Taking a tentative step towards the motionless figure, Tea gasped. Her eyes fixated in awe at the crimson orbs that stared back at her.

"Are you--" her voice caught in her throat when his arm suddenly shot up and grasped her wrist in a bruising grip.

A slow and deliberate smile slid up his lips. "You are mine," he sneered.

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Chapter Two

Tea did the first thing that came to mind. She screamed.

He was on her in an instant. His fingers wrapped around her throat with enough force to have Tea choking for air.

"Don't you do that. Ever." he hissed.

Tea swallowed the scream lodged in her throat. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist in a desperate attempt to pull him off of her.

"Let-- let go. Please."

To her horror, his eyes took on a predatory glint.

"No."

Suddenly she was propelled backwards, until her body slammed into the cold brick wall. Her head collided with the concrete and snapped forward with a sharp crack. Somewhere, she heard her assailant's crazed laugh. The sound echoed in her head, luring her into a darkness that threatened to engulf her whole.

Tea closed her eyes in disbelief. She was going to die.

~*~

There was nothing that excited him more than nearing the brink of a kill. Bakura could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins, filling him with pleasure and overruling his brain.

The girl's eyes clouded with pain as she struggled against him. Her lips opened to scream, but all that came out was a choked sob before her eyelids fluttered close.

Bakura only laughed at her effort.

"Tea?"

The tomb robber's head snapped up at the sound. On reflex, he pulled the unconscious girl with him into the foliage and waited.

The blonde Grecian burst through under the archway to the garden. Bakura let the plants envelop him fully when Sharuk and a dozen guards exploded into the clearing.

"Tea!" the Grecian disappeared into the adjacent room, only to return moments later with a furious look on his face. "That filthy thief!" he cursed. "He's got the Grecian princess."

"I don't care by whatever means necessary, I want that tomb robber's head!" Sharuk growled.

"But--"

"Now!" the guards visibly flinched before scurrying out of the garden.

Bakura slowly rose from his spot. "Fools," he scoffed at the idea of being caught by a bunch of imbeciles.

Raising an eyebrow, he regarded the unconscious girl curiously. Grecian princess, eh? She could prove useful to him, yet.

Dark clouds drifted across the sky, casting the ground in shadows. When the moon broke through a second later, the garden was empty.

~*~

She could sense the light just beyond her closed eyelids. Tea moaned and rolled onto her side, away from the brightness that was slowly penetrating her groggy mind. The creak of wood and the click of a latch told her her bodyguard had entered the room.

"Another minute, Joseph." Tea mumbled into the hay stack.

Stillness greeted her ears.

Tea's eyebrows drew together in a frown. Something didn't feel right. She was almost certain that she was forgetting something terribly important. Tea's eyelids shot up.

Oh Gods!

"Joseph?" Tea surged to a sitting position, her hands coming up to shield the stream of moonlight pouring in through the small window and into her unsuspecting eyes.

"So you've finally decided to wake up."

Tea whipped around at the voice, and was met with only darkness. Slowly rising to her feet, she scanned the room frantically for the speaker.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

The room was eerily silent.

Under the silvery glow of the moon, everything seemed surreal, almost dreamlike. Tea took a step back, stumbling in her stupor and came in contact with something hard and warm.

No, not a dream, Tea realized, it was a nightmare!

Strong grips locked onto her arm and spun her around.

Her breath caught in her throat as the shadow took a step into the light. White hair glistened silver, as inky black pools stared into her eyes, threatening to infect her soul. Tea stood frozen in shock as he leaned in, she could feel the cynical smile on his lips as he touched it to the pulse beating wildly against the base of her throat. His breath felt hot as it trailed softly up her neck, over her jaw line and into her ear. "At your service, Princess."

His voice jeered Tea out of her shock, and a fear like no other latched onto her chest, threatening to smother her from the inside out.

"What--what do you want with me?"

Her assailant let go of her and Tea stumbled dazedly away from him.

"Who are you?"

His eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at her question.

Tea took a step back and shook her head. "I don't care who you are, but you-- you better let me go."

At his silence, the frightened princess licked her lips and tried again. "My bodyguard will not rest until he finds me. Neither will the temple guards. So you are better off without me." Tea knew she was babbling, but she couldn't seem to help herself. "If you take me back to the temple, I promise, I'll convince Joseph to forget about the whole incident. In fact," Tea took a foolish step towards him, "I'll even try to ask the priest to rethink the impalement punish--"

"Enough!"

"What?" it came out as a frightened squeak.

"Who do you think you are?" the question was forced through gritted teeth as his eyes flashed with sudden anger. "You think I need help from the likes of you?"

"I was just--" Tea whimpered when she was shoved roughly to the ground.

The shadow loomed over her fallen form, and Tea shrank from the imposing figure. "This is my world, Princess."

Tea shuddered. She had to get away from here. Get away from him.

As if reading her thoughts, he dropped to his knees beside her. His voice took on a cynical note. "There is no escape. Your pathetic excuse of a Grecian guard won't be able to save you. Sharuk's useless men won't be able to save you. " He laughed. "You are mine. It'll do you good to remember that."

~*~

Bakura looked out the small window and into the dusky sky. Light from the moon wavered in the night, causing shadows to flicker in the dark. It was the perfect time to make his escape. If everything went according to plans, he would be out of Sharuk's city by midnight.

"Put this on." he threw the dirty brown cloak at the cowering princess.

She glared at him from her position but did as he commanded. "What do you want with me?"

Ignoring her question yet again, he grabbed a fistful of dirt and smudged it along her cheeks and hands. Within the cover of the hood, she looked like any peasant girl, except for her eyes. There was nothing that could disguise the brilliant blue of it, and at the moment, her eyes blazed fiercely with a hatred of him.

Bakura sneered, he would enjoy breaking the Grecian wench in.

"Let's go."

"I am not going any--" her protest stopped short as Bakura picked her up and heaved her small form over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

"What are you doing?" she wailed.

The streets of the city were empty except for the occasional drunk. But if one looked carefully, one would be able to spot the peculiar shadow dashing flittingly from street to street.

"Stop it!" Tea's small fist pounded harshly on the tomb robber's back. "Put me down."

Bakura ignored her.

"Let me down!" Bakura gritted his teeth as his captive's feets joined her fist in pummelling his body. Though she hardly had the strength to hurt him, it was getting bothersome.

"I am warning you, I--"

She really was more trouble than she was worth.

"Put me down!"

"Shut up."

Tea humped. " I will not shut- eep" she was cut off when Bakura suddenly dumped her on the street. His eyes were harsh as he grabbed her wrist and jerked her towards him.

"You will shut up this instinct!" he hissed again. Bakura noted with satisfaction that fear flashed past her eyes.

"I--" He suddenly shoved her into a nearby alley. His hand clamped over her mouth, as he pressed her body roughly against the wall. Fear of being strangled to death by the tomb robber once again, assailed her, and instinctively, Tea began struggling against him.

"Listen!"

Her struggle became frantic as his hold on her tightened.

"Listen, God dammit!"

Tea let out a sob, but stilled when distant voices reached her ears.

"This is hopeless." There was a sigh followed by a snort.

"He probably killed her already. But that damn Grecian won't stop whining until we find her body."

Tea let out a pained whimper when she realized the words of the Egyptian guards. Bakura pushed her further against the wall, warning her to stay quiet.

"I think he sold her off. A Grecian concubine is worth a lot around these parts."

Light outlined their forms as they stopped at the entrance of the alley.

No! She wanted to scream. I am right here!

Her heart rammed painfully against her chest when one took a step towards them.

"Anything?"

"Nope."

They turned away.

No, don't go!

Tea felt tears stinging her eyes. They didn't see her? How could they not see her?

Their footsteps faded into the background as they passed the alley. Panic seized Tea. She wouldn't have a chance like this again. She had to escape now. Despite his captor's earlier warning, Tea bit down hard on the hand covering her mouth.

Bakura pulled back in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?"

Tea tore her mouth from under his hand. "Tomb Robber!"

"You bitch!" her arm felt as if it was on fire as she forcefully twisted herself away from him, but her captor was nimble as his hand caught her hair, causing pain to shoot up her skull.

"What the hell is going on?" the footfalls were heading back their way. Closer than before.

Biting back tears, Tea screamed and kicked until the grip loosened.

Bakura swore as he lunched after the girl, but this time he was too late. All he caught was air as the soft brown tendrils slipped through his fingers.

"God dammit!"

"Hey you, stop!"

"Bitch!" with one last furious glance in the direction the Grecian princess disappeared in, Bakura turned and fled.

She would pay dearly for this act of rebellion.

~*~

Her feet hurt from all the running but she didn't stop, she couldn't stop. The voices had long since disappeared, but her heart still raced wildly within her chest, if she stopped, she was afraid it may burst out and continue on without her.

Tea cried out when her sandal caught on the pavement, and she fell forward. She sat on the ground, trying to catch her breath as the adrenaline slowly drained from her body, leaving her feeling dazed and disoriented.

She didn't know how long she sat there, huddled underneath her cloak, thinking her captor would appear any minute and drag her back. But he never came. After what felt like an eternity, Tea slowly, finally raised her head from her knees and leaned back against the wall with a sigh of relief.

She had gotten away! The concept was almost unimaginable, but she did it. Tea let out a whoop of laughter. She was free!

With renewed hope, Tea pushed herself to her feet, and slowly surveyed her surroundings. She was in the middle of a dirty alley, crumbled down mud brick houses surrounded her from all sides, blocking out the moon and threatening to box her in the oppressive area. Tea shuddered at the thought. No, she told herself, she would not be boxed in again. She was going find the temple, locate Joseph and forget about this evening's horrifying events.

The sound of rubbles crunching underfoot disconnected Tea's train of thought. An ominous feeling slowly pooled in her stomach.

"Now, look what we've got 'ere."

The feeling turned to dread as she turned around to face the speaker. A couple of raggedly dressed men leaned against the wall lazily, watching her from under their hooded gazes.

Not again!

Without thinking, Tea turned and ran the other way. She came to an abrupt halt as she slammed into a wall of muscles. The burly man chuckled in amusement, and Tea faltered backwards.

"Aye don't think so, missy."

The three men's lips twisted into a cruel grin as they advanced towards her.

"'ow much ya think we can get 'er for?"

"Aye don't know, she's a pretty one that's for sure. Maybe we ought to have some fun wit her first."

Tea's eyes widened at their implications. "No, please don't." she croaked.

They didn't seem to have heard her, as muscle man pounced on her. Tea jumped back in fright, narrowly missing his outstretched arms.

"Don't run away, missy, this is gonna be fun."

Tea's irises' were dilated as she scanned the area, desperate for a route of escape. There was none.

The first two men hung back, laughing at her panic as muscle man continued to stalk her. He was so close, she could smell his stink, hear his disgusting grunts, feel his breath as it fanned across her face.

"God, no..."

Tea screamed when he reached towards her, prepared to bite, kick and fight to her last breath. Except the touch never came. Everything was deafly silent. Tea looked up in shock to see the stalker's feature's twisted in pain. Her gaze travelled to the hand that had been reaching for her to see it twisted at an odd angle, high over her head.

A low growl emanated from behind her.

"Touch her, and die."

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A/N: For all those that reviewed the first chapter: Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your responses were great, made me all giddy inside when I was reading 'em. ^_^ Hopefully, you enjoyed this chapter just as much. And remember to leave a lil comment in the box. You'll make this struggling authoress very very happy!