The cheering soon died down, and Ryou noticed two of the 'invaders' were watching him with concern. "Yugi! Yami!" Ryou cried out in delight upon seeing the pair's relieved expressions. He ran over to them as they put away their swords and metal armor.

As soon as Yugi's front chest-piece was removed, he happily wrapped his arms around the foreigner. "Ryou! Thank heavens you made it!"

Ryou quickly accepted Yugi's joyful hug, laughing slightly when the black fur of the hybrid's long, rabbit ears tickled his chin. "I'm so glad you're both alright! Jou and I were worried when you didn't show up by the castle wall!"

"Yes, well; eh-hem- evidently, we were both a bit... scatterbrained today." Yami admitted somewhat apologetically. "But luckily Jou had the good sense to come and find us the moment he was spotted by the guards. And as we rallied together, the others happened to catch word, and, well..."

Jou's golden tail wagged at the hatter's praise. He gave Ryou a sideways wink and mouthed the words 'Yami's house' when the other two males weren't looking. Ryou held back a chuckle and made to embrace the ex-knight, but was stopped when someone stepped between them.

"YOU!" King Bakura snarled as he glared directly into the face of his former court member. "You were banished from this castle, with the promise of a beheading upon your return!" The arrogant king then rudely poked one finger into the former knight's chest. Yami seemed annoyed by the sovereign's actions, but made no effort to move.

"Indeed, your majesty; I recall your words well. They have stayed with me every day since my dishonorable leave."

"Then WHY are you here now?" King Bakura snapped impatiently. "Surely even you aren't foolish enough to test my decrees on a whim!"

Ryou surprised both of the nobles by slipping back between the two. He gave the still-leering monarch a solemn look before speaking. "Your highness, I would never have found my way to this castle without Yami's aid- your world is strange and foreign to me. It has even proven to be dangerous in ways I never could have imagined. Your past subject here-" he nodded towards Yami, "-even saved me after I mistakenly tried to grab a diamond-back snake earlier today."

"..." The leery royal seemed to be boring a hole into the otherworlder with his eyes, as though trying to find some form of lie or coercion in this tale. "Is that true?"

Ryou nodded twice, determined not to let Yami's kindness result in his death.

"Hmm..." Here the scarlet-eyed king turned the same look on his former knight. His words were soon dripping in false sincerity, and he mockingly gave a half-bow of gratitude. "Your actions are appreciated, Yami; but one gesture is not enough to pardon years of insubordination, and finally outright revolt."

Here Yami's left eye twitched slightly, and a bit of edge came back into his voice. "My 'revolt,' as you call it, was merely my refusal to allow you to risk your life hunting after that ridiculous Snark. My personal resources all said that it was really a Boojum in disguise, and you know full well that such a creature causes a fate worse than death simply by meeting it-!"

"SILENCE!" The furious monarch howled. "You merely wished to steal my glory! No-one has ever captured a Snark, and I would have gone down in history for finding one!"

"Um, what's a Snark?" Ryou whispered to Yugi as the king continued ranting and yelling.

The crossbreed quickly replied in a similar tone: "oh, a Snark is a rare type of creature that can't be found unless you aren't looking for it."

Ryou blinked, clearly not certain how that fact was even known. "But... then surely no one knows what it even looks like?"

Yami shook his head, ignoring the still-bellowing king. "One old taxonomy textbook had a vivid description, but its accuracy has never been confirmed." The former knight cleared his throat before reciting: "'It has the face of a skeletal cat, with long white whiskers; the body of a lithe lizard, dark and scaly and slimy; its claws and fangs are long and ivory-colored, and its tail resembles a purple corkscrew with a dagger-like barb on the end.'"

"Some people think that the barb is incredibly poisonous!" Yugi piped up rather nervously.

Ryou's mouth dropped in a perfect 'o' of fright. "That certainly sounds like a creature you'd want to avoid!"

The rabbit-hybrid sighed, evidently agreeing with the pale outsider. "Yes, but it's also highly debated whether they exist at all, since it's rather hard to prove in the first place (what with the whole 'can't be found' part). So naturally, finding one would be a very impressive feat; and would surely would make the discoverer famous for all time."

The white-haired student tilted his head, still not certain he understood. "I think I see... and what is a 'Boojum', then?"

Jou let out a sharp yelp when he heard the name, and Yugi covered his own mouth with one fur-tufted hand. "Oh! Well, um; we try not to say its name out loud, but..." The slightly-trembling crossbreed lowered his voice as he explained. "One of those creatures is quite dangerous. It has been said that if you see one, even for an instant, your entire body will disappear on the spot! And you'll only leave behind a tiny scrap of clothing or something equally small- which is very hard for anyone else to find, as they only live in wildly mountainous areas. And while they're also rare, they're far more likely to exist as instances of their victims have been well-recorded over hundreds of years."

Ryou felt his own chest tensing in fright. "That sounds utterly horrifying! How does one avoid them?"

Yugi ran one hand over his ears, as though smoothing down the disheveled fur. "Well, again, there's rumors and folklore, but nothing amounting to real fact. Most of the tales agree that the best way to avoid a- a 'Boojum' is to sing loudly as you walk through rocky areas."

This stretched the foreigner's credulity a bit, and he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he retorted. "You have to sing?"

The rabbit-mix's hatted companion nodded seriously. "As loudly as you can- it's said that the noise echoes off the mountainside cliffs and drives them away. Others will tie a small bunch of freshly-plucked yarrow roots to their packs or clothing- evidently they find the smell repulsive."

"How peculiar... still, I should think one wouldn't want to risk going after either of those animals!"

The stubborn royal snorted and waved one hand in dismissal. "I would have prevailed."

"You would have vanished." Yami replied instantly.

"I was prepared!" The monarch snapped back. "My hunting party had the finest soaps and thimbles and forks on hand! Yet you insisted on letting a scouting party go ahead, which scared the creature off!"

"And one member of that party never returned- or have you forgotten?" Yami's voice grew eerily cold as he remarked, "you know what we found that day- a single drop of blood and the lucky coin that Hirutani always carried. Nothing else."

Ryou gasped and placed a hand over his chin. "How awful..."

But for some reason the royal youth wasn't swayed. "He likely got lost among the canyons! Hardly proof of a 'Boojum' assault! You just wanted to take the credit for my find!"

Ryou was growing annoyed with the king's refusal to accept what- to even an outsider like himself- seemed obvious. His chest puffed up slightly as he tried to defend his friend yet again. "I may be new here, but it sounds to me like Yami saved your life! How else would someone just 'disappear' while leaving behind only a small drop of blood and a coin?" The outspoken otherworlder turned to address the ex-knight. "I assume you and your men thoroughly checked the area for his body?"

The despondent warrior shook his head. "We even used several pure-bred Puhltese tracking dogs- and they found nothing."

Ryou brought his face back to the king's, and boldly declared: "in my world, when someone saves another person's life, they are expected to repay them greatly! Sometimes even by becoming the savior's slave! You could surely spare a little gratitude for such a loyal retainer, who would even aid your whims upon exile?!"

For some reason, Bakura felt himself unable to deflect the unusual youth's defense. "Fine! Yami, you shall not be beheaded, as repayment for your prior actions. However, I will not lift the ban, and I expect you to be far from the castle grounds by sundown!"

The exiled warrior made a deliberate motion as he turned his back on the king. "This place has not been my home for many years- I will leave immediately."

But before he could even take one step; a tall, older man suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere and spoke excitedly to the former knight.

"Oh, but surely you wouldn't leave before the feast~! We have such lovely courses planned, to celebrate the King's betrothal! And rest assured; there'll be plenty of portions for everyone!" The white-haired chef winked when he saw the hungry look now covering Jou's face.

Soon the rest of the 'intruders' were all talking excitedly amongst themselves- it had been ages since there's been a proper feast at the Red Castle!

Meanwhile, the king began gritting his teeth together. Clearly he didn't wish to encourage such a spontaneous invitation, but he could hardly revoke such a loud and exuberant promise without seeming rude. And despite his casually-rebellious attitude, there was no denying that Sir Pegasus was the best chef in the entire realm. 'Dammit... I believe a certain kitchen staff member has just earned himself a significant salary reduction...'