The group was just starting to move towards the dining hall, when the youngest intruder made the mistake of removing his ill-fitting helmet.

"Mokuba! What on Earth do you think you're doing, wearing that armor and holding a sword?!" Sir Seto sounded furious as he instantly recognized his younger sibling. The stern advisor then glanced at the rest of the trespassers, as though they were all at fault.

But the pre-adolescent boy seemed determined not to be discouraged by the elder sibling's tone "Sorry, Seto; but you've always said that there's nothing more important than honor- and Ryou's a very honorable person! Jou told us that he might be trouble, so we all came to protect him!"

Two ice-colored eyes narrowed in disbelief. "That's all well and good, but you need to start thinking ahead before rushing into things. For example, that armor barely fits you- which means it will only do you more harm than good. Look at it- you can barely move in it! How many times did you trip while walking here?!"

"I didn't trip!" The boy stubbornly retorted. "We were all brought here by Grandpa's magic!"

"That crazy old caterpillar..." The long-legged advisor suppressed a groan as he glowered. "Then I'll be having a serious discussion with him later- you know how I feel about his whack-job experiments!"
Here Jou, Yugi, and Yami all gave the brunette court member a harsh glare, with Jou even baring his teeth. "Hey, don' you dare talk about Gramps that way! He's saved this kingdom five times over in the last two wars wit' his magic!"

"Yes," the tall consultant conceded, "-but that was years ago, when his mind was as sharp as his skills... wait- why am I even arguing with a dog?"

The derogatory way Sir Seto said that last word was the final straw, and Jou's golden hair seemed to stand up in ire. But before the infuriated hybrid could retort, he noticed something strange. The cerise rug beneath the advisor's feet was rippling behind him, despite the lack of any breeze or tremors. Jou only smirked as the same rug was suddenly pulled taut enough to knock the arrogant nobleman right to the floor.

"What?!" The bewildered look on Sir Seto's face was enough to get everyone laughing. Jou noticed when Malik's face became ever-so-briefly visible just behind the confused advisor. But the disembodied head only winked once at the canine-hybrid before disappearing entirely.

Jou found himself letting out another chuckle as he realized that he'd just been defended by the crazy cats from the forest. 'Heh... maybe those guys aren't all that bad...' The cross-breed's attention was soon brought back to his stomach when he heard someone mention the word 'feast' again. The blonde raced after the rest of his friends, barely noticing the heated discussion taking place between the king and his head chef.

"Listen, you inane fool- you invited all these bystanders; so you'd better have a feast ready for them all, and soon." The sovereign of Red Wonderland added in a threatening tone.

"I'm always ready to serve, my liege!" The long-haired chef gave a low bow with an almost sly smirk.

King Bakura snorted as he dismissed the elder court member. "Then get to it." The monarch reflected sullenly on the always-contentious character that was Mssr. Pegasus. 'If it were not for his immense talents, I would never put up with his nonsense... but perhaps this 'feast' will prove beneficial. I can observe and learn from my intended without putting much pressure on either of us...hm.'

The dining hall of the Red Castle was just as lavish and colorful as the rest of the estate. The King gave a brief bow before addressing the assembled group. "Our chef, Mssr. Pegasus, is highly skilled, and his staff will gladly fetch anything you desire."

Everyone clapped politely as the king took his seat. Once the monarch was settled, a fair number of servers rushed in to pull out the chairs for the waiting guests. Jou ended up on Ryou's left, and Yugi was on his right (with Yami occupying the next seat down). Ryou watched in fascination as the kitchen staff hustled about in near-panic- this was clearly not a planned banquet.

'Oh dear... I do hope we're not causing any problems for them...'

Several waiters were soon dashing about, dispensing silverware and glasses. Each one dressed in an identical uniform of a black-and-red waistcoat with a small, black cap on top of their head. Most seemed to be purely human, but Ryou thought he saw a lizard crossbreed, and later what looked like an owl-hybrid. There were a few minutes of chatter as everyone commented on the décor and whatnot. The king looked rather irritated by the wait, and he kept tapping his fingers against his golden chair. Yet Mssr. Pegasus didn't disappoint, and soon all the dishes had been fitted on the long table, with each cover's handle being gripped by one of the wait staff.

The servers all looked towards the young monarch, evidently waiting for permission. King Bakura nodded once, and everyone seated at the table gasped as the silver lids were swiftly lifted from their dishes. The revelation was astonishing, to say the least. Even the long-time castle residents seemed awed by the wide variety of unbelievable creations now greeting the guests.

Ryou's jaw dropped as he observed the menagerie of splendors now laying before them. Some of the dishes were downright fantastical. There was a swirling mound of what looked like purple whipped cream covering an assortment of exotic fruit slices; a rather strange looking roast that seemed to be made of nothing but layers of ribs; and a salad that had leaves of every possibly color and texture. There were also drinks of all sorts on a silver serving cart- some seemed made entirely of bubbles, while others seemed to shift in hue depending on how full the glass was. One wine-type glass was filled with some sort of blue substance that was bubbling like mad; but it quickly turned into semi-solid, gelatin-looking substance when the glass was rapidly flipped upside-down and back upright again.

Everyone clapped appreciatively as the wait staff began dispensing the drinks and salad dishes.

Ryou happily accepted an orange-tinted drink (which it turned out tasted like a juiced tangerine with bits of mango and watermelon) which proved to be scrumptiously citrus-like and crisp. He then began helping himself to some of the multicolored salad.

Meanwhile, Sir Seto could be heard arguing with his sibling over the same foodstuffs- evidently Mokuba wasn't keen on eating anything 'leafy.'

Ryou stifled a chuckle as his gaze wandered over the table again. The otherworlder tilted his head as he realized something was missing from the expansive spread. He leaned towards the canine-hybrid on his left and whispered, "are there no soups?"

Jou shook his head, while Yugi hastily murmured into Ryou's other ear: "Actually, soups haven't been served in a long time in the castle; not since the previous chef randomly decided to start adding massive amounts of pepper to all her stews."

"Oh." Ryou also thought he heard Yami mutter something under his breath that sound like, "not to mention the mess whenever Jou was around", but no one else seemed to hear him. "Then... what happened to that chef?"

This time Yami spoke a little more loudly. "She was offered a private position for some lesser noble; her skills were growing dull, and she kept threatening the busboys."

"I see..." Evidently, the brash king of Red Wonderland didn't try to solve every problem with violence; but this left Ryou feeling even more bewildered. Why was the young monarch was so quick to rush at killing his former knight? One who had clearly been dedicated to keeping his master safe from harm?

'I wonder...' The foreigner's intense thoughts were soon overridden by the distraction of his own meal.

He carefully loaded several bits of salad onto his fork before biting down into the crisp leaves. 'Oh!' To Ryou's delight, the salad leaves all tasted different, yet not un-complimentary to each other. The dark green leaves tasted like green beans mixed with a hint of radishes; the bluish ones tasted like iceberg lettuce with a touch of onion sprigs; and the purple-toned bits tasted like carrots mixed with a bit of butter. He was just about to try a yellowish-colored leaf, when he noticed the unusual chef peering curiously over his right shoulder.

"How do you like the fare?" The white-haired man asked the otherworlder with an anticipatory grin.

"Mmm- everything is simply delicious!" Ryou eagerly declared. "These are the freshest greens I've ever tasted- oh, and the pot pie is perfectly seasoned!" The pleased chef seemed to beam with pride as he nearly skipped back to the kitchen.

Ryou lifted up a slice of white-and-brown bread on the edge of his plate to find a small, yellow square. He carefully nibbled one corner of the slice, surprised by the unappealing taste. "Though I must confess; this cheese seems a bit flavorless and dry to me- but maybe it's supposed to be that way... oh!" Ryou noticed one of the waiters passing by and flagged him down with a polite wave. "Excuse me? Sir? Could you kindly tell me what this particular cheese is called?"

"Erm..." the human waiter glanced around nervously, as though uncertain how he should answer foreigner's query. "Well, here in Wonderland we would call that... a 'yellow napkin.'"

"Oh." Ryou flushed a deep crimson as he tried to (politely) hide the remnants of the paper disposable under the edge of his plate. "That would explain the flavor, then."

The king, however, found the minor gaff hilarious, and his sides were shaking for a good ten minutes.

The rest of the meal went on without a hitch; everyone was impressed with the multi-course fare. Even the king was a bit surprised by some of the desserts his chef had managed- including a complicated dish called 'dragon-mint' which consisted of a literal flame flickering softly atop a thick slice of pie-shaped custard.

Ryou's sweet tooth needed no further prompting, and he eagerly took part in several small pastries and even a swirling helix of green-and-orange candy sticks melded together.

"Every one of these desserts is delectable!"

"Mm-hmm!" Jou nodded his head in eager agreement, bits of frosting flying from his chin as he did so.

"How uncouth..." Sir Seto sneered, but didn't add any further insults. Ryou noticed that he did give the flooring a suspicious glance, though.

"Quite toothsome." Yami agreed more stoically. "You seem to have something on your cheek, aibou."

"Oh!" The petite rabbit-mix flushed as he began dabbing his face with an (uneaten) yellow napkin. Despite his efforts, he somehow managed to miss the crumb entirely. "Did I get it?"

"Allow me." The former knight swooped in, quickly removing the offending morsel with a chaste kiss.

"YAMI!" Yugi instantly squeaked in shock and covered his face with his fur-cuffed hands. The polite hybrid sounded mortified as he admonished his boyfriend. "Not in public!"

The unphased beau only smirked. "Is it my fault that you're the cutest rabbit in all of Wonderland?"

Ryou had a feeling that even if Yugi's face was covered in the same black fur as his ears, his current blush would still have been perfectly visible. Trying not to stare, his gaze drifted up the table until he saw the king. The pale monarch was talking quietly to one of the wait staff, though Ryou was unsure if it was a casual conversation or not.

'I still don't trust that one- after all the stories I've heard, and the way everyone acts around him...' Ryou failed to notice that he was now openly staring at the young king. 'Surely a nobleman should be more... well, noble? Though he does have a certain swagger... oh!' The foreign youth nearly jumped when the sovereign's focus turned to him. The two eyes now locked on to his were the color of dark rubies, and a faint smile seemed to be forming beneath them...

Embarrassed, Ryou quickly looked away, hoping to hide his blatant staring. 'Smooth; real smooth, Ryou!' He internally chastised himself. 'Caught drooling over a psychotic monarch from some fantasy realm... get real! Even if I planned to stay in this land; who's to say he wouldn't get bored and have me beheaded a week later?! I'm nobody special, and as soon as the novelty of my being 'from another world' wears off, I'll be cast aside like-'

"Pardon me, sir?"

"Yes!" Ryou nearly yelped as one of the waiters interrupted his inner musings.

"Er, the king has requested that you spend the night at the castle- he says that he has the books you require, but wishes for you to spend tonight and tomorrow here, first."

The extrinsic teen nearly groaned- he should've guessed that their would be strings attached to any offers made by the monarch. "I suppose I have little choice, then."

"He also wishes to speak with you in the astronomy room right away- I'll lead you there."

Ryou put down the (mostly intact) napkin he was holding and dutifully followed after the waiter.

He paused when he felt a smaller hand tugging gently on his uniform. Yugi glanced up from his seat at the foreigner he'd helped, and whispered urgently: "we'll try and see you again, but if we can't- farewell, and have a safe journey home!"

"I'll never forget you guys- thank you, for everything." Ryou sincerely promised the trio before resuming his march through the castle. Yami and Jou called out soft 'farewells', but Yugi remained thoughtfully silent as he watched the otherworlder disappear.

'Hm... if I didn't know better...'