Chapter 9

The sun was already beginning to fall back below the horizon when Marik awoke from his slumber. Looking out of the tall panelled windows he cursed himself for sleeping so long, but he had to admit now he was a lot more refreshed and energetic than before.

No sooner had he gotten out of bed and pulled his shorts back on yet another harpie servant bustled into the room announcing that his bath was running. Marik grumbled as he was forcefully lead out of the room by the blue haired girl. As much as he wanted to lash out and violently protest he did have some sense of gratitude from the lady who had fed him and gave him a place to sleep without any questions. As he was taken down another maze of corridors the lion wondered if Akefia had been talking to the Duchess about him. It was the only explaination as to how the woman was so inviting and welcoming to him. With all his musing Marik didn't realised they'd already reached the bathroom until the blue haired harpie spoke up.

"Bubble bath is on those shelves," She indicated, waving an arm in the vague direction of various glass shelves, "Just turn the bath off when its deep enough for you. Mistress wants you in the lounge when you're done." This one was a lot gruffer and moodier than the other two had been, and didn't have the same air of obedience and politeness as the other two had.

Not that he cared. The blonde lion was more bothered about the large volume of water in front of him. Pouting as the door shut behind him, Marik glared at the water pouring out of the silver taps. The bath itself was almost like a small pool, slightly sunken in the middle of the floor. He could probably sit in it and be immersed in water up to his neck. Like he would ever step foot in it though. He hated baths with a complete and utter passion.

Turning off the running water, Marik decided to have a search through the many trinkets and bottles that adorned the glass shelves lining the walls. There were dozens of bottles filled with various scents of shampoo, along with fancy body washes and shower gels, and in one bottle he could've sworn it was lube but he dare not chek the label lest it scar his mind. On one of the lower shelves was a small wooden box, and when opened the lion had to grin with glee. Inside it sat a small collection of rubber ducks, each a different colour but other than that they were basically identical.

He took the box over to the bath, which was thankfully bubble free, and he tipped it upside down to empty the contents into the warm water. The ducks sank at first but quickly resurfaced, bobbing along in the still water. Marik happily sat on the floor and proceeded to poke and prod the little rubber creatures, making them dunk and dive in the warm liquid. His kitten side came out to play while he amused himself with the plastic creations, almost giggling while he pawed at them.

After about half an hour there was a knock on the door. "Mr Marik? The Duchess requests you in her lounge." The timid voice of the blonde harpie from before called to him, and he answered back that he'd be there soon.

Once again he pouted at he looked at the bath, not wanting to stop playing just yet. With a sigh Marik picked up the ducks and placed them carefully back in their wooden box, which is then put back on the shelf. A wide mirror took up most of one of the walls, and looking at himself he pulled a face at the state of his hair. He might not like baths but that didn't mean he hated water in general, especially when it came to cleaning his fur. And boy, did it need cleaning now.

He walked back over to the bath and simply dunked his head in the water, pulling back out with a fierce shake of his head. Pulling the plug he grabbed one of the towels nearby and scrubbed his hair dry, willing it to spike out again (another thing he hated was flat hair, because then he looked like Malik). It wasn't brilliantly clean but it would do for now.

When Marik stepped out of the room with his hair still damp, the blonde harpie was waiting for him patiently by the door. She smiled at him and indicated him to follow her, and Marik once again found himself being lead through countless corridors into what the blonde girl told him was the Duchess's personal quaters.

Waiting for him, casually laid out on a plush sofa reading another book, was the Duchess, clad in a nightgown and a pair of pink fuzzy slippers. She looked up upon the two entering the room, and she put her book down on the coffee table beside her. "So nice of you to finally join me, Marik." She teased with an amused smile, "You've been out of it for quite a while."

Marik sat down across from her on another sofa with a matching purple velvet cover. "I needed the sleep more that I thought, I guess." He admitted, still not entirely trusting the Duchess's motives. For all he knew she could try and keep him as her pet like the Cheshire Cat.

"Indeed. It's almost nightfall." She nodded towards the window, which gave the most spectacular view of the sunset over the forest surrounding the estate. "Its not exactly safe to be wandering around at night, but I suppose I can't keep you here any longer." She slumped back in her seat, rather unlady-like. "As far as I know, your beloved Ringleader went to visit the March Hare and Mad Hatter. The White Rabbit told me this afternoon that he saw him at one of their tea parties, and considering how well Akefia and the March Hare get along he's probably still there."

"It'll take more than a day to get back there though." Marik grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest in annoyance. "It took be long enough just to get here."

"Which is where my darling servants come in." The Duchess grinned, "Oh Harpies!" Upon her call, three harpies came into the room. One was the blue haired one that Marik had seen before, while the other two could've been her identical twins, or triplets as it where, if it wasn't for the fact one had long red hair and the other short and cropped orange hair. "These three will fly you over to Spade's Forest. They can't fly you directly into the forest, though. I'd need clearance from the King of Spades for that and that'll take too much time." She sighed dramatically.

Marik was suddenly ushered to his feet by yet another harpie, this one the regal aqua haired one from that morning. He was tugged over to the door, where the Duchess and her harpies lead him to yet another set of stairs. This time they went all the way to the roof where a sort of chariot was waiting for him.

"Climb in, and my harpies will fly you there." The Duchess explained, helping him climb into the carriage while the other harpie helped the three sisters get strapped in. "Should've take too long, and you'll be there by night time with any luck."

"Uh, thanks." Marik said awkwardly. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"Because I hoenstly think your Master will have my hide if I was anything but nice to his precious pet." The Duchess winked before whistling. Marik was flung back in his seat as the harpies suddenly took off, flying towards the sunset.