For Play
By:
fruor
Summary: (AU) All Yugi wanted was to gain his freedom. All Atemu wanted was a good entertainment. All chance wanted was for them to meet and a circus was more than willing to help. YYY.
Rating: T
Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
Pairings: (main) YYY, (sub) BR, SJ, MM
Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns YGO.
Note: You know, I originally had Seto arrest the circus instead of Atemu but half-way through I noticed that Atemu had little proof of being a king since it's always Seto who takes the responsibilities and makes preventive actions. At least, with what I had written already. How as I supposed to know that you'd react so much with Atemu ordering the arrest? Oh well. It fits and enhances his character. And it's not like he's torturing them or anything. He just threw them in jail, not fed them to wild rambunctious beasts – that's Yugi's forte ;P
V. Crimson-Eyed Savior
The underground palace dungeons were dark and damp and moss clung to the stone blocks that made up the walls of the old cells, making the air thick and hard to breathe. Old and rusted metal bars separated one cell from another, hinges of the gates all squeaky. No windows were open to the outside world that not even the stars could provide light into the cages. The only source of light was the row of flickering torches lined up on the wall across the cages.
Within one of the large cells was the circus, still dressed up in their costumes that were now ripped and dirty. Jou and Malik stood near the metal bars, trying to see what they could of the guards that brought them there. Sitting upon the cold floor, leaning on the stone side of the cage, were Ryou and Yugi, using the magician's cloak as a makeshift blanket.
"Hey! If you're going to lock us up, at least give us some supper!" Jou screamed, rattling the metal bars with all his might. But the only thing that answered his call were the squeak of rats lurking under the torches. He sighed in frustration and started shouting with all his might at the guard, "YOU BASTARDS! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"
Ryou sighed and shook his head. He had been telling Jou to stop screaming because nobody – guards or not – would hear them. He distinctly remembered the long maze-like passages the guards had dragged them through before throwing them into this cage. With that kind of distance, it was impossible for anyone's voice to reach anyone outside the dungeons. "You're just wasting your energy, Jou." He called, but it was useless.
"Give me back my knives! MY PRECIOUS KNIVES! GIVE THEM BACK!" screamed an enraged knife-less knife thrower. Malik shook the bars as hard as he can, even going as far as kicking and slamming his shoulder onto them.
And there are two of them. , Ryou closed his eyes and sighed yet again. Jou was enough noise as it is but a knife-less Malik only tripled the screams. "Malik." He said but he was, yet again, ignored. He was never good at calming raging beings – humans or beasts. It was Yugi who was good at such things and, usually, the beast master would be talking his way through the two but now….
Ryou pursed his lips, turning worried chocolate eyes at the figure beside him. "Yugi?" he asked, looking at those lavender orbs half hidden under the beast master's arms, "Are you alright?" he put a hand on his friend's back, patting lightly for comfort.
Yugi turned his head sideways so that his eyes met Ryou's and he smiled softly. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said, his voice muffled by his arm, "I was just thinking, you know, if it's okay for me to feel…betrayed by…his majesty." He paused slightly, realizing for the first time that he didn't know the king's name and he never bothered asking all the while wondering what it was.
"You mean your look-alike?" asked Jou, who quickly gave up on screaming the moment the beast master spoke up. He leaned on the rusted metal bars and crossed his arms, "Did something happen? After all, you were a bit happier when I saw you in that guy's room."
"He was happy to leave his look alike, you dumbass." Malik nudged the jester on the ribs, turning to Yugi just like Jou did. "You know, Yugi, it's not like you trusted each other. You don't need to feel betrayed. What you should feel is anger at Pegasus." He scowled, clenching his fists tightly at the mention of the ringmaster.
Yugi sighed, "I guess you're right. We're not really…friends but…" He turned his gaze at his feet, clicking his toes together, "…when we were talking…sometimes he would glare at me…but I like…I like talking to him. Sure, he isn't exactly kind but he didn't treat me any lower than I wanted to be even though he could." he smiled softly, pressing his lips to his knees, "Do you think…do you think it was a mistake to trust him?" he lifted questioning lilac orbs at his friends.
The beast master may not be the best judge of character but he had never been wrong about his trust and to hear him suddenly doubt his own feelings sent the three circus performers into silence. They didn't know what to say, especially when the one in question was the very person who threw them into this cage.
Ryou turned to Jou and Malik, asking silently what they were supposed to answer but the two only look away with shake of their heads. He frowned. If they would not answer soon, the beast master would treat their silence as a yes. "No. It's not like he had us sentenced to death. His majesty must just be distressed."
"Yeah!" Jou nodded his head vigorously, "Besides, don't you always know who to trust? Just because your twin threw us in here, doesn't mean you should doubt yourself." He flashed a goofy grin at the beast master, "We could always doubt your look-alike if you want."
Malik nodded, agreeing silently. "That's right. Trust all you want. You don't need to change for anybody." He glanced at the darkened corridor that led to the outside and sighed, "But I wish we just fought them off instead of getting put to jail. I'm sure Camelot and the hellhounds would be happy to help." He grumbled, scratching the back of his neck hard, "This cage is making me itchy." Then, as to emphasize his point, scratched his shoulders as well.
Yugi laughed, his voice making echoes in the barren dungeon. "I'm sorry, Malik, but I didn't want to give his majesty more reason to arrest us. If we did escape, I'm sure they'd send an army after us and the circus would be destroyed." He took a deep breath through clenched teeth.
"Yeah, but I would've felt better if at least one of the guards lost a limb or two." Malik grumbled, crossing his arms in irritation, "The way they caught us, it seemed that we wanted to be caught – that or we're helpless against a bunch of spear wielding metal heads…which we are definitely not." He scratched behind his ears, running his nails through his hair and his arms. "We really need to get out of here or I'd end up having itch spots all my life!"
"I don't know…." Yugi started, pressing his lips to his fist in deep thought. "If we escape now, our names won't be cleared and we'll be pretty much chased out of every town."
"ARGH! It's all that Pegasus' fault! If he hadn't been here, then we won't be stuck in this rusted jail cell in the first place!" Jou pulled on his hair, banging his head loudly between two metal poles. "What in the world did he stole to have us arrested!"
Ryou shook his head. "I have no idea. It must be something important. Maybe he took a family heirloom? But that wouldn't explain that pillar of light…." Being the magician that he was, he knew – more like felt – the presence of magic in that golden light. "…It must be some rare magical item or something."
"Hey, that Mokuba kid said something about having the security tightened, right? Around the treasury?" Malik moved away from the rusted metal bars, glaring at the poles before plopping himself down on the floor, right in front of Ryou and Yugi. He kept his hands clasped tightly together, not wanting to do more scratching.
The magician replied with a long sigh. He shoulders slumped, back falling onto the stone walls of the dungeon. "Right now, I'm not sure if Pegasus and Keith were aiming for the treasury." He turned his gaze at the mossy ceiling of their cell, letting his head hit the wall behind him, "I just hope the palace wouldn't think that I led them astray."
"Oh, but Mokuba's on our side, right?" Jou offered a smile, "We could count on him to back us up!"
Malik rolled his eyes, "That's right. Let's leave our fate in the hands of a thirteen year old boy."
"Hey! He got us into the capital!" Jou exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.
"And that's why were locked up in a dungeon with rats for company." Malik snorted, watching as one of the rats ran past him, straight to where the beast master sat, "So…are we going to get out of this place or not? Or would you rather have me die of allergies?" He scratched his neck down to his chest, leaving red marks where his nails went.
Jou mumbled an agreement, "I'm worried about Shizuka. You don't think that they'd send guards to the main tents, would they?" he fidgeted around, pacing back and forth in front of the three.
"There's a chance…." Ryou replied, nervously toying with his sleeves. He just hoped that if they ever did, the guards wouldn't go as far as to trash their tents and leave it in ruins. "We should go to the tents." He said in resolve then he turned his eyes at the beast master, just like the other two did, waiting for Yugi's response.
Yugi closed his eyes, knowing fully well the gazes of his friends that rested upon him. He couldn't deny his excessive worry for the rest of his friends in the main tents and the animals left there. Still, he didn't want their reputations to be stained – it would be the same as killing the circus; they'd be out of audience and hence, out of jobs. And though he, like most of the circus, had no liking for their ringmaster, the circus was still their way of life. Where would they be without it?
With a sigh, Yugi opened his eyes, "Okay. We'll go back to the main tents." He smiled when the three shouted in triumph, "But we have to return to the palace to clear our names." He finished, cutting through the cheers like a hot knife through butter.
The three looked at each other, as though passing a silent conversation within them. Then finally, Jou spoke up, "Fine, as long as we get to fight back if they ever have us arrested again."
Yugi laughed, "Deal." He stretched out his hand, which Jou shook in one swift motion, sealing their deal. With a sly smile, he turned to Ryou, eyes sparkling with mischief, "Now, Ryou, if I remember correctly, you have a lock picking set with you, somewhere within that dimensional spell of yours."
- - -
"I'm surprised." Seto paced through the throne room, pausing in front of the king, "You actually made a move against your circus. You even had the guards sent to the main tents." He himself would've chosen to hold the circus in the palace but not to such lengths as to throw them in the dungeons. "You do know that you've gone a bit too far this time, Atemu."
Atemu stared at the empty red carpets in front of him, chin upon intertwined fingers. He closed his eyes and sighed, "I know." He admitted, surprising the vizier for the second time in a row. "…They – Yugi and the others I've put to jail – they're innocent." He gritted his teeth, hissing in regret.
Seto raised an eyebrow, "I know you're indecisive but suddenly making them innocent is going way too far." He crossed his arms, tapping his finger on his elbow. "They certainly didn't steal any of the items but that doesn't mean they had no hand in it."
He remembered quite well his brother approaching him and asking him to tighten the security around the treasury because there was going to be a robbery. He had asked where Mokuba had gotten the information but the boy simply insisted that Seto do so. And so, the vizier complied, watching personally with the guards. Then the millennial chamber was breached…and it was located far from the underground treasury, at the top of the most inaccessible tower.
The gall of that circus, going as far as using my brother for their plans! , Seto scowled, his eyes straying from the king for that second.
"No." Atemu replied, "That was a well-thought out decision." He lifted his head, using his intimidating gaze to bring his cousin down to his place: as a vizier and nothing more. "You wield one of the millennium items. You should know full well how they work." He straightened his back, a solid frown spread across his lips, "The items are powerful magic. They respond only to their holders and…the other wielders of the items."
Seto knew that well. The millennium items were not toys that anybody could play with. Even Atemu, who owned the most powerful item, could not take in his hands more than two at a time. The items were connected to each other and the activity of one would cause the waking of the others within a close enough range.
They had specifically cast a multitude of protection spells for the millennial chamber along with the extreme level of security that would assure no one – human or not – could approach within fifty feet of the chamber doors. It would take both a powerful spell caster and an elite warrior to get through the tower.
That, and the person (or one of the persons) should be a wielder of any of the millennium items.
"Then you definitely cannot call the beast master innocent." Seto said in the same proud and booming tone as the king, "He has the millennium eye…doesn't he? You've tried to hide this from me before but it was stupid of you to think that I'd simply let it slide."
Atemu shook his head, his gaze never wavering, "I never said it was the beast master." He said calmly, "The millennium eye was – is in the possession of their ringmaster. At least, that's what I think. I haven't confirmed it with Yugi yet."
Seto had nothing against the beast master. In fact, among all of the circus members it was that person whom he trusted the most but he was not someone who could be easily swayed by such shallow personal interest. If the beast master was indeed guilty, then he would not hesitate to punish the boy no matter what consequences.
"But that still doesn't prove their innocence." Said the vizier, "In fact, that only makes their guilt solidify. It was their ringmaster that did the act. They could easily be linked to the stealing."
Again, the king shook his head, causing his cousin to spat back at him in pure anger. "I don't care if you favor the beast master this much! But letting him slide away with such treachery is not only stupid but careless!" Seto strode towards the throne, slamming his palms upon the golden armrests of the chair Atemu sat.
But Atemu remained calm. Turning his gaze to the side, eyes hidden beneath half-closed eyelids, he asked, "Tell me, Kaiba, does your brother know anything of the millennium items?" he ran a finger over the edge of his armrest.
Seto moved back, stumbling in his steps slightly. He frowned, narrowing his eyes at the king. It was unusual to see his majesty be so calm in the middle of an argument and be so serious. "No." he replied, deciding, at the moment, that he would entertain Atemu and his out-of-the-blue questions. "I would never let my brother get into—"
"What about the council and your fellow viziers?"
Again, Seto was caught from his blind sight by the question, "No, why would such people know about such a well-kept secre—"
"And the generals? The soldiers in the war? The people of the capital? The people outside the capital?"
The vizier let a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair, "No, none of them know of the millennium items much less the power they hold." He passed an annoyed look at the king who simply grinned back at him, "So you're saying that it's impossible for the circus to know the existence of the millennium items?"
Atemu nodded, "And I don't think their ringmaster was the type of person to share that kind of rare power. If the circus knew, I don't think they'd sit down and let their ringmaster share all the glory seeing as how blinding the items themselves are – not unless Yugi and the others are saints who are willing to give everything to their ringmaster but that would be contradicting themselves, wouldn't it?"
Seto frowned. His cousin had, for once, made such a good sense that he could barely find any flaw in the king's reasoning when he usually found a million. "The millennium eye—"
"Yes, it reads minds, doesn't it?" Atemu interrupted, "I'm sure it'd take an extremely powerful wielder to do more and someone like that would be quickly noticed by the temples." He leaned on his palm, crossing his legs out of habit. "And since that ringmaster isn't somebody that powerful, then he couldn't have controlled the millennium items."
"And that was why the items have vanished and neither the ringmaster nor his cohort was anywhere in sight." Seto finished, submitting finally to his cousin's reasoning, "The millennium items have been scattered all around the world because of the unleashed power, stagnant or awake." He hissed, knowing fully well what the next step would be.
"We'd have to gather the wielder of the millennium items." The vizier said in one long sigh. He and Atemu were two of them. There were four more to go, excluding the ringmaster, and Seto couldn't help but hate the idea of seeing those people again. They united out of necessity – it was in the middle of the war, for the sake of peace – not out of choice.
Atemu relaxed, nodding at his cousin in all smiles, "Exactly." He himself was not all pleased with having the wielders come together. All of them could be called into the palace…except one and that one person was somebody he did not want to meet again. If they were to be gathered, Atemu himself would need to be the one to fetch that wielder of the millennium ring and he did not favor a road trip.
Seto knew of the issue between his cousin and the wielder of the millennium ring, and he knew that he'd be left, once again, to take care of the capital. Alone. He did not look forward to that.
"So, what will you do with your circus?" asked the vizier in a tired voice.
The king's eyes flashed as he was brought back to their present issue. He put a hand over his mouth, uncrossed his legs then shifted his weight to the other side. "I guess…." He started slowly, choosing his words more carefully than he usually does, "…the first thing I need to do is…" he smiled, "…apologize."
- - -
Mokuba Kaiba was a spoiled child and, little do people know, he knew that. He was unlike his brother and the king who would spend all their energy denying their faults that they could rarely see at the end of their noses. Like his brother though, he was not someone who would readily admit it. And he knew, that what he wanted, he would get, no matter what means.
"I want to talk to my brother!" Mokuba stomped his feet on the ground, baring his teeth at the armored guards standing in front of the doors to the throne room, "So move out and let me through!"
The guards stood quietly in a rigid stance, eyes focused on the space in front of them. Without once looking at the boy, one of them replied, "His highness and the vizier had strictly ordered that no one shall enter the throne room."
"I know that!" Mokuba screamed, dropping his fists angrily at his sides, "But this is important! I need to tell my brother that the circus is innocent! His majesty has to let them go!" his voice grew high and whiny, and he cleared his throat, glaring at the soldiers who kept ignoring him.
"Fine." Said the vizier's brother, turning his back at the guards, "I'll find some other way." He growled in frustration and ran away from the throne room. He made his way through the halls of the palace, grumbling loudly to himself. With a sigh, he stopped in front of one of the windows, dropping his arms over the pane.
What am I supposed to do now? , He placed his chin upon the stone edge of the window. He turned his head to one side, eyes looking at the tall walls that surrounded the palace grounds and separated them from the town. He needed to free the circus but he didn't know of any way to do so. He had tried approaching the king but it was useless.
"What to do…what to do…what to do…?" Mokuba tapped his finger upon the stone ledge.
On the far end of the palace, exactly at the side that Mokuba's eyes were placed upon, three indistinguishable silhouettes carefully jumped over the walls, landing skillfully upon the soft grass of the castle gardens. Mokuba jerked his head up, narrowing his eyes at figures that darted behind a nearby tree.
Quickly, he turned his head to the hallway, looking to see if anyone spotted them like he did. He sighed in relief. No one but him had noticed. With a smile, he rushed towards the bottom floor, towards the group of trespassers. If they are who he thinks they are, then he'd have found a way to get Yugi and the others out of the dungeons.
After all, where else can you see such acrobatic display? No place other than the trapeze.
- - -
Had they not been trying to be stealthy, Jounouchi would have laughed out loud.
Getting out of the dungeons was so easy, they might as well sleep through it. Ryou had, with a flick of a wrist, unlocked the cages and, much to Malik's joy, they finally went out of their large jail cell, slamming the gates with a loud bang. It was Yugi who led them through the passages, using the stray rats and mice to scout ahead.
To Jou, it seemed like a big joke that he even left a note in the cages, insulting both the king and guards. The pen and the paper was easily supplied by Ryou and Jou couldn't help but wonder just how many things the magician had within his sleeves and in that fourth dimension thing of his. A moment later, Ryou took out a couple of daggers from his sleeves, handing them over to the knife thrower.
"Hey…Ryou? You don't happen to have some food in there, would you?" Jou asked softly as they made their way through the long hallways, Yugi choosing the paths with confidence.
Ryou blinked a couple of times, glancing at the jester over his shoulder. "No." he replied, "They rot." He said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why?"
Jou frowned. They were exactly two hours and 27 minutes late for their usual supper time, and he was hungry. Not enough to make his stomach complain but he was still hungry and his mouth was more than happy to do the complaints. "I'm hungry. We haven't eaten anything for more than five hours!" he said in his most hushed voice.
Ryou sighed and shook his head. Sometimes, he couldn't distinguish Jou from the silly jester the blonde portrayed. "We're almost out of the palace. Worry about your stomach later."
It had taken them around half an hour to get through the labyrinth of the dungeon and retrieve the items taken from them, which were mostly Malik's knives. On the way, they had take down four lounging soldiers who supposedly had to watch the confiscated items. Malik's perfect throwing skills had easily taken the guards by surprise and Jou's streetwise abilities had finished the job. They tied the guards together with one long rope then doused them with a big dose of sleeping potion – all of which came from the magician's stock.
Dodging the guards was a piece of cake. It was at that moment that Jou realized that there could be no better spy than mice. The guards either ignored the little critters or shooed them away. Some even ran away from the mice – who knew that men in armor could fear little brown creatures? – that Jou couldn't help but snicker a little.
The way out had been so uneventful that the jester had even wished that annoying vizier to appear and spot them, maybe throw in some random annoying comment just to have them running for their lives.
Soon, they finally reached the outside, the stars providing a soft light from the moonless sky. The gardens were dark, having most of their light from the well-lit castle they surrounded. In one straight line, Yugi led his companions through the gardens, towards one end of the towering walls.
They had a simple plan. Go to the circus, explain the situation then go back to clear their names. It would be quick and they'd probably be done by morning – that is, neglecting sleep. They would leave the animals, much to Yugi's dismay, and come back for them later. It would be proof of their return. Not only that, it would be such a bother to go and get the dragon and the hellhounds – it was those creatures that were heavily guarded, not the circus. Had they decided to fetch them, they would have woken the whole palace and long gone would be their chance to clear their names.
"We're almost there." Whispered the beast master, he waved his hand for the others to follow him.
One turn later and they finally faced the edge of the palace. They stared at the tall walls that surrounded the palace, their heads going back as far as they could. But instead of feeling discouraged, they felt relief. This was the last step and they were out of the palace – free.
"Okay." Jou said after one sigh, "I'll climb over this wall." He pointed to a nearby tree. "You just give me a rope." He may not be skilled in acrobatics but he did have enough balance when needed.
Then, as Ryou passed a long trail of rope to the jester from within his sleeves, the one thing they had been trying to avoid just had to happen.
"Yugi?"
Four pairs of eyes whirled to the source of the voice.
- - -
"What do you mean they're not within the dungeons!" Seto paced between the king and the genuflected pair of soldiers. "How can they not be in the dungeons! They cannot simply vanish into thin air! Not unless you did not do your jobs properly!" he turned ice-cold orbs at the soldiers, who quickly went stiff.
Then a loud echoing laugh interrupted the vizier.
Seto scowled, whirling his head to the king, "What are you laughing about, Atemu? I don't suppose you had anything to do with this, do you?" his tone was dangerous. The guards knew that well and they found themselves wishing that they could vanish just like the circus.
Atemu shook his head, "No, no. I had nothing to do with it. I've been here all this time. I couldn't have." He smiled a bit too slyly for the vizier's liking.
Seto raised an eyebrow, "Then you were simply laughing because you had something wrong with your brain?"
Again, the king laughed, softer this time. "No, Kaiba. I had simply expected the circus to do something while they were in jail. I just never thought they'd be able to escape, especially this soon." He leaned on his hand, flashing amused eyes at his cousin, "But I guess it's not that surprising. After all, we have a beast tamer, a magician, a knife thrower and a jester together in one cell."
"This is not a laughing matter, your majesty." Seto gritted his teeth. He could not see what was so funny about their prisoners escaping. "I don't think their escape helps with their innocence." He said, anger evident in his voice. The vizier sighed. His temper had been at its worst these past few days. Sooner or later, he'd get tired of being angry all the time.
Atemu shrugged, "I know." He said, his smile vanishing like it was never there in the first place. With serious eyes, he turned to the guards, who quickly bowed their heads and attempted to look smaller, "Search the castle walls. Once you find them, bring them to me."
If possible, the guards bowed even lower then stood up in one swift motion, pivoting their heels and rushing towards the door in mechanical steps. Then, as they reach the doors, they swung open, barely missing the soldiers by inches.
"Trouble!" said the guard who rushed inside, taking short intakes of breath, "The dragon…the hellhounds…the beast master!" he put his palms upon his knees, pointing outside the throne room with a shaking finger, "Bad…bad…bad!" he struggled for more words but found nothing else escaping his mouth.
Atemu narrowed his eyes at the soldier. He couldn't understand what the man wanted to form but he knew that "trouble" and "beast master" together wasn't a good thing. He stood up in one swift motion, his eyes widening in shock. Without another word, he rushed past the guards, through the throne room, straight to the beast master; Seto's protests reaching unhearing ears.
The king just hoped…hoped that nothing bad had happened to the beast master that he'd end up regretting.
- - -
"Anzu?" Yugi gasped loudly, "What are you doing here?"
"Long story, Yugi." Anzu laughed lightly. She approached the beast master and gave him a tight hug, "I'm just glad you guys are safe." She smiled at Ryou and Jou who were both jaw dropped and flabbergasted then gave a small nod of acknowledgement to the knife thrower who returned with a shrug. "Mai and Otogi are here with me." She jabbed a finger behind her back.
Yugi's face visibly brightened at the sight of the trapeze performers but his smile was quickly replaced with puzzled worry. "Why?" he asked, "Why are you guys here? Did something happen to the circus?" his eyes grew wide in horror as the three turned their heads away.
"My sister!" Jou pushed Yugi away from Anzu, his eyes shining in panic, "Did something happen to Shizuka! Where is she?" he moved past the blue-eyed brunette and turned to Mai and Otogi. "Mai? Otogi? What happened?"
For a moment, there was nothing but silence then Otogi decided to start with one forced laugh. "Don't worry, Jou. Shizuka's safe. She's waiting outside the palace walls with Honda." He clapped a hand on the jester's back, smiling as brightly as he could, "We came here to rescue you!"
Jou growled at the trapeze performer, slapping away the other's hand, "What the hell! They should be back at the main tents!" he threw his arms in the air, running shaking fingers through his blonde locks. He wasn't about to let his little sister – the only family he has left – get hurt, especially when the palace was on their roll of circus arrests.
"What happened? How did you find out we were arrested?" Ryou quickly pushed the long rope back into his sleeves, rushing towards the others like Jou did but his question was yet again avoided.
"Uhm…you see…." Anzu started, twiddling with her fingers – an obvious sign of nervousness, "We…uh…the circus was…uh…."
"His majesty sent some soldiers at the circus, right after he ordered your arrest." A familiar voice interrupted them all. With hurried steps, Mokuba jumped in the middle of the group of circus performers, hushing them all with a finger on his lips. "Keep quiet. The guards might hear you!"
But the sudden knowledge of the circus raid only made Jou, Yugi, Ryou and Malik shout in shock, their voices echoing slightly through the barren lawns.
"A-are you guys alright?"
"Is the circus well?"
"What about the rest of the crew?"
"Did you get away?"
A series of questions were thrown at the trapeze performers and they found themselves having nothing to say. Then Mai sharply sliced her hand between the two groups. "Wait, okay?" she said sharply, "No one got arrested. No one was hurt. Got that?" she glared at the four, "Someone spotted the guards before they reached the tents and everyone panicked and ran away. We – Shizuka, Honda, Otogi, Anzu and I – stayed to get you out of the palace."
It was an uneasy silence that followed. Mokuba, who stood in the middle, shifted his weight from one foot to another, uncomfortable under the stillness of people whom he didn't know – not personally, at least.
"Oh." Malik said, breaking the silence, "We were going to you to warn you about the palace but I guess they got to you first." He laughed a little as the rest followed hesitantly. "Well, now that that's done and over with, we could leave this humongous cage and go far away from the capital!" he spread his arms, indicating the palace walls.
A murmur of agreements ran through the group, Mokuba pushing them to hurry if they wanted to leave.
"No, we can't!" Yugi shook his head and pointed at the high white towers of the castle, "We have to clear our names! Regain their trust! You know we can't survive traveling through the country if we have the capital after us!" he said, sending them all back into silence.
"…Can't you just go get your dragon and the hellhounds then just leave…?" asked Jou quite hesitantly.
The beast master's eyes grew wide. He gasped loudly and put a hand over his mouth. "Oh my…Camelot, Remus and Rome…." Again, he gasped. Then, the next thing the circus crew knew, Yugi was running past them, straight to the palace.
"YUGI! Come back here!" called Anzu.
But Yugi just kept running. He waved a hand at his friends and said, "I need to go to Camelot and the hellhounds!" he glanced at the circus for a split second before focusing back on his steps, "You guys just…stay here! Yeah! Explain to his majesty! Clear our names!"
"YUGI!" Anzu cried in a whining voice.
"…Weren't the beasts being guarded by an army of soldiers…?" It was Ryou who softly asked the question, lips pressed to his fingers. Without another word, the group of circus performers turned towards Yugi and rushed towards the disappearing form of their beast master, hoping that they could stop the young man before he gets hurt.
- - -
If someone asked Yugi what had happened, the beast master would dumbly open his mouth and wait for nonexistent words to spill out until the person who asked would fall asleep and Yugi himself would have forgotten the question. He could remember what happened but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to voice it.
He remembered quite well, reaching Camelot and the hellhounds with little difficulty. No one was there to stop him and he was relieved not to face any of the palace guards. Sighing in relief, he rushed towards the beasts that all lifted their heads at the sight of him.
Then something sharp and cold cut through his shoulder and he tumbled into the ground, rolling towards the beasts while clutching his wound tightly. He winced and gasped in pain as the blood dripped from his shoulder down to his fingers, falling in small drops to the ground.
He could vaguely hear the worried screams of his circus friends and the frightened shouts of the palace guards as the roars of the beasts reached his strained ears. His vision was blurry as he sat up with much difficulty but he could see enough to know that Camelot, Remus and Rome were attacking the soldiers just as the soldiers attacked them. And he found himself screaming at them to stop.
But what he remembered the most was his vision, clearing slightly as he got used to the pain, and seeing a warm pair of crimson eyes meet his own. He couldn't quite hear what the person said but he felt himself nod and reply that he was okay. The next thing he knew, the person swished a cloak as red as his eyes and as deep as the blood flowing from his shoulder, and wrapped it around the beast master's frozen form.
To Yugi, it felt like time had slowed down. He could see the person stand proud and tall in front of him, his voice booming orders at the guards and the servants that the beast master couldn't quite catch. Yugi saw Camelot and the hellhounds calm down and approach him, and he wondered if he had called them. He put a finger over his lips and hushed them as though he wasn't wounded and they weren't in the palace and they hadn't just caused chaos within the capital.
He remembered telling the beasts to stay put and be good before he was suddenly lifted from the ground by warm arms wrapped around his back and his waist. He tugged the crimson cloak closer to his form as he let the crimson-eyed man lead him through the palace, past the chaos of soldiers and healers, through the empty hallways of the palace and into a clean white room so bright that Yugi felt he entered a dream world.
And as his wound was tended to by faceless healers, dulling away the pain till he could no longer feel it, he jerked his head up and felt as though he had just woken up from a dream – a nightmare even – about dragons and hellhounds battling against metal clad men, and a crimson-eyed man who was both cold and warm.
Yugi blinked, hand subconsciously moving to his bandaged shoulder. He turned his head left and right, and saw around a dozen white cots lined up perfectly upon the walls, similar to the one he was currently sitting upon. He turned his eyes to his shoulder and made a surprised "eep". Not only was his wound perfectly bandaged but the clothes on his thin torso were gone. Then, with his unwounded arm, he pushed the white blankets off his lap and saw not his leather pants but soft white cotton trousers instead.
And he couldn't help but wonder if he was really awake through the whole ordeal in this…clinic?
"Oh, good." Said a soft high-pitched voice, "You seem to be more conscious now."
Yugi slowly turned blinking eyes at the voice and tilted his head to one side at the sight of the blonde young woman who peeked her head from behind the white curtains beside his bed. "Excuse me," he started, "I don't mean to sound rude…but…where am I?"
The woman giggled, "Of course, you wouldn't know." she made her way beside the bed but refused to sit down despite the beast master's consistent offers. "When his highness brought you here, you were so dazed I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know you're here in the infirmary."
"Oh." Yugi looked down, his hands neatly folded in upon his lap. He remembered now. That crimson-eyed man was his majesty, the king. The king had helped him. Quickly, he whirled his head around, looking for the crimson cloak and his circus costume and found them neatly folded on a nearby table.
I guess it wasn't a mistake to trust him. , A soft contented smile appeared on his face. "Uhm, miss…?"
"Yes, dear?"
"Thank you." The beast master turned his smile at the young woman, "For cleaning my wounds and…uhm…changing my clothes." He said with an embarrassed voice, blushing slightly as the nurse laughed.
"Your welcome, little boy."
Yugi flinched at the nickname but decided not to say anything to the nice lady who took care of him.
Another woman appeared from the curtains and whispered something to the blonde. The two quickly said their little goodbyes and left. A moment later, Yugi heard footsteps approach his bed. Hesitantly, he lifted his head and, as his eyes met those of his crimson-eyed savior, he couldn't help but hold his breath.
Take that, Atemu! Yugi and the others could break out of your prison any time, anywhere! In your face! XDXDXD Well, Atemu's an indecisive leader who acts before he thinks – or rather, acts on anger without thinking. On the other hand, Yugi's someone who thinks too much before acting. They'll fix each other ;)
Oh, and Yugi was wounded. Don't complain. It's bound to happen. You don't expect any them to be safe and unhurt throughout the whole story, now do you? It's not like Yugi's wound is life-threatening anyway. Heck, he didn't even faint (though I considered it but found the idea overused). He was just...dazed. No big. So don't make any fuss about it, okay? XS
This chapter was longer than I wanted it to be – complicated scenes :( – but I needed to push the story up to that point. I wanted to end it at the start of Atemu and Yugi's road trip but it would make the chapter twice as long. Maybe I should start writing less descriptive? XS
Thanks to: Angel's Charm, straitjackit, spidy007, biacebaolck, tai'sgirl23, Baka Shojo, HOPPY-SAN2345, Artemis Maxwell-Yuy, Sora Kohaku, Annuket, atemugirl0312465978, unseenwaters and silverwolf407
Annuket: Ooh. I love you. You actually mentioned the beasts! XS I thought they'd be forgotten since I left them unresolved in the previous chapter.
atemugirl0312465978: Eh? What whipping? What torture? I don't plan on doing any of that. Ever. Not in this fic. For one thing, Yugi and the rest of the circus could take care of their selves very well – that and escape from the palace any time they want. Oh, and there are four of them arrested, not just Yugi :) Well, Atemu didn't exactly free him...but it's kinda the same anyway XS
unseenwaters: Exactly. No blaming Atemu. He's just a frustrated king :(
silverwolf407: I actually added the dragon scene at the last moment. I realized I was neglecting the beasts a bit too much XD I'm glad you like it ;)