Greetings and salutations! Just to let you know, Yuuri is reaaaaaaally OOC right now, but it's not going to last, I promise! Everyone else should be pretty regular, if non, please forgive me! The peace isn't going to last, because someone or something is influencing our demon king. Oooooo… Prepare yourselves! I'll reference some Edgar Allen Poe every once in a while; don't worry, it's perfectly harmless. This is my first KKM ficlet, so please bear with me. Enjoy!
I do not own KKM or any of its characters or whatnot. Shame on you for thinking me clever enough for its creation! Bad! Bad!
Prologue
Once upon a midnight dreary
As I wandered weak and weary…
E. A. Poe
Yuuri was beyond exhaustion. His bed brought more frustration than sleep, and he had finally abandoned it. Even without Wolfram, sleep was being denied him. The corridor was cold, abandoned.
"Like me…"
Stop it!
The battles were long over, his enemies vanquished, and peace was being restored. Still, something was horribly wrong with the young demon king. Everything was drifting from him, or was he drifting away? Yuuri couldn't be sure. His friends remained as they were, friends, but everything was becoming mechanical, duties felt forced. Situations that once would have set him aflame with determination now were… just there.
"What's wrong with me?" Yuuri aimlessly wandered his castle, searching. For what? He thought of going for help.
Gunter?
No, he would make too much of the situation. It was nothing really.
Gwendal?
He would just look at him, and tell him that he was just being foolish. Which he was.
Wolfram?
He would call him wimp and insult him even more. Yah, that would really help.
Yozak? Ken?
…Conrad?
No!
Not Conrad. He didn't deserve any of them, especially Conrad.
So tired…
Yuuri wanted to break down and sob, scream, snap. He wanted to tear everything apart, rip it to shreds. He wanted to let loose. But something held him back; he was, after all, king.
He mustn't disappoint those who had helped him.
They were the ones who helped him to survive. They were the ones who supported him. He knew he was a lousy king; there was no contesting that. But if they wanted him to represent them, he shall.
Yuuri could never be good enough, smart enough, strong enough.
He was just a king.
He was just a king.
And that he shall remain…
… because he deserved nothing more.