"Mariku," Ryou pulled the word in-between his teeth, exhaling it in a breath. "Interesting."
The king's servant tilted his head, mouth sliding to the right side of his face. The experience of meeting the thought-to-be-dead prince had obviously hurt his brain. Ryou offered him a quick smile. "Come," he said, beckoning imperially, "take me to my home."
"You're facing the wrong direction," Mariku said, voice flat as he started away from the woods. The teen tagged along after him, glancing over his shoulder at the woods. Bakura and Malik wouldn't be home for a while yet—he'd be long gone from the witch and his accomplice by the time they even discovered he was gone. A long smile ran over his face.
Ryou kept pace with Mariku, arms swinging and shoulders thrown back. He could feel the awed violet gaze taking him in. "Stop that," the stranger said, flicking the boy's temple.
Politely, Ryou let the touch pass unpunished, but moved slightly away. "Stop what?" he asked.
"Walking like an idiot." Mariku also moved away from him, mouth pinched into a small straight line. "You look like a fool."
Their stares clashed and Ryou cleared his throat, politely. "Yes, of course. Sorry."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, aside from the animals' chatter all about them, filling the air with a soft buzz. "So," Mariku said, stretching out his arms above his head. His shirt rose, a flash of something catching Ryou's eye before the ratty garment fell back in place.
"So?" Ryou replied, studying where he had seen that small something, whatever it was. Yes, there was a small bulge there, barely noticeable.
"Do you know why you were kidnapped at all? I mean, why would some random witch want to raise a two-year-old prince?"
"I've heard them speak of that as well," Ryou said. He could feel Mariku's lazy eyes trained on him, sharpened into a harsh gaze. "I'm not really sure why they took me, honestly, but Bakura said something about a—a, um, rape plant. . .? I think? Something like that. Anyway, because my mother was ailing, the king had to take this plant to her. But the witch wouldn't allow it without something in return and for whatever reason, I guess he wanted to start a family? I came in the middle of the conversation, so I'm not certain about the contextual importance of some of the information."
"That witch's accomplice you keep talking about—what's his name?" Mariku pushed his long bangs out of his eyes, fruitlessly, as it turned out, since they fell right back over his face.
"Malik Ishtar. Not that it matters; he's a buffoon." Ryou contemptuously snorted, eyes hardening.
Mariku made a little "humph" noise, crossing his arms.
Several minutes later, Ryou turned to his companion. "Are we almost to a town?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder. The tower was still in view, not really all that much smaller. He frowned. He'd expected to travel faster, but perhaps he'd been over-estimating how quickly travel worked.
The dark-skinned man laughed, picking up his pace and letting Ryou struggle to catch up. "No way in hell, Limey. It'll be another few hours still."
"I see." Ryou fell quiet, peering into the distance. It was speckled with trees and birds, holding no promise of any sort of civilisation, meaning no faster mode of transport. He looked over at Mariku, dressed in worn clothing and gold jewellery, those scars beneath his eyes belying of his service to the king. "Tell me now, are you equipped with enough money to pay us to the capital?"
"Yea, I wish." Mariku rolled his eyes, which soon flickered to the horizon. "Like I said, we're at least a week's walk from getting to the capital. Till then, you'll just have to suck it up and keep walking, 'cause I won't be carrying you if you collapse."
"I won't collapse and I wouldn't expect you to carry me, anyway." Ryou drew himself up, pushing his gait a little faster.
"We're gonna' be walking all day, you know. Don't push it too hard."
"I'm capable of this."
"You've been locked in that tower your whole life, right? Barely any exercise? You're not going to be doing yourself any favours at all going at that pace."
Ryou ignored his words, walking alongside his companion. "I told you, I'm just fine."
"Whatever you say, princess." Mariku shook his head, a smirk rising up to his lips. It pulled at a nerve somewhere in the prince, as if his whole cocky attitude hadn't done that already.
Fifteen minutes of stubborn walking later, Ryou was beginning to pant, straining to keep pace, even on such a flat expanse of land. He glanced over his shoulder to see that the tower was still visible, taunting him with how close they still were. He felt Mariku also look back, before dropping his steady gait.
"Why are you slowing down?" Ryou asked, sucking in air and shaking out his tingly legs.
"You're not gonna' make it half-way to the next town, no matter how slow we walk. But I want you to make it at least half-way." Mariku stood still, waiting for Ryou to join him. They both stood, while the prince regained his breath. Then they set off, slow and steady, going easy for Ryou's sake.
Ryou exhaled slowly now, careful to try to cling to the last of his stamina. Mariku stayed close, constantly eyeing the boy with little snorts and noises along that vein. Choosing to say nothing to this and just reserve his strength was difficult for the prince, but he managed it, somehow.
It took another hour before the occasional stumble or trip in Ryou's pace turned into wobbling, near-collapsing, often blunders. His knees hit the ground again, but this time, Mariku caught the back of his shirt, pulling him upright. "Whoa there, Ryoupunzel," he said, roughly shoving him into a sitting position.
"Just Ryou, please." The teen huffed, yanking in deep breaths to fill his dying lungs. "I didn't know that just walking could be so exhausting."
"Well, yea, when you're a pansy, that happens." Marik balanced on the balls of his feet, crouching beside Ryou. He bounced impatiently, looking back the way they'd come.
Ryou looked behind, as well, seeing the receding tower. It was much less visible, thank Ra. Just the leering top part of it stared at them, looking like it was threatening to tattle on them to the witch. "We're still so close to it," Ryou said, frowning.
"Forty-five minutes or so a healthy man's walk away," Mariku said, easing into a cross-legged sitting pose.
"Not that far. Like I said."
"Not bad, though, for having walked this long. Just a few more minutes, then we're moving again. Got that?"
"Yes, thank you." Ryou nodded curtly, pulling loose strands of hair away from his face.
Mariku grunted, falling onto his back, stretching his limbs out as he went. Rotting leaves cushioned him, pressing around his face. Ryou looked to the sky, watching the sparse trees extend armfuls of new leaves and tightly sealed flower buds. Together, the pair watched the trees dance, showering all manners of shade and blessing over them, with only the pleasing sound of rustling leaves in the cool, gentle breeze.