If You Feel Better

Chapter 9

"Where did she go?"

"Did she sneak out again?"

"Do you think it was Bakura?"

The priests talked amongst one another, the palace falling into havoc after the princess once again disappeared. Soldiers and guards were searching for clues in every nook and cranny they could think of, but found no trace.

The pharaoh was at a loss. He sat on his throne feeling more useless than he had ever felt in his life. I have to face the facts, he thought in despair. I cannot even protect my own family. Silent tears fell down his face unashamedly. His hand reached out from muscle-memory to touch the hand of his wife, only to find her chair empty and her absence heavy.

"My pharaoh," Priestess Isis spoke up. "If Princess Aya has gone out again, we cannot send the whole army to find her this time. We almost fell into Bakura's trap by doing so last time."

The pharaoh shook his head. "No," he stated. "I don't believe Aya would go out after what happened to her mother. I don't know if it was Bakura or someone else, but something has most certainly happened to her. She is in danger."

"The pharaoh is right," Grand Vizier Shimon agreed. "Aya wouldn't have gone out now. Someone has taken her. The question is who and where is she now?"

~

Aya sat on the bed in wait. All of Bakura's men were on alert after her stunt the first time; she could not do it again now. She rubbed her wrists where Bakura had held her down, shuddering at the memory of him on top of her, in complete control.

Taking down Bakura is going to be difficult, she thought to herself. He's much too strong for me to fight him off if he's able to get his hands on me. I'll have to think of something else. She looked around the room again. It was still only the bed and the table, the table being completely cleared of all items this time. Nothing jumped out at Aya as being immediately useful. She sighed. What if I have to play the long game?

Just then Bakura came in, visibly not in a good mood, and practically threw a plate of food onto the table, spilling some of it off the side. "Eat," he commanded.

Aya eyed the plate with caution, not moving from her spot on the bed. Her stomach nearly growled at the mention of food, but she mentally shoved the feeling away, pretending it wasn't there. "I'm not stupid enough to trust any food that you bring me," she told him, turning her head away.

Bakura rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "It isn't poisoned. My plan wouldn't exactly work if I had a dead wife. Besides, I prefer bloodier methods when I kill people."

Aya snapped her head to him in disgust, not saying anything. The smell of the food finally wafted its way over to her, making the hunger in her stomach unbearable. She hadn't eaten all day, something she had never had to worry about before with being a princess.

She stood up from the bed and slowly walked over to the table, watching the plate as if it were going to come alive and try to kill her at any moment. "What even is this?" she asked, repulsed by what she was seeing.

"What?" Bakura said, looking over at the food himself. "There's nothing wrong with it."

"Is this even food?" Aya grimaced down at what looked to be onions, garlic, and lentils mashed together haphazardly, making for a messy concoction with a less than appetizing color. In the center was what seemed to previously be a fish, roasted until it was reduced to a sad state. The only thing perfectly identifiable was the bread.

Bakura smirked. "Is your highness too good for the likes of our food?" he asked arrogantly. "I suppose you're used to a much grander buffet of cooking for every meal. Well, listen up. This is what the average person eats. This is what your citizens are forced to choke down while you sit in the palace dining on feasts prepared by the best cooks in Egypt." He grabbed her arm hard enough to leave bruises and forced her down into her seat. "Now eat."

Aya squeaked and rubbed her now aching arm, continuing to just look at the food. As much as she hated to admit it, Bakura was right. She was used to much better-quality meals than what was currently before her. She almost couldn't bring herself to eat it at all, except that Bakura's menacing presence was a coercive factor.

The food smelled fine, which was the only thing Aya was hanging onto when she was finally brave enough to reach out and take some of the vegetables and eat them. They were overcooked and partially burned, enough to almost make her gag. She forced it down, coughing, and said "I can't eat this."

Her refusal made Bakura angry. He gripped the back of her hair and furiously pushed her head forward towards the food. "Eat it!" he demanded.

Aya yelped, not hestitating to grab the fish now. She bit into it, the pain from Bakura still violently clutching her hair masking the horrid taste. "I'll eat it! I'll eat it!" she yelled after her first bite.

"Good girl," Bakura spat, shoving her head roughly before letting it go.

Aya took a deep breath and closed her eyes, ignoring the throbbing pain in the back of her head. She opened her eyes with determination and quickly starting eating as much as she could at once, wanting to get it over with as soon as possible. She choked it down and kept going, stuffing her face until adding more would suffocate her.

Bakura watched with arms crossed. "So much for table manners for the princess," he stated.

"I'm trying to hurry up and eat it," she explained with a mouthful of food. "If I eat it slowly, I won't be able to do it."

Bakura rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You're so spoiled, Princess. Can't even bring yourself to eat the food of the peasants. What a rich, whiny brat you are."

Aya glared at him, cheeks still stuffed with fish and vegetables. "I'm doing the best I can with the life I was given," she said. "It's not my fault I was never served with this kind of food or lived this kind of life or had the problems that you've had. But with everything that you're doing to me, I'm quickly learning."

Bakura hmphed. "You're welcome."

Aya froze in her spot, stopping everything. She stopped chewing and her hand was held perfectly still in the air, grasping a piece of bread. She gave Bakura a look that held nothing but death in her eyes. "Did you just say 'you're welcome'?" She swallowed what was in her mouth and threw the bread back onto the plate where it bounced off, landing on the table. She slammed her hands on the table and stood up, the chair screeching against the ground as she did so. She stormed over to Bakura and yelled "After everything you've done to me, you really think–!"

Bakura grabbed her face from under her chin, cutting her off and forcing her to look at him in his hateful eyes. "Be careful, Princess," he snarled dangerously. "The only reason you're even alive is because I choose to keep you alive. And I can change that decision quickly. Remember who you're talking to."

He pushed her away from him, causing her to trip and stumble to the floor. She looked up at him with fury, yet unable to do anything about it. He towered over her and hmphed again before walking out and leaving her there like she was nothing.