My Beloved Zombie Julia
Summary: An accident involving the Wincott poison brings Susanna-Julia back from the dead as a zombie, and she seeks to steal Conrad's heart – literally. Yuuri, Wolfram, and Conrad must try to lay her to rest before it's too late!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters.
Warnings: Zombies, mild swearing, contains the normal sort of violence seen in the show.
A/N: This story follows the line of a typical Kyou Kara Maou episode, silly mannerisms and all. Hints of Wolfram/Yuuri, Conrad/Julia and Conrad/Yuuri. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
All was dark at the Wincott residence, the grounds illuminated only by the moonlight. The occasional owl hooted and searched for its prey in the grass. Aside from that, the only sound that could be heard was the crunching of leaves under the feet of two suspicious characters, making their way through the woods.
"Don't drop it, idiot," said a man's voice gruffly. He was walking backwards, his hand feeling behind him for trees and any other obstacle that could get in his way. Following him was a shorter man, wearing a cap and struggling to hold up an old wooden box.
"I can't see nothing, it's too dark," he spat at the first man. Presently they were entering a field of freshly-cut grass fifty yards from Castle von Wincott. Both men fell silent and attempted to slowly navigate the field, hoping not to be caught by passing guards, and not to slip on the wet grass. Now all that could be heard was the sound of crickets chirping. All they had to do was find a safe place to hide the box until they were ready to unload its contents.
The two men didn't see the tree until it was almost too late. A giant oak tree stood in the middle of the field, most of its leaves having long fallen as autumn turned into winter.
"Watch out for the tree!" Shorty called out, and Gruffy shot a look behind him and began to navigate around it. Unfortunately, neither had thought to look towards the ground, where a well-maintained gravestone sat deceptively in the shadows. Gruffy's large foot hit the stone and he fell backwards, letting go of the box and flailing his arms in the air before hitting the ground.
"Idiot! I told you to watch out for obstacles," he roared, then quickly hushed and looked towards the castle. All was still quiet. In fact, nothing moved nor made a sound, not even Shorty, who lay prostrate on the floor, the old box by his side, open.
"Shit," said Gruffy, as he rolled Shorty's still body with his toe. "You got it all over you. Shit." He had to remove the evidence. Pulling two heavy gloves from his coat pocket he put them on, reaching down to grab Shorty's body, and dragged him back towards the forest, and safety.
What he did not see was the dirt below the grave beginning to stir, and a long, rotting hand penetrate the surface, grasping for freedom…
Outside of Blood Pledge Castle, two other figures could be seen jogging along a barely-used road. One looked up at the nearby mountains peaked with snow.
"It's getting cold," said Conrad, a few paces in front of his companion, keeping sharp watch as per usual.
"Mmhmm," Yuuri replied, unable to gasp out much more. They were approaching the castle along their usual route. On the palace steps Yuuri saw a young blonde man, poking at the ground with a stick, his face rested in the palm of his hand. Upon seeing his older brother and fiancé approaching, Wolfram immediately stood up and brushed himself off, pretending he hadn't been there all along.
"What took you so long," he muttered.
"It's a nice day out, Wolfram," Conrad answered, "Besides, we figured you could hold down the fort without us." He smirked and held open the door for Yuuri, Wolfram, and a disheveled Dorcas, returning from the stables looking exhausted.
"I don't see why I have to clean out the stables," he said, "Can't you find someone else to do it? It's creepy in there."
Wolfram scowled. "You slack off on every job we give you! Complain, complain, that's all we hear from you!"
"Sounds like someone I know," muttered Yuuri, "So, what am I supposed to do today?" he asked, looking at Conrad.
"You'd thing you'd know by now, hmm? Gwendal wanted you in his office, he said something about doing actual work for once. Better get to it." Conrad opened to door to Gwendal's office and took his usual position against the wall, while Wolfram threw himself in a chair, already looking bored.
"Well, Gwendal, what do you have for me today?" Yuuri asked with his usual earnestness.
Gwendal frowned and pushed a stack of papers towards his king.
"You need to read these and sign them."
"Can't you do it?"
"I have better things to do."
"Like what?"
"Like run the military." Wolfram and Conrad looked at each other and then rolled their eyes.
"Can't Gunter do it then?"
"He's busy too." Yuuri sighed and sat down at the desk. Of all his kingly duties, both official and invented by his own imagination, this was his least favorite.
He spent an hour going through form after form; a request here, a fan letter there. Wolfram had sunk down in his chair, staring at the books on the bookshelf, while Conrad stared out of the window blankly, arms folded. Neither noticed when a piece of paper fell out of the large stack onto the floor, addressed to King Yuuri from the Castle von Wincott.