Chapter 37

The group of supposed 'treasoners' (as the guards had called them) were taken out of the winding maze and to where the Queen was sat in the shade of a large balcony on the throne he'd been brought in on before. The eyeliner he'd worn as smudged slightly, suggesting the 'attack' before had startled him into tears. That thought made Bakura snigger quietly to himself as he noticed.

"Your Highness, these are the people you requested be brought to you." The guard leading the pack bent down on one knee and bowed before her ruler (she was one of the few female soldiers Marik had seen).

"Thank you, soldier." The Queen dismissed her and she stood in postion guarding the group again. "Now, what the fuck are you up to?" He shrieked, standing up and causing all the soldiers around him to bow down on one knee in a sign of respect. "I should behead you all for attempted assasination!"

"Yeah but you won't." Alice smiled sweetly, but cockily, from his postion at the head of the group.

The Queen's eye twitched, "Don't tempt me, little Alice." He nearly snarled, glaring at the little boy who dared to challenge him.

"What I don't understand is why you want the Ringleader in the first place." The King of Spades spoke up, ahead of the three circus workers in an attempt at protecting them.

The Queen smiled in that disgustingly fake sweet way that made Marik's skin crawl. "Why, he's a pretty piece to add to my collection. The same reason I want the little lion over there and I thank you for bringing them all back to me. That pale one is a bonus too." He grinned manically, making the blodne lion just itch to pounce and scratch and maul him.

"We're nothing to add to your collection!" Marik roared, "Who the fucking hell gave you the right to kidnap people just because you feel like it!"

"Oh, my dear," The spiky haired royal smirked smugly, "I really don't think you class as a person."

That made Marik snap. Really snap. Sure, he could take a few insults. He knew he wasn't totally human but he didn't like people pointing it out to him. He certainly didn't like being thought of as a simple animal, or less of a person because he had a tail and claws. He growled, loudly, and pulled at his restrainted. It didn't take much for the metal to bend and break, allowing him to crouch down on all fours and charge at the Queen, who had stepped down the few steps onto the cobbled floor.

They tumbled with a shriek, the soldiers around not knowing what to do in the few seconds it had taken Marik to break loose and tackle their ruler. The lion snarled and roared, scratching away at the Queen below him, tearing his clothes, his skin, making him bleed and bleed and not stopping. He heard the soldiers call at him to stop, the royal man in his clutches shriek and scream. The sounds didn't even register to his ears, and he vaguely noticed his friends and comrads circle him defend him from any on coming assault.

"Marik! Stop!" The Ringleader's command was the only thing he heard, and his motions stilled, obediatly, at the sound of his master's voice. He looked down at the beaten and bruised Queen underneath him, proud of the whimpering state he'd put the man in. "Good boy." His head turned and he saw his master looking at him approvingly, most of his usual cocky and proud attitude returning.

The tanned feline grinned. "Thank fuck you're back to normal." He growled, the predator in him still on the surface.

"Keep hold of him." The Ringleader ordered, and Marik nodded, gripping at the Queen of Heart's shoulders and neck to prevent him from escaping. The crimson-eyed man choked a little under the pressure.

"Step away from his Highness!" One of the soldiers ordered, pointing a crossbow at the group, but there was fear evident in his eyes.

"Oh, would you really take a shot and risk hurting your precious ruler?" The March Hare cackled, "Go on! Try it! I dare you! I dare you!" Madness was clear in his gaze, the grin doubling its effect.

"You know this man is an unreasonable ruler." The King of Spades added in, trying to be the authority figure in this group of mismatched deviants.

"He has captured and enslaved dozens of people, and killed even more!" The Duchess shouted at them, enjoying the fact some of the men, who had thought her weak, were cowering in their boots. "Do you really think this man is fit to rule Wonderland? He killed the King of Hearts!"

"That's a lie!" The Queen of Hearts choked out indignantly. "I never killed him!"

"You only got away with it because it was never proved!" The Cheshire Cat suddenly appeared over the forms of the Queen and Marik, looking down with a slightly psychotic smirk. "And it was never proved because you beheaded anyone who dared question you under the excuse of 'treason'." He crouched down, still staring into the eyes of his 'ruler'. "Tell me, how much blood stains your hands?" He whispered, deadly. "How many people are without their loved ones because you just had to have it all?"

The Queen of Hearts whimpered under Marik's increased choking, his sharp claws digging into the delicate flesh of his neck. "They deserved it! They betrayed the crown."

"No." Alice came over to them, shackles missing from his wrists. "It is you who betrayed the crown. You betrayed it when you killed King Rebecca. No, wait," The small boy thought it over for a second, tilting his head to the side in thought as he looked down at the miserable man. "You betrayed us all when you used the King to gain the throne."

"When I first came here," The Ringleader spoke up, edging backwards to defend his pet if necessary, "This land was my escape. It was Wonderland for a reason. Its changed ever since this bloody bitch took charge, and you lot know it!" He spoke to the guards in the same dominant tone he commanded the circus with.

One by one, under the steely gaze of everyone surrounding the Queen, the guards and soldiers lowered their weapons and looked at the feeble and frail looking royal in Marik's grasp. They all knew the terrible things he did, but no one dared to risk their lives or jobs.

"Good." Lady Isis nodded at them. "Now return to your posts. We'll handle it from here." Under her instructions all the guards turned their backs on their lord and master and simply walked away.

"NO!" The Queen shrieked, struggling to get up but far too weak to throw the heavy lion off. "Don't you dare! Don't you fucking dare! Get back here! Kill them! Kill them! I order you to kill them! I'll have you executed for desertion!"

"Shut the hell up, bitch." The Cheshire Cat kicked the Queen in the head with a bare foot. "No one will save you now."