Dream Prince
Chapter 11
Trip and Fall
The following morning found Seto walking towards the waterfall at the back of the oasis with Ryou's subdued presence accompanying him. The brunet tried to not compare the healer's company to that of Jono, even as the familiar path they walked gave him a feeling of similarity. Seto would have preferred to not think about the blond soldier, for every time he did remember the cheeky blond, he always ended up in such a bad mood.
"This is going to be a hectic day", Ryou spoke with a sense of gloomy expectance in his voice. When Seto shot the healer a questioning look, the other continued: "The prince told me what he is going to have the troops do." The boy shook his head. "I seriously doubt many of them will succeed."
"Well, it's one way to make sure that these boys will be able to march across the desert", Seto pointed out. "Atemu can't afford to be soft on them. It would only backfire." The brunet looked ahead when he heard the sounds of the waterfall coming closer and lowered his voice into a command: "Keep an eye on those two who arrived yesterday."
"You're not going to leave them be", Ryou mumbled in a tone that could be interpreted in many ways. Seto decided to not bother with it. Next Ryou spoke a question: "What have they done to make you so suspicious of them?"
"That Rasui…" Seto started, determined to have Ryou's eyes watching the newcomers as well. "He acted strange yesterday." The brunet wondered how he should phrase himself in order to have Ryou understand what the point was. "He's just an average kid from a faraway town, right?"
"Um…yeah?" came the hesitant response and Seto decided that the healer was following fell enough and went on: "Then why would he speak to the prince of Egypt in a casual manner? No commoner would dear to speak to royalty without an order or at least a prompt to do so." Seto's tone was cold as he spoke out this fact. Not a single peasant had the courage to speak to nobility if staying silent was an option. Who did that Rasui think he was, speaking to Atemu so casually? Perhaps he was a dark wizard working for their enemy, waiting for his chance to summon a magical beast to destroy the prince.
"I must admit that it sounds perplexing…" Ryou said carefully, like he always did when he spoke of his opinions; he never wanted to upset anyone with his words. "To me Rasui seems like a timid character. I would have expected him to be quite frightened after seeing the prince." The healer trailed off, like he had been about to say something more but had decided against it and Seto cursed the other's scarf for hiding all hints of emotion from sight. The garment made it impossible to read the shorter male.
"Ah! We're here!" Ryou exclaimed suddenly, sounding perhaps a bit too relieved for Seto's taste. As the healer rushed off to join Atemu at the water's edge, the brunet wondered if his company was really that undesirable. The priest dismissed the thought easily, the trademark scowl on his face not wavering the slightest, and walked up to the other two to join them.
Atemu was observing the rock wall that rose before them, partially covered by the waterfall. Seto knew that the other was visualising the way he would climb up the wall and did not interrupt, choosing to aim his next words to Ryou instead: "I don't think too many are going to need your services. The wall may be steep but it looks like it's easy enough to climb." The brunet shot a glance at the wide lake. "Not to mention they will be hitting water if they fall."
"But Atemu said that they are going to be carrying combat gear with them. They're going to drop and then sink like rocks", Ryou replied sourly. "If they manage to avoid getting injured during the fall, which I highly doubt, they're going to have to be saved from drowning. Guess whose magic is going to be doing that?"
"Be careful, Ryou. You actually sounded bitter for a moment there", Atemu commented with a laugh, turning to face his companions. "And relax. I'm going to have them carry only the minimum amount of armaments in the beginning. I couldn't expect them to be able to climb in full combat gear when we haven't even begun the training yet."
"Let's hope that the training will bear fruit, then", a new voice added in and Seto rolled his eyes in exasperation. Odji had arrived on the scene.
"You're awake early", Atemu commented to the new arrival while Seto turned to face the menace. "I was hoping you would sleep in." That last part was added in with such a low hiss that only Seto, and maybe Ryou, heard. Odji, however, remained completely ignorant to the hostility as he spoke out cheerfully: "Nothing could make me miss this." The teen smirked in sadistic pleasure. "I'm certain that this show is going to be much more entertaining than anything I've seen in the parties at the palace."
Despite the fact that Seto's personal biases told him that he should be on Atemu's side in this, the facts were agreeing with Odji's words. The noble was very likely to get a good laugh out of all of this.
1.
"Ten silver pieces say that one breaks his leg", Bakura commented with a bright grin that was all teeth on his face. The men standing closest to them moved further away from the gleeful albino and Yugi wished that the ground would just swallow him up and spare him from the embarrassment of being branded as a friend of the 'crazy one'.
"Nah", came Jono's doubtful voice from Yugi's other side. "You've been right three times in a row now. I'm not stupid enough to take that bet."
"You're such a coward", Bakura snarled with a scoff and Jono instantly retaliated: "I'm not scared of anything. I'd just like to keep the money I still have left."
"Which is another way of saying that you're afraid that you'll lose", Bakura insisted and Yugi knew that a fight was about to break out and called out: "The guy already fell while you two were arguing!"
"He did?" both taller males exclaimed as one and turned their gazes to the pond that was the most likely landing spot. It was Bakura who queried further: "What did he injure?"
"I wouldn't know", Yugi answered calmly. "I'm too short to see over everyone's heads."
"Damn", Bakura uttered as he looked the boy over. "You're right." Then the taller boy shrugged. "Well, it's not like it matters, since there was no bet going on."
A sigh resonated in the air suddenly and Yugi turned his head to Ryou just as the healer started to speak: "Why is it always you people?" The boy shook his head immediately afterwards and then spoke in a firmer tone: "You're causing a disturbance so, in ordered to give the others a break from you, one of you is going next."
"Fine", Jono spoke up. "I'll go."
"If you make it higher than halfway up, you'll have the best result", Bakura told the blond. "If you manage that I'll take back all the insults I've directed at you so far."
"I suggest you start preparing yourself for that feat then", Jono said with a smirk spreading on his face. "I'll make it to the top." And with that the blond marched off with Ryou scurrying off after him.
"Do you think he will make it?" Yugi asked from his remaining companion, who shifted to cross his arms before saying with a tone of expectance: "I think he'll break his nose."
"Akefia!" Yugi exclaimed, barely remembering to use the other's cover name in his outrage. "Don't make such predictions about Jono! He's our friend!"
"You mean he's your friend", Bakura said deadpan. "I… Well, I don't mind the guy but I could still appreciate the sight of him bleeding."
Yugi could not help but wonder how his grandfather could possibly trust Bakura to look after him during this journey; the albino appeared just as psychotic to him now that he had gotten to know him as he had when they first met.
2.
"These guys are hopeless", Odji spoke out as a yet another trooper fell into the pond. "It's going to take years for them to become even decent soldiers." The black-haired youth sounded very happy about this fact, which indicated that he had recovered from the scare Atemu had given him the previous day. Seto was already missing the peace and quiet.
"I wouldn't count on that victory yet if I were you, Odji", Atemu spoke calmly. "Life is a gamble and gambling is all about luck." The prince turned to give the noble a smirk. "You of all people should know how easily luck can change his allegiance."
"Luck has nothing to do with the obvious lack of skill and endurance your troops are suffering from", Odji shot back and Seto chose to stop listening to the two quarrel after that point. The brunet had just spotted something more interesting and that something had dark blond hair and was just about to start climbing up the wall.
Surprise registered in Seto's mind as soon as the blond started to pull himself up. There seemed to be very little if any difficulty in the action and Jono moved with precision as he almost slithered up the wall like one of the geckos Seto had inside the temple in the capitol as a child.
The first following metres were advanced easily and swiftly by Jono, after which the boy's speed gradually slowed down when it became more difficult and exhausting to find handholds in the rock wall. Still, the blond had already reached halfway up the wall and was still creeping upward.
As annoying as the blond could be, Seto had to admit that the boy was talented. In addition to obviously being a good fighter, it seemed that Jono was also a skilled climber. Seto could respect that, as well as the blond's helpful mannerism...
"No way", Odji whispered incredulously, the high pitch caused by his hitching breath catching Seto's attention and bringing it away from his thoughts. "He's really going to make it, isn't he?"
"Yes", Seto replied in a pleased drawl, watching as Jono carefully pulled himself up the last metres left. "I believe he is." Jono stood up on top of the wall and lifted his fist into the air, drawing cheers from the people watching. Seto noticed that he felt strangely proud all of a sudden.
That was when Jono fell.
Seto was the first one to notice; he probably noticed even before the blond himself did. Jono was in the middle of trying to raise another wave of cheers from his audience when the rocky edge he was standing on gave away, crumbling from underneath him and causing him to drop like a rock.
Stuck between preserving his indifferent stance and expression and rushing to see how the blond was fairing, Seto could do little more than stare in barely concealed shock. Jono would be fine, the priest assured himself. The blond fell into the lake, so he could not be horribly hurt.
"Wow! Look at all that blood!" a gleeful voice sounded, one Seto had learned to recognize within a single day. Akefia truly sounded overjoyed.
The priest broke into a mix between a run and a quick walk and made his way to where he had heard the shout come from. Breaking through the crowd Seto came across a small cluster of people with Ryou and Jono in the middle. The brunet fought back a grimace at the sight of the blond; Jono's entire lower face was red with blood that flowed from his broken nose.
"I'll take over from here", Seto spoke in an imperial tone of voice that held no room for argument, directing the words at Ryou. "You take a rest, healer." Seto noted that Ryou really did look like he needed to take a breather with the way a couple of tufts of white hair had escaped their confinement and were dangling in his face, damp with sweat.
Nodding his head, Ryou allowed his body to crumble to the ground, the boy clearly not caring that his robes got dirtied from sitting in the sand. Seto, on the other hand, moved forward to crouch down next to Jono. Placing a hand over the other's nose, careful to not stain his hands on the bloody skin or to press on sore spots, the brunet spat out: "You're such an idiot, always getting yourself beat up like this."
"Were you worried?" Jono asked in an oddly soft tone, completely ignoring the other's insult. Seto did not answer, choosing instead to focus on healing the blond's face and cleaning away the blood with his powers while he was at it. It did not take much effort or power and soon Seto could press his thumbs against the sides of an unsoiled nose, checking that he had managed to heal it into a straight shape. Healing broken noses had never been a part of his duties or training.
Seto had kept his gaze focused on the blond's lower face to avoid making eye contact. It was because of this that the brunet could see the red burn of a blush on Jono's cheeks. Seto stifled any emotional response he might have had on the sight; he did not want to know how he felt about this, or about Jono.
"Um...Priest Seto?" a voice queried and Seto turned his eyes to Ryou. The healer looked highly uncomfortable as he continued: "You froze there for a moment. I was wondering if everything was okay?"
Just then Seto realized that his hands were still pressed against Jono's heated skin. He did not jerk himself away from the blond, however, but removed his hands calmly, like they had not overstayed their welcome. He hoped that his embarrassment was not showing on his face as he muttered calmly: "Everything is fine. I simply haven't done much healing before." The brunet then stood up and brushed any clinging dust off of his robes with a few swift movements of his hands. "I'll tell Odji to come and give you a hand with the rest." The raven-haired youth had gone through healer training and it was about time he did something useful instead of only being in everyone's way.
3.
It was not like Ryou to think badly of people, but he could not help but think that there were at least a dozen people he would have preferred to have as a helper instead of Odji. The raven-haired male clearly knew what he was supposed to do, but he did it with such a half-hearted attitude that Ryou suspected that the broken limbs Odji healed would most likely need to be healed again at some point. Odji simply was not putting enough effort into it.
Still, having Odji take care of the latest patients gave Ryou a much-needed chance to recover his strength. It also gave him a chance to actually watch how far up the soldiers could climb the rock wall. There had been a couple of more severe injuries immediately after the show Jono had put up, when others had wanted to try to show off as well and had ended up failing.
The person climbing up the wall now seemed much more promising than those who had come before. Ryou noted that Akefia moved very skilfully up the wall. While Jono had climbed with determination and strength, the white-haired soldier seemed to have an actual plan to his ascent. Akefia's manner of climbing hinted at a great amount of experience, which had Ryou wondering about the other's profession. A farmer's son should not be so skilled at climbing walls.
Ryou was not really surprised when Akefia made it to the top, and he had even known to expect the fact that he even did it quicker than Jono. But the white-haired male did not stay on top of the cliff to flaunt his victory, and instead chose to immediately start climbing back down the wall. Again Akefia moved through a carefully considered route and Ryou had to seriously consider the possibility of Seto being right in his suspicions, at least in the case of the ones directed at Akefia.
Relief started to settle in Ryou's mind. Finally there was at least one soldier who would not need to be batched up. Just as soon as Ryou estimated Akefia to have reached ground, the soldier's voice called: "I need a healer!"
"What?" Ryou exclaimed and waved Odji off, to show the other that he would handle this one. He was simply too curious to not to. The young healer made his way through the crowd, his stride leading him directly to the white-haired form that could only be Akefia.
"Akefia?" Ryou queried as soon as be broke through the barrier of people. "What's wrong?"
Akefia was holding onto his left hand, dark red blood running down the obviously injured palm as well as the fingers that were trying to squeeze the appendage and stop the bleeding.
"I cut my hand into a sharp stone while climbing down", Akefia explained and Ryou reached out to grasp the bloodied hand. He tried to inspect the wound, but the layer of blood was too thick for the attempt to bear any fruit. He pulled Akefia after himself as he moved closer to the lake and knelt down to dunk the hand into the water. Akefia had no choice but to kneel down with him at the harsh yank at his arm.
Pulling the hand out of the water, Ryou peered at the wound. It was a very clean cut. It was a single straight line that would be very easy to heal.
"You say you cut this on a rock?" Ryou questioned and frowned in an incredulous manner. A wound caused by a rock, even a sharp one, should have left an uneven mark.
"Yeah", Akefia said with a huff. "I mean, where else could it have come from? It's not like I would have cut it on a knife climbing down a stone wall, right?"
"Right", Ryou muttered, though his response was slightly distracted since he had already started to concentrate on directing his healing powers into Akefia's cut. In a few moments the wound had closed and Ryou made to pull away, only his hand was caught within Akefia's now healed one.
"Thank you, my fair healer", Akefia murmured in such a charming manner that Ryou had not thought him capable of it. When the male brought his hand to his lips in a soft kiss, Ryou's cheeks lit up with a burning blush. Akefia lowered their connected hands to reveal a very pleased smirk that had Ryou's ears burning in addition to his face.
"Y-you're welcome!" Ryou exclaimed hurriedly before snatching his hand back and tucking it safely against his chest. "I was only doing my job, really!" The healer stood up, followed by Akefia, and the taller male was still smirking. Ryou felt like he was going to die from embarrassment.
"Um…" Ryou uttered, wondering why Akefia was still staring at him like that, silently and intensely. Finally the albino could not handle that imploring gaze any longer and gasped out in a strangled tone: "Bye then!" And with that he rushed off with his face lowered down. He really hoped that no one would see just how red his whole face must have been by now. Especially since he had now come back to where he had started from and Odji was waiting for him with a raised eyebrow.
"So?" the noble queried. "What was it all about?" Ryou suspected that the question was asked only because the raven-haired youth was so bored that anything could entertain him; he certainly did not sound like he was sincerely interested.
"Just a cut from one of the rocks", Ryou answered and his thoughts were confirmed as Odji merely shrugged and grumbled: "Oh."
It was really a pity that technically Odji was in a higher position that Ryou. Otherwise the healer could have told the noble to keep his mouth shut.
4.
A feeling of dread coiled in the pit of Yugi's stomach as the boy realized that his turn to climb the wall would come very soon. A couple of others had managed to succeed in climbing to the top after Jono and Bakura had both proven it to be possible. It seemed that the two had managed to bring more confidence by showing that the wall was not as impossible to climb as they had thought. But Yugi had not gained any of that new faith. The boy did not think that he was going to do well at all. On the contrary, he was afraid that he would be the worst one of the lot.
Finally it was time for Yugi to try to prove himself to his commander and fellow soldiers. Only, Yugi was certain that the only thing he was going to prove was just how unskilled he was. His whole life Yugi had been trained and schooled to be Atemu's bride, and all his manners and eloquence were completely useless out here in the wilderness. Never before had Yugi been ashamed of his upbringing; he was well educated and intelligent, but now he was starting to reconsider that. His mind would not help him get up that wall.
Taking a deep breath as a way to prepare himself, Yugi reached up and started to climb. The rough stone pressed into the boy's skin and Yugi bit his lip, determined to endure this pain. He frowned in concentration and started to pull himself up. He managed to repeat the action over five times until his aching fingers slipped and he slipped back to the ground.
"Man, you suck", Bakura's voice commented from behind Yugi as the boy tried to stand up off of his injured bottom. Yugi turned his head to look up at the albino, who was looking at him with a thoroughly disappointed expression.
"Do you want to try again?" Bakura asked and Yugi sighed before shaking his head and saying: "What's the point? My hands can't take any more abuse."
A scoff came from Bakura then, and Yugi thought he heard the other grumble a complaint about royalty and their soft skin. Yugi decided to let the matter be; it was not like Bakura did not have a point, after all.
"Get up", Bakura spoke suddenly and pulled Yugi up by his elbow. "You're in everyone's way."
Another sigh came from Yugi and the boy looked at the ground as he allowed Bakura to lead him to the side. He only hoped that he had not drawn too much attention to himself with his performance.
5.
"Oh my", Odji uttered while trying to suppress a sudden surge of glee at the sight of an exceptionally clumsy soldier falling down after a climb of about a couple of metres. He leaned his head towards Ryou before questioning: "And who might have that poor, unfortunate soul been?"
"That was Rasui", the healer replied immediately. Ryou would not withhold information from a noble of Odji's status even when the other surely was aware of the fact that Odji would bask in this failure of one of Atemu's soldiers.
"Thank you", Odji replied with a nod and an overly sweet smile that would have sent shivers down anyone's spine once they knew what such an expression from Odji indicated. It meant that the raven-haired youth was about to cause trouble.
"I'll be right back", Odji spoke up before turning around and starting to make his way around the pond. He reached Atemu's spot in mere minutes, since the prince was still standing in the same place as before and was therefore easy to locate.
"Hello there", was the greeting Odji gave Atemu to gain the other's attention and the crimson-eyed male rewarded him with a displeased glower. Odji's good mood did not falter as he said: "You should look a bit happier, Atemu. I have finally decided the method I'm going to use to judge your forces' readiness for battle."
"It's always good to know that you're actually doing something other than loafing around and getting on everyone's nerves", Atemu spoke out with the usual spite the prince always mustered up for Odji. The noble did not let this bother him, he was used to it after all, and asked: "Do you know a young soldier named Rasui?"
A frown crossed over Atemu's face, the other clearly wondering what the noble was getting at with this, and the prince spoke out slowly and in a distrusting manner: "I know who he is, yes."
"Great", Odji said and grinned widely. "I've decided that by the time that boy is able to climb the wall, your battalion can march to war." The grin turned into a malicious smirk. "If I were you, my prince, I would pray to the gods that he doesn't chicken out." And again the noble smiled brightly. "Now, if I could take my leave?"
"Get lost", Atemu snarled and Odji was off. Those had clearly been unpleasant news to the prince and Odji congratulated himself on a job well done. With the way things appeared at the moment, Atemu would not see battle before this war was over. And that would certainly make him look like a lousy leader in both the council's as well as the people's eyes. Odji grinned with glee. His father would be so proud when he heard of his accomplishment.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: Here you go, guys, a longer chapter for a change. It should be a nice break after all the short chapter this story has had.