His Other Half
Chapter 1
Ooh, if Yuri isn't back in five minutes, I swear I will tear off his…Grrr! If he's out flirting with some common tramp, I'll…I'll…
Wolfram halted his mental tirade as he stared out the window of the room he had shared for the last two years with his husband in shock. A lone rider was galloping into the castle gates, the guards crowding around the horse and rider, backing up when the person sluggishly pulled itself from the horse and dropped unceremoniously to the cobblestones.
What's this?
……...
One soldier lifted the figure and turned toward the castle, running madly and nearly bowling his commanding officer and the Demon King over in his haste. Conrad and Yuri's eyes snapped to the still figure in the soldier's arms as he stuttered an apology and an explanation.
"I-I'm sorry, Lord Wellert, your Highness… She's very ill, and she had a message, something about the lands to the south… Then she said something about a jump rope…"
Conrad's eyes widened and he snatched the limp form from the soldier, turning her slightly and pushing her hood back. A tumble of pale blonde hair spilled out from under the cloth and curled thickly around her shoulders.
"Yuri, go get Wolfram. Tell him his sister is here for a visit."
Yuri nodded and took off toward his sleeping chambers where he was sure that Wolfram was reading like he always was this time of day. Actually, if the clocks weren't wrong, he, the Demon King, was running late, and would be no doubt be in for a world of hurt when his blonde husband got a hold on him…
"Where in the world have you been?!"
Yuri smiled at his husband, still looking like the boy he had been two years ago, but maybe a little taller and with longer hair. He had always thought the young man to be beautiful, even when he was angry… Like right now…
"Wait, before the lecture – "
"LECTURE?! If you thought you were going to get an earful before, boy are you in for one now! Now sit down and – "
Yuri grabbed his husband's flailing fists and held them and forced him to look directly into his eyes.
"Your sister is visiting!"
"My sis-te-r? Sister? What do you mean? Shaelren isn't supposed to be coming back from the southern lands for another six years! What is she doing here?! Where is she?!"
Yuri yelped as he was dragged down the halls as Wolfram continued to keep a strong grip on his hand as he tore through the halls, calling his brother's names and shouting to know the whereabouts of his sister.
"YEEE-AAAGH! Wolfram, leggo of meeeeee!"
After much shouting and many threats, Wolfram and Yuri were shown into a private suite of rooms and ushered into a huge bedroom. The room was furnished with things that Yuri imagined that any teenaged girl would like, soft pillows and rugs, bright colors, attractive art on the walls and a huge bed with smooth silk bedclothes. Near the bed was a small stand of comfortable chairs and stools. The maid called quietly from the doorway with a slightly nervous look on her face.
"Lady Shaelren? Are you awake?"
There was a low grumble from the bed and the person under the heavy quilt sat up, green eyes flashing in anger as the physician walked to the other side of the bed and sat down a short ways away to give them privacy.
"Did all of you turn into idiots while I was away?! I am not si-"
Her angry voice was cut off by a violent cough, her flushed face turning redder as seconds passed. The physician had fixed her fever but her cough was hanging on tightly. Her green eyes fixed on Yuri, then moved to the blond man on his right. Holding a hand closed over her mouth still, she flipped her blankets back and put her feet on the floor, standing slowly and unsteadily.
"Shaelren, don't get up."
Wolfram walked up to the girl and sat her back down on the bed, turning to Yuri as the girl smiled and grabbed his hand and put it to her forehead.
"Yuri, meet my twin sister Shaelren. Shaelren, this is the Demon King and my husband, Yuri."
Shaelren looked up at her brother, then to Yuri. Her green eyes, just like Wolfram's, were coolly appraising him even as they looked back lovingly to her twin.
"I've heard of him. He seems kind of… whimpy."
Yuri sighed as Wolfram smiled and Conrad snorted behind his hand at the King's displeasure. Before he could say anything in his defense, Gunter came bursting into the room, his long white hair in wild disarray.
"Oh, Gunter… You haven't changed."
Gunter looked at Shaelren and smiled slightly, bowing politely and turning back to Yuri without another word to the woman.
"Your Highness, it's about the ball that you decided to throw-"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It's…It's in two hours! Why aren't you dressed?! You said that you wanted the costumes to be-"
He grabbed the young king by the elbow and frog-marched him out of the room, Yuri complaining the whole way as he went. Wolfram sighed and sat down by his sister, taking her hand and letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
"That idiot… Oh, Shaelren, if the physician says it's okay, maybe you could come to the ball?"
The two looked up at Conrad for a moment, then turned to the physician and smiled. The old woman sighed and came over holding a tongue depressor, drawing a groan from Shaelren as she obediently opened her mouth and tipped her head back. The woman put the piece of wood in her charge's mouth and nodded, telling her to make different noises as she looked down her throat.
"Well, I can't see why you couldn't go. I want you to drink that tea that I made for your cough,"
"Uhn!"
"whining won't help you, girlie. If you want to go, and you want to do what you do best without killing yourself, you'll have to drink it."
Wolfram chuckled as the old woman pushed a steaming cup into her hand, then a look of confused shock as she pushed one into his hand too.
"What the?!"
"You too, Lord Wolfram. You touched your sister and you know how people get sick. You get to drink it too, just to be sure that you don't get what she has."
Both grumbled and glared at the woman and their older brother, then looked at each other and gulped the hot tea down as fast as they could, making horrible faces after it was gone.
"I don't have a costume though…"
Wolfram helped Shaelren to her feet and held her up as she pulled on her shoes, listening as Conrad told them to be sure to be back from town soon enough to get everything that they needed in order before the party started.
………
"Ugh, I can still taste it…"
Shaelren scraped her tongue on her teeth and laughed as Wolfram nodded and looked around covertly before spitting onto the stones, then quickly followed suit. Laughing a little louder, she took her twin's hand and walked a little faster toward the best tailor in town, speaking in low whispers. The two could speak without saying a single word aloud, but had found out from a very early age that when they spoke like that it made other people nervous. Especially humans, and the tailor they were visiting was from the human lands, here only because the demon tribe wanted to buy his well made costumes for the party.
"Ooh, look at that!"
Wolfram's jaw hit the floor when he saw the outfit that she was pointing at. It was a dress made almost entirely out of red and purple satin ribbon that would hit about midthigh on his sister and would leave just enough to the imagination to keep the attention of everybody in the room.
"Just promise me one thing."
"What's that, my darling brother?"
They smirked and walked toward the door together, chuckling quietly.
"Don't use Mother's orchid oil in your bath tonight."