The forbidden halls were just a dozen of corridors and rooms that only a royal or person with special permission may enter. There is also a room within the corridors that only Duel Monsters may enter, a room where they relax and wait to be summoned, that room is called the Shadow Realm. There is another special room, the inner sanctum that is a garden. Yami and his mother's spirit protect the garden; together they worked hard and made the place a paradise with Paradox. To complete their work, Paradox casted a spell upon the garden so that it would be magical and forever live, with Yami as its protector.
Yami was just about to open the locked stone door when Paradox came walking up to him. Paradox looked a bit worried, but still he bowed formerly.
"My lord, the High Priest Slysheen wishes to have a meeting with you." Paradox smiled.
"Oh? What of?" Yami asked, stopping, wishing he could go looking for Yukai.
"He said it's something about the forbidden halls." Paradox answered. Yami's heart grew cold. Slysheen only wanted to have permission to enter the godly corridors, and what could he want from them now?
Yami nodded. "All right. I shall see him. Where is he?"
Paradox pointed to the throne room door. "In the throne room, sire." Yami nodded. "Ye wishes me to accompany ye?"
A slight giggle crept out of Yami's lips. "You know me so well."
Yami and Paradox headed to the throne room. Yami entered first, this time not tripping into the pillar. Yami walked to the throne. Slysheen was standing beside the throne, which he gave a nod to let Yami know that he honored him.
Yami seated himself into the throne and watched as Slysheen circled in front of him. Paradox followed up to Yami's side.
"Sire," Slysheen began, "I wish to execute someone who has gone against all wishes of the royal family and betrayed their trust."
"Very well, after I know who this person is will I consider your order of wisdom." Yami rested his head on his right enclosed fist, propping it up.
Slysheen gave a nod and stood up. "But of course." He turned to Jounouchi who was standing behind a pillar holding some chains attached to something. "Ack-nah! Tsu vare!" Slysheen ordered Jounouchi in a strange toung. Yami looked to Paradox for the translation.
"Bring her in. Now." Paradox translated. "It's the spoken language of the god Anubis." Yami nodded and watched Jounouchi pull Yukai out from behind the pillar and up to the throne. She was tied up in the chains, looked a little beaten up and was glaring at Slysheen.
Yami stood up. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you arrested my slave?" Yami was defiantly angered; he didn't want to see Yukai get hurt in any number of ways.
Slysheen gave him a jester to remain calm. Yami was confused, but did nothing but glare at Slysheen. Slysheen yelled something else to Jounouchi in the language of Anubis.
Yami looked to Paradox. Paradox held up his right hand. "Bring in the thieves. Now." Yami turned his attention back to Slysheen. /What is this devious snake concocting in his web, what is going on in his flea mind, and why won't he tell me/ Yami thought to himself. /Will he betray me/
Jetna and Jola dragged in later Bakur and Mariku. Both boys were tied up in the same amount of chains. Bakur was wearing a red and brown designed outfit that the merchants and commoners wear. Mariku, on the other hand, was dressed in ratty brown garments that swayed to his middle leg, past this knee. Bakur, Mariku and Yukai all had their hands bound together with thick rough cord.
As Bakur was shoved up to the throne so he was standing next to Yukai, he gave her a quick glance, after he glared at Jetna, who had dragged him in. Mariku was putting up more of a fight and was tackled to the ground by Jola next to Bakur.
Yami clapped his hands together twice. "Enough! What is this? A parade of thieves and slaves?"
Jetna and Jola laughed slightly. Slysheen cleared his throat. "Sire, I found your slave coming out of the forbidden halls with these two. Clearly she has been helping them to steal. They are all just a pack of tomb raiders and deserve to die."
"Mat-tsu ka he-neh ha!" Bakur yelled to Slysheen.
Slysheen kicked him to the ground. "Bite your toung, liar!" Yukai knelt down by Bakur.
"Leave him alone, monster!" Yukai yelled to Slysheen. Slysheen glared at her.
"See? Clearly she is working with these two from the start." Slysheen smiled. "She can't be trusted. These three should rot in jail or suffer the Hon Dai?"
Yami looked at Yukai longingly. "No."
"Sire, by law...if a slave or servant is found with thieves she must be punished with them." Paradox noted.
Yami blinked. "Yukai?"
Yukai stood back up. "Punish me if you will, but I will not allow you to kill my brother. He is all the family that I have left and I won't even dare to let you kill his friend." Bakur stood up and Mariku glanced at Yukai curiously. "They are my family. They have been stealing to sell off the goods so that they may buy resources for us. Before I was taken from the rubble of my home we lived together. They have become apart of my life and they have bonded with my soul forever."
Yami slumped back into the throne. "Then, I must punish you with them."
"He-veh hemyk neh-lak Ra vou to vra ska joui klo koo joo ay non yay?" Bakur asked.
Yukai translated. "Don't the thoughts of Ra and mercy of him tell you the truth?"
"I don't know what he's telling me now." Yami pointed out. "Take the trio to my corridors."
"Sire!" Slysheen protested. "You know the law and the fate of these three. They must be killed or exiled."
Yami stood up. "That was an order, Slysheen! Jetna! Jola! Jounouchi! Do you three wish to tamper with my tested anger?"
Jetna shook his head and yanked on Bakur's arm. "C'mon, swine!" Jola got off of Mariku and shoved him out of the throne room with Jetna. Jounouchi pulled on the chains around Yukai and pulled her from the room.
Slysheen bowed. "Sire, they were found with these." He held up the Inverted Millennium Puzzle, the same thing as the Millennium Puzzle only upside down. It was completed. He then held up the Millennium Rod and Millennium Ring. "These items have great power that that lot of swine don't require to posses."
Yami waved his hand at Slysheen to leave. "We shall see." Slysheen left the room, leaving the items.
Paradox rested his hand on Yami's shoulder after he sat back down. "Ye are wise and learning more every day now."
Yami smiled and stood up. "Thanks. I'll go see that our guests don't get beheaded." Paradox nodded.
Yami walked back to his corridors and dismissed the three guards after they unbound Yukai, Bakur and Mariku from the chains and cord. Yami offered the trio to sit on his immense bed. Yami made sure no one could see in by closing the drapes with several layers and locking his room door.
Yami paced back and forth in front of them. Bakur was sitting by Yukai, his arms on her shoulders. Mariku was messing around with a spear he had taken from one of Yami's statues. Yami noticed Mariku, walked over and snatched the spear.
"Stop that." Yami gave a slight glare at him. Mariku laid back by Bakur in a pout.
"Punish Mariku and myself if you will, sire, but Yukai has done nothing wrong. She did none of the stealing." Bakur said, petting Yukai's hair, which was tied down like normal.
Yami nodded. "How can I harm her?" Bakur blinked. "Okay, first of all: Yukai, which of these clowns is your brother?"
"Bakur." Yukai said, clinging onto Bakur. Yukai hadn't seen him in a few weeks and had missed his company obviously.
Yami started to pace again. "Okay. Lemme see if I've got the story right. Bakur and Mariku stole from the temples and graves for the goods to sell in the markets so that they can buy you three food and stuff?"
"Exactly." Mariku nodded. "We never meant any real harm. We're just trying to live."
"Okay." Yami said. "So, after Yukai was taken hostage."—
"That happened because she was waiting at our camp for us to return to her with some food." Bakur interrupted.
Yami nodded. "Okay. She was taken to Alexandria, to the north, right?"
"Yes." Mariku answered. "We met up with her at night and concocted a plan to get her free. The next day we took the men's camels and created a huge stir at the docks."
"That's how I got covered with mud. Because someone pushed me into the mud." Yukai added, glaring at Mariku.
"Well, you're the one who punched me." Mariku argued.
"I thought you were one of the those men when you picked me up like that, so barbarian like!" Yukai protested.
"I get it." Yami interrupted. "So, then I heard word of her and ordered Jounouchi to make sure that you were pulled to Cairo."
"Right." Bakur glanced at Yami. "Since our escape plan had failed we just had no choice but to follow in hopes of saving her life."
"I spotted them in the market here in Cairo, but Jetna and Jola refused to let me see the apple cart that they were hiding at." Yukai watched Yami pace.
"All right." Yami scratched his hair, still pacing. "Now, how did you three meet up again?"
"Last night they told me to meet them in the forbidden corridors. So, this morning, while you were all dining I figured it was the perfect time for me to make my escape." Yukai explained. "Slysheen saw me enter and spread word through the guards. He followed me in and had us three arrested. After the banquet he had you informed of us and then you know the rest."
Yami blinked a few minutes and then shook his head. He stopped pacing and looked at Bakur. "Okay, so what's with marshmallow here holding you?"
"The name's Bakur!" Bakur yelled.
"He's my brother. He and Mariku followed me and the nasty men all through the desert. They watched my beatings and got some of their own in the process. I've missed him dearly. He is my best friend and would never let anything harm me if he can stop it." Yukai pointed out.