Ra, he tasted like honey and felt like silk at the same time.
Ryou mustered all his strength to pull away from the kiss and stop Marik's onslaught. "I'm sorry. The deal..."
Marik seemed to tilt his head to the side, as if in serious contemplation. "Very well, then. I'm a man of my word." Rising from the bath, he dried off and redressed. "Rabaku will meet you outside and take you back. There's some new clothes for you over there." The last thing he said was, "Until tonight."
Ryou breathed a sigh of relief and left the bath. Soon he was dressed and ready to leave, but something wasn't quite right. He felt strange, like he had just done the wrong thing, but it seemed as though Marik knew him as no one else did, like he saw a part of Ryou that everyone else couldn't.
And the curse...well, there would be time later to think about that.
Outside, Ryou saw that Rabaku was not yet there. He spied Marik off in the distance, already across the bridge, and watched as he entered one of the more hidden houses, set off almost in shadow.
That had to be where Marik went everyday, and if Ryou followed him, maybe he'd find the secret that would lead to a weakness that would lead to an escape. It was worth the risk.
The new clothing Marik had given him was a tan cloak that had a hood, so it helped him to conceal his identity as well as help him blend in. He easily made his way across the bridge and to the darker area and was standing before the small building Marik had entered. Looking around, he saw that no one was watching him, so he slipped through the entrance unnoticed.
The building was quiet, and barely a sound could be heard from within. Ryou slipped undetected through a long hallway checking in all of the rooms, but they were all vacant. He was beginning to wonder if he went into the wrong house when finally, he saw the flicker of light coming from the last room. Peeking in, he saw Marik sitting in a small chair beside of a bed. He had to lean further to see what exactly was in the bed, and when he did, he saw it was not a what, but rather a who.
"Oh my Ra," Ryou whispered.
The person in the bed held a very strong resemblance to Marik, except Marik's features were sharper, his eyes were graver, and his hair was crazier. Was this mystery person ill? Is this the place Marik went to every day?
"Malik, this will all be over soon," Marik said.
Malik? Was that the person's name? But what significance did Malik hold to Marik? So many questions, yet so little time. Thinking it best to leave, Ryou did so and the moment he was out the front entrance, he ran right into someone.
"Oops, sorry-"he started.
"Ryou," Rabaku said. "I've been searching for you for some time now."
"Well...I came out and you weren't there, so I went to look for you. It's the truth, the exit's right there. If I wanted to escape I could."
Rabaku sighed, "You mean if you could escape...you would, right?"
"Yeah..."
"Come on, we must get back to Marik's place."
Night soon fell, as it always did, and Ryou sat on the bed fiddling with his hands; anything to keep his mind off of what was to come. How was Malik a weakness? He wasn't, he'd gotten nowhere. He was back to where he started.
A light wind blew through the air, and Ryou just knew. He didn't even have to look up at the entrance. Marik was back.
"I have waited, Ryou, and I cannot wait anymore. What is your decision? Death? Or submission?"
Ryou sighed in defeat. "Submission."
Marik smirked. "Good choice."
Pushing Ryou onto his back, Marik climbed on top of him running his hands down his legs and easing them apart. He could feel Ryou's small frame quivering, but he could also see the strange courage in his eyes. "Your bravery is almost admirable," he said. He positioned himself and was about to enter him, when Ryou cried "No!"
Marik glared, "No what?!"
"You can't! If you do, I won't be able to save Malik... for in your bed I may please you, but there I will also lose my power..."
That was the honest to Ra truth. It was the one limit that a healer had, for if they were ever taken, they would be deemed powerless and lose their gift forever.
Marik sat up. "How do you know about Malik?"
Ryou swallowed hard. "Well, I followed you today to see where you were going and I saw you next to him in the room."
Standing up from the bed, he said, "You know nothing. You're just some insignificant little healer. Where were you all those years ago? Just go!"
Ryou jumped at the yell, but did as he was told. He felt sick, oh terribly sick. Insignificant little healer? He hadn't expected that. He could feel his cheeks hot with tears but he ignored them and instead kept running. He never stopped. He ran all the way across, following the length of the river, until he was at the entrance to the hideout. Pushing the cloth out of the doorway, he rushed up the dark stairwell using the wall as his guide until he reached the blocked entrance.
His mind didn't betray him. He remembered one of the robed followers knock three times on the bottom of the stone to make it cover the entrance...Who was to say that it wouldn't also open it?
Knocking thrice, the stone crumbled slightly, and then slid backwards revealing the open night sky. The stars dotted its surface and the moon shone brightly, even in its crescent form.
Ryou stumbled out into the open desert, thankful to find the horses still tied up. He untied one, saddled it, and rode off into the night.
In a way, he was free, but in many others, especially in the desert, there were things that made it much more dangerous than being in Marik's arms.
---TBC---
I just realized that this story has pretty long chapters. I don't know if that's good or bad, I'd hope the former though.
I love the next chapter...(I already started it) Hopefully you will too. Let's just say...it's amazing how the desert can bring two people so close... literally.
Thanks for reading! Please review.
AmethystRoze