If You Feel Better

Chapter 12

Aya couldn't get the little boy's face out of her mind. The final cry he made echoed deafeningly in her ears. Then his silence. It made the air feel empty like being trapped in a void.

This was the first time she had ever seen someone die in front of her; the first time she watched the light go out of someone's eyes. She hadn't even her own mother see die directly before her.

She was back in the lair, sitting up on the bed and holding her knees close to her chest, staring blankly, emotionlessly at the empty darkness in front of her. That poor boy, she thought. That poor family. I can't stay here. I have to think of something. I don't care if he kills me. I have to try!

Just then, Bakura came inside, knocking Aya out of her stupor. The few candles around the room made him easy to follow, as well as her eyes finally starting to adjust from being in the constant darkness. She watched him carefully, having just seen him slay an entire family only a little while ago. My father was right. He's a monster, she said to herself. He doesn't even give mercy to children.

Bakura spun a piece cloth in his arms until it was in a bunch and then threw it at Aya, whipping her in the face. "Put that on," he ordered, facing away from her to give her privacy before an argument erupted over it.

Aya pulled it off her head and held it out in front of her. It was her long, white nightdress that she had refused to put back on at the oasis. She still had Bakura's red cloak on, practically hiding herself in it. "I told you this was dirty," she retaliated, not wanting to wear something that hasn't been washed.

Bakura glowered at the wall in front of him, growing annoyed of Aya's complaints. "You can either wear that or you can keep wearing my robe," he stated, giving an ultimatum. "One of them doesn't exactly cover you up all the way nor can you keep it that way during the night. We wouldn't want you waking up naked, would we?"

Aya recognized a threat when she heard one. She quickly threw off Bakura's robe and changed back into her nightgown once again without hesitation, smoothing it down over herself. Bakura peeked over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of her bare skin, only to disappointedly find that the princess had already finished changing. He grabbed his discarded robe off the floor and hung it on the chair at the table for the night.

Things were much quieter between them than usual, Aya scarred from her experience and being in no mood to talk. Bakura smirked at her, leaning against the wall behind him.

"Why the long face, Princess?" he asked mockingly.

"You know why," Aya responded coldly, keeping her eyes focused in front of her, not bearing to look at her bare-chested kidnapper any longer.

Bakura shrugged, taking the princess's concerns lightly. "I don't know exactly what you thought a thief does, but killing comes with the territory."

"Even children?!" Her head snapped to her captor, anger finding its way to her beautiful sky-blue eyes. She glanced for only a moment at the knife sheathed at Bakura's hip, the same one used to slaughter that entire family. That's my ticket out of here, she thought. I just have to get it. She stood from the bed, seething, taking a dangerous step towards Bakura. "A child who had nothing to do with anything! Who was too young to even understand what was going on!"

"No witnesses."

Aya blinked and shook her head in disbelief at what she was hearing. "You act like it's no big deal," she said, taking another tentative step forward. "Do you not hate my family for doing the same to your villagers?! Why shouldn't I hate you for doing this to my people?!"

Bakura's playful nature turned sour in an instant, growling through his words. "Watch it, Princess," he warned angrily. "Don't ever compare what I've done to what your family has done. As if the two are even remotely similar."