If You Feel Better

Chapter 50

Sentries were deployed systematically both on top of house roofs and within the crowds on the streets of the city. They dressed to blend in with the citizens, but still had specific features to keep themselves unique to each other. Their heads were completely engulfed in headscarves, save for their eyes, and their robes were the same color and style as each other.

The men on the ground were grabbing people by the back of their necks, aggressively asking if they had seen the girl portrayed in the flyers they had ripped off the walls. When they all predictably replied that they hadn't, they were tossed aside and moved onto the next one.

Bakura was among those stationed on roof, searching silently for any trace of Aya. After the pile of bloody sand was discovered at the oasis, they were making their way around the closest cities from that point, interrogating the residents about any appearance of the princess. So far, they had no luck, but until Bakura saw a body, he was not going to assume that Aya was dead. She had proven that she was capable of getting herself out of seemingly impossible situations, so if they hadn't found her by now, she must've gone somewhere.

The people intermingled with one another, blending into an indiscernible soup of heads and bodies. The loud conversations and chatter blocked out the individual words spoken, nothing and no one standing out more than anyone else. Bakura saw people of all shapes and sizes, but none the shape or size of Aya.

He cupped his hand around his mouth and gave out a call, mimicking a falcon, echoing above the heads of the denizens below without causing suspicion. He received a rhythmic call back from one of his men on a roof at the bare edge of his vision, indicating that they did not have any new news about the whereabouts of the princess either.

"Hey, you!" One of Bakura's men grabbed a thin, lanky man by the back of his shirt and forced him to look at the flyer of Aya. "Have you seen this girl?!"

"N-No, I haven't seen her!" he replied, mildly terrified.

The henchman threw him to the ground before grabbing an elderly woman nearby to ask the same question.

They were getting nowhere quickly, but unlike the pharaoh, they could multitask. At the same time they were collecting this information on Aya, they were also pillaging this town for everything it was worth. They were swiping what they could hide in their robes while no one was watching, making this venture worth it for his men as well as Bakura. Jewels, coins, and even food were tucked away into their clothes for later, making them even richer, little by little.

The burden of being a leader to a cast of outlaws was keeping them happy. They didn't particularly care about Aya themselves, but they knew their leader wanted her and he was the one that kept them fed and wealthy.

While this group of his men were searching for evidence of the princess, a portion of his men were left behind at the lair, packing up all the valuables and distributing them among the other hideouts around Egypt. It would take many, many trips to ensure that the goods were removed and spread out among the country, but now that the pharaoh and his men knew where that particular lair was, it was worse than useless to them.

Once that was complete, he would send his men to build a new lair to replace the one that had been lost. The advantages of being leader meant he didn't have to endure the arduous tasks of creating dens or erecting stables. He had his lackies to perform such work. And each day, the number of his men were growing. People were becoming tired of being poor. Following the pharaoh and his laws were proving fruitless, leaving stomachs empty, hands chafed, and homes in disrepair.

More and more were finding their way to Bakura, their plates suddenly full and moods copiously lifted. Unbeknownst to the king himself, he was losing his citizens to the other monarchy in play: the King of Thieves.