Chapter 31

Upon their arrival at the palace, the little group of rescuers were taken through the main corridors and out onto the lawn at the back. There they waited both impatiently and with quiet conversation while the other guests, including the Queen, arrived. Marik shuffled uncomfortably in his new suit, tugging at the collar but thankful he wasn't made to wear a tie. Bakura chuckled next to him, decked out in a simple black and white suit, although his hair had been pulled back into a ponytail which the lion hadn't resisted playing with, earning him a few punched from the digruntled knife thrower.

"Ah, Duchess, lovely to see you." The King of Spades greeted the blonde woman who walked over to them. Marik turned and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets at the sight of the Duchess's very revealing attire. The Cheshire Cat laughed in his ear, invisible to everyone due to the fact he couldn't risk being caught.

"She dresses like that at these types of things." The feline whispered into his ear, making the lion shudder slightly. "She says 'If you've got the goods, show them off'." Bakura snorted nearby, having heard what the Cheshire Cat had said.

"Of course I had to attend when I heard about the prize." The blonde lady smiled at the King politely, and it was clear the two were being hesitant to say anything more of their plans due to the dozens of soliders wandering around, and those were the ones they could see. Everyone knew the Queen of Hearts would have more on lookout.

"It is a wonderful prize indeed." The King nodded in agreement, but rage was evident in his eyes, which was echoed in everyone who congregated near them.

Alice walked away for a bit to greet another lady, who Marik thought and knew must be the Queen of Clubs of the insignias on her outfit were anything to go by. He didn't even do a double-take when he saw she was the spitting image of Malik's older sister, who had joined the circus temporarily when they had performed in the dancer's hometown. She had been quite a good elephant tamer, but the expense of the elephants was too much to keep her in the show so they had bid her farewell when they moved on to the next city. The royal looking lady talking pleasantly with Alice had long raven hair and tanned skin. Her eyes were crystalline blue which were brought out further by the white of her gown, and accented by black kohl.

"Let me guess, her name is Isis." Bakura muttered next to him to the March Hare and unseen Cheshire Cat.

"Yup, Queen Isis the fourth." The young man's mirror explained, "Married King Shizuka when she was fifteen, making them the youngest royal pair in half a century."

"Ok, seriously, how fucked up is time here?" Marik suddenly interjected, "Nothing about it makes sense. Its always tea time at your place," He jabbed a thumb in the March Hare's direction, "And we haven't been gone long from the circus from what Bakura said and yet its been what, five days?"

"Nothing about this entire world makes sense, Mariku." The Cheshire Cat purred in his ear, and he could feel the other feline's hands on his shoulders, tail entwining invisibly with his own. "I thought you would have figured that out by now."

"Yeah yeah," He shrugged off the cat's advances, a small blush tinting his cheeks. Bakura noticed with a small smirk but otherwise kept silent. "Where's this Queen then?" He changed the subject swiftly.

"He should be here soon." The King assured him, stepping closer to their group with the Duchess right next to him. Alice soon came over with the Queen of Clubs in tow.

"Lady Isis, so nice to see you again." The Duchess greeted her politely with a secret sharing smile, which was returned.

"Yes, indeed. It has been a while since you came to your villa on Club Beach." The Lady curtsied slightly and bowed her head, suggesting to the two circus performers that the Queen of Clubs, or Lady Isis as she'd been referred as, was of a lower social standing than the other two royals.

Before anyone else could say anything, a loud chorus of trumpets announced the arrival of the Queen of Hearts and everyone got into an orderly circle around the perimeter of the lawn. The Queen was carried onto the grass on a chair held up by four soliders, and once they lowered the chair to the ground he stepped off and raised his arms in the air in a flambouyant gesture to a rain of claps and cheers, only half of which were fake. "Thank you, thank you, you're all too kind." The Queen giggled modestly. Marik growled. He looked like someone he'd once torn the arm off, and right then he'd gladly do it to this bitch.

"Easy, Marik." Bakura held his shoulder and the tanned lion hadn't noticed how much he'd tensed up. "You can't kill him. You have to win."

"Why should I play fair when this bitch doesn't?" Marik growled low in his throat, trying not to alert the soliders. "Anything worth fighting for is worth fighting dirty for."

"Which is exactly why I'm gonna sneak into the big toy castle back there and hunt out the Ringleader." No sooner has Bakura promised this that the Queen announced what the prize would be, and out came a large cloth covered cage tugged along on wheels by three more soliders.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between, I give you what you will be competing for!" The Queen cackled and tore off the red velvet sheet to reveal an unconcious Akefia behind the bars of a cage.

It took three people to hold Marik back from pouncing on the Queen. The Cheshire Cat hissed in the blonde's ear, "For fuck's sake, calm down! You attack and the whole fucking plan goes down the hole!" He received a painful bite on his ear which caused the lion to yelp but otherwise keep calm. His breathing deepened and the King felt it was alright to let him go. Bakura still held on.

"Well my plan goes to shit." The white haired knife thrower cursed under his breath. "I have a feeling Queen Bitch is going to keep him on display. There's no way I can sneak him out with all these guards around."

"I daren't try either." The Cheshire Cat muttered to them, still unseen to everyone around them, "As much as I want to help your precious master I can't risk getting caught myself."

"Yeah, I know." Marik murmured, almost whimpering, but he had no time to dwell on his thoughts as the King of Spades pulled him and the March Hare forwards to introduce themselves to the Queen.

"Akefia, King of Spades, your highness." The King bent down on one knee before the Queen of Hearts, who had returned to his position on the throne and was now looking at the people before him with a smug sort of glee. "It is an honour to participate in your tournament."

"Bakura, the March Hare, your highness." The March Hare also introduced himself on one knee, which Marik copied, "I too am honoured to play."

"Marik Ishtar, King of Beasts, your highness." Marik added, hiding a smirk with his self-appointed title, "I am honoured to play as well."

The King of Spades whacked him over the head when they walked away from the Queen after receiving a small glare from him at Marik's title. "Idiot!" He insulted him, but did so with humour in his face.

"Right, what now?" The blonde lion asked when they returned to their group of companions. He saw the March Hare's hand shift and wondered if he was holding hands with the Cheshire Cat.

"Now, we play." The King of Spades told him. "We play and we win."

"And you better kick butt." Bakura added with a cheeky grin at his lion friend.