If You Feel Better

Chapter 23

Arms crossed and leaning against a tree, Bakura watched silently as his men shuffled around to collect water. It was a trivial necessity to keep him and his followers alive. An underground colony of thieves required a great deal of water to survive. Water runs were a normal routine for him and his men.

And their nearest fresh water source was a very familiar oasis. The men would fill carts with large, empty clay pots and attach them to horses, which would then tug them to the oasis to be filled and then dragged back again. And just like his trips with Aya, these runs only occurred at night. During the day, the sun was scorching and the authorities were constantly on the prowl.

It was a cool night made warmer by the men scurrying back and forth between the carts and the pool. Bakura, as leader, didn't participate in the collection of water, but oversaw the whole event.

Growing bored of standing and waiting, his mind began to fall into a world of its own. His eyes travelled to the pool of water and remained staring as he lost himself deeper in thought. He pictured the ripples in the water not being caused by his minions collecting water, but instead by Aya swimming as she bathed. Though he had always been turned away as she swam, he could almost see her pushing herself through the water, her beautiful, naked body gliding majestically as if she were flying. He could envision her hair floating beneath the surface, moving in smooth, fluid motions, suspended by the water.

"My Lord."

The voice violently ripped Bakura out of his thoughts, seeing one of his minions in front of him instead of Aya.

"What?!" Bakura snapped, sneering down at the interruption.

The man jumped at his unexpected reaction. Their master was known to have a temper and it was easy to make him upset, but he still didn't understand why he was angry. "W-We've filled all of the pots," he nervously continued. "We're ready to return to the lair."

Bakura scoffed and turned away from his man. "Fine. Then go. I'm not coming. I shall return later."

"Yes, my Lord." The man bowed and returned to the rest of the thieves to help pack up the rest of the pots.

Bakura watched silently as they mounted their horses and slowly disappeared into the desert beyond, leaving him to the oasis, alone. With an exasperated sigh, he leaned his head back against the tree and stared out along the water again. Being at the oasis during the night was torture. The dull chirping of locusts only made Aya's absence more noticeable. Her songs had always covered up their noise. He had forgotten they were even there. There were no splashes, no lyrics, and no other sound to drown out the remaining silence.

He remembered her angelic voice, singing loud and strong from her heart and soul. He could hear it, the memory clearly ringing in his ears. He squeezed his eyes closed to block out his recollection, but that only made her vocals even louder.

He sighed frustratingly, turning his gaze to the shining stars above. He was forced to admit to himself that her voice was something he missed.

~

Clang!

Aya thrashed her sword against Mahad's, pushing his hilt back with all her strength. The sword was heavy in her hands, the iron blade testing her muscles every second. Mahad pushed back against her with a grunt, skidding her feet along the dirt as she failed to stand her ground.

She threw all of her weight into pushing him away and slashed upward, missing his stomach and torso by a hair. Mahad's onslaught didn't slow down, blades connecting one attack after another. His last strike caused Aya to trip over her own feet, sending her flying to the ground. Mahad pointed his sword to her throat, symbolizing her imaginary death.

Panting, Aya stared up at him, death in her eyes. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get one up on him. But she had expected that. Mahad had trained with swords his entire life. She had only just begun.

"Very good, Princess Aya," Mahad complimented, not even breaking a sweat. "Your attacks are getting better, but we need to work on your defense." He lowered his sword and pulled her up to her feet.

The sun was sweltering, exhausting Aya even quicker, but she refused to give up. It was important to her that she learn how to fight in all conditions and feeling all sorts of ways.

Before responding, she immediately went to the sidelines and chugged as much water as she could from a small jug, quenching the burn of dehydration in her throat. She sighed with relief as the pain went away and dumped the remaining water over her boiling body.

"I know," she admitted. "I'm having trouble with that. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to balance them out. The attack is upon me before I can even register to block. That is my real issue."

"Why don't we try something different?" Mahad suggested. "Mana will throw targets at you and you will block against them as they come."

"How is that going to help?" she asked, not seeing the point in swatting at targets like flies while she doesn't move.

"You're having trouble blocking, parrying, and dodging," he explained. "We should work our way up to implementing them into actual fighting. For now, we should get the actual moves engrained into your memory so you will perform them naturally when you need to. Do you understand?"

Aya nodded, feeling ready to start again. She went back to the middle of the battleground, sword raised, ready to fight.

Mahad turned to Mana who was watching from a wooden bench on the sidelines, hands hanging onto the front edge, swinging her legs childishly. "Mana," he commanded sternly. "Come here and throw targets at the princess."

Hesitant in fear of hurting the princess, but not daring to defy her master, she jumped up from her seat and walked across from Aya, a good distance away. "Are you sure you want me doing this, Master?" she asked, nervously raising her wand towards the princess. Feeling confident in her powers was one thing, but directly aiming magical attacks at a member of the royal family was another.

"I have faith in you," Mahad comforted, standing just off of Mana for support.

Mana swallowed her nerves away and nodded confidently. She and Aya stared each other down for a second, best friends now facing off like warriors. With a fighter's cry, Mana sent out indigo flashes of magic in rapid-fire at Princess Aya. With her own battle cry, Aya slashed through each one as they flew at her, dissipating them into cobalt sparks that dissolved in the air.

She swung down, then up, then to the side, repeating the pattern as they came at her at lightening speed. She cut through them all, dragging the weight of the sword in each swift motion. Her arms grew tired. They were on the verge of giving out, but Aya continued, persevering through the exercise.

Finally, Mana gave mercy, ceasing her cascade of magical bombs. Aya sliced through the last one, keeping the sword high in the sky as a show of her hard-earned victory. Still gripping the handle, Aya let the tip of the blade fall into the dirt, soon following it herself as exhaustion finally took over. She breathed heavily, succumbing to the heat and the sun, unable to carry on.

Mahad walked over to her with a soft smile on his face. He reached a hand down to her and said "You've done very well, Princess. I think that's enough for today."