Mario x Bowsette (Super Crown Madness)

Chpt 44: Prisoner

The two men, along with all they managed to scrap together for the last few hours, were on their way back home, along with Luigi, his horse, and all of his belongings. Luigi was still passed out.

"Say...why don't we just dump this guy and take the horse and his stuff with us- "

"Don" even 'hink abou' It"

The man sighed, "But what's the use in taking him back when we already have everything we need right here"

"He migh' make a good slave, we could use the ex'ra muscle"

"How thoughtful of you", the man said sarcastically.

The dessert winds grew stronger as the sun began to set. The horse grew restless, but was immediately calmed down by one of the men holding onto the harness. The two of them draped their cloaks over their heads and started moving faster.

"Le"s ge' goin ", he walked to the horse and draped a huge blanket over Luigi's body, "We 'ave to be back before nigh'fall "

"Read you loud and clear"

All the while, they had no idea Luigi was listening in on their conversation. At the moment, he barely had any strength to move, much less remove the ropes tied around his wrists and ankles. For now, he'd play along. He was still a bit lightheaded, and decided to close his eyes and rest for the remainder of the trip. He was definitely going to need the energy to escape later on.

*******

Meanwhile back at the prison...

Mario was lying in bed, thinking back on Rosalina's visit earlier today.

There were one or two key details that he left out of their conversation, and since she hadn't called him out on it, there was no point in worrying about it. Besides, it's not like he understood enough to be able to give her a clear answer. Might as well have kept his mouth shut.

He thought about Luigi and where he could've gone. Wherever he was, he hoped that Luigi wasn't taking all of this too harshly. Sure, he was going to be locked away for a very long time, but at least he wasn't severely injured or dead. Every time Mario felt apathetic around his situation, he kept reminding himself that things could be way worse than his current situation.

****************

Luigi was barely conscious, but he could get the scent of something cooking. He opened his eyes, and saw nothing but the top of a tent. The last thing he remembered was tripping on something in the cave and then...nothing. He figured he must've hit his head on something, because he couldn't help feeling like he got clubbed on the head. He tried to rub his head, but the second he tried to lift a hand, he could feel the rope tied firmly around his wrists and then his ankles. He remembered the horse, the map and all his stuff.

Oh no, where am I?

Despite how difficult it was for him to move; Luigi tried his best to move. He rocked his body until he was able to place support himself on his hands and knees. Once he was able to do that, he followed the smell. He was heading straight towards the front entrance of the tent. Not to far off, he could hear a few voices somewhere nearby. He stayed clear from that direction; he didn't want to get caught. Instead, he crawled around looking for something sharp to cut those ropes. After he accomplished that, he was going to find his horse, but most importantly the map he needed, and get out of there as soon as possible.

He turned his body in the opposite direction and crawled to the back of the tent. All he saw was a few woollen bags filled rusty scraps. They were sharp, and with nothing else in sight to help him out, he settled on the rusty scrap to help him cut the ropes. He moved up closer and placed the rope onto the sharp side of a flat piece of metal scrap, grinding it as hard and fast as he could so the rope would finally snap. Every now and then he would sneak a peak around the place to make sure there wasn't anyone else listening nearby. He wasn't sure who went through the trouble of taking him in, much less tying him up like fresh game.

Come on and break already...

He tried a couple more times without much success, but finally, a minute later he managed to cut himself loose. He rubbed his wrists, thanking his lucky stars that he was able to get it done in no time. Not to long after, he started untying the ropes around his ankles. It only took him a minute till he set himself free. Quickly, he stood up and looked around the tent for his stuff, if it was there at all. All the while he contemplated his next move. Given the way things turned out, it's probably safer for him to leave the horse behind and carry on by foot, but there's no telling just where he was or how far away from civilisation he was. Right now, the only thing he wanted to do was get his stuff and leave.

Just then, he heard a couple of voices approach from the entrance and ducked behind the boxes. When he heard the tent flap fly open, he lowered his head, covering his mouth, trying to slowdown his breathing so they wouldn't hear him. A few moments passed until he finally heard their exasperated reaction to him not being there. One of the men ran out to go inform everyone of Luigi's escape while the other just stood there. There was no time no to go searching for his stuff, he had to leave right now.

He noticed an opening not to far off, an opening that was big enough for him to crawl through. Without a second thought, he quietly crawled all the way, staying as low as he possibly could. He also kept his ear open for anyone lurking nearby. It wasn't that long till he finally managed to make it. He stayed on the ground, slowly, he lifted the tiny tent flap up and peeped through to make sure there was no one else on the other side. Once the coast was clear, he held it open and quickly crawled through. But just when he thought he was going to make it

"well...look a' wha' we 'ave 'ere", the man from before, with the cockney accent. He was standing on top of the crates, staring down at Luigi with a broad smile. Luigi froze, his body already halfway through.

" Thought yer could cop away that easily?"

Luigi didn't say a word. Without a second thought, he used all his strength to bolt it out if there, but unfortunately, the situation didn't turn out in his favour. He slowly rose to his feet, being very careful not to touch the blades that were pointed directly at him. He looked at each and every one of their faces. Crooked teeth, stank breath, clothes marred in dirt and grease. Their expressions, vile and sinister. Whoever these people were, Luigi didn't like them one bit. Only question that was on his mind now was whether this was it for him.

To be continued....

Next chapter: 24/07/2019