A/N: First of all, I want you to know that I'm not dead and that I haven't truly given up on KKM! (thank you to all those who had clicked on my stories and took the time to read them; I am truly grateful!) Second, pardon me for the summary; I'm not really with coming up with those. Lastly, I hope you guys have fun reading this!
Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! or any of its characters.
Notes and Petals
It was another bright and sunny day in the home of the Demon king. The birds were chirping and there weren't any bad omen birds to ruin the morning's pleasantries. The blonde woke up late again. He got used to Yuri leaving him to battle with Günter on whether if it is appropriate in the same room and bed with one's fiancé or not. So far, he won 3 times. He sensed that Günter was coming, so he made sure to be ready with any comeback that this jealous advisor will come up with. The door soon opened and Günter appeared with a determined expression on his face. Wolfram was ready for what's to come. They glared at each other as if they wanted to kill each other right at that moment. The tension was unbearable for any other being other than these two people.
"It was said that the 18th Demon King made a rule about prohibiting engaged couples of nobility-"
Günter was cut off by the blonde...
"My, my, I don't think you've reviewed your history lessons quite well. As what the volume about the 20th Demon king, page 230, it is said that he made the rule you have stated ineffective due to his love for his fiancé, Winona. And if I am not mistaken, Lady Celli, the 26th Demon King, which happens to be my mother, declared that this rule will be effective as long as any of her relatives and of her loved ones are of nobility, the rule stays." Wolfram had a smug look on his face; he was winning... "And, I believe that you were the one who had written that into the text books."
Günter bit his lip and walked out of the room as a sign of accepting defeat. Wolfram smiled at his victory. Who knew today's battle was that easy? Maybe he should have just used that the first time around. Well, that didn't matter now. He won. He climbed out of bed and accidentally got his foot tangled with his night gown and tripped. He didn't bother getting up just yet. He was just plain too lazy to get up. A piece of paper landed on the bridge of his nose and slid down the bridge, and onto the floor it went. He read what it said and stood up. He crumpled it and threw it to a side. No fortune cookie message would get him excited.
Upon getting his uniform, a messenger dove landed on the windowsill and called his attention. Placing the chosen uniform on the bed, he went over the windowsill to get the scroll from the dove.
Good morning! I hope you slept well last night! Oh, and Gwendal wishes to have an audience with you...-Yuri
The letter stated. He smiled due to the thoughtfulness of his fiancé; how long has it been since the wimp first sent him a letter with the aid of a dove? He could just imagine a panicking Günter and how annoyed his eldest brother had been. The situation may not have changed. He found himself chuckling and later on frowning because of the latter part of the message. Every time Gwendal asks for his presence before breakfast meant one thing, business. The bird flew away when it sensed that Wolfram won't be replying to the sender. Sulkily, the blonde changed into his usual blue uniform. As if he was trying to do an errand, he marched straight to his eldest brother's room without any verbal complaint spoken. He hasn't even seen Yuri, for Shinou's sake... He figured it would be better to take care of it immediately. He knocked on the door three times. When he heard his brother's gruff 'enter', he came in and saw him working on the Voltaire paper work. He could judge by the amount of paper work. Paper work regarding the Voltaire province is nothing compared to that of the king's. That's only because Gwendal doesn't dillydally and gets it finished before it actually piles up. Besides that, he can concentrate on his land's paper work because the eldest of the 'don't-look-alike-brothers wasn't responsible for the king's leftover paper work anymore. You could count the economic status and crop produce as examples. Going back to the situation at hand, as usual, he didn't go around the bush and went straight to the point.
"I want you to patrol the market and make sure nothing goes wrong after you leave. It has been reported that there are troublemakers that appear every week. Be sure to catch them and bring them here."
"Understood, if you would excuse me, I shall take my leave." Wolfram said before going out.
The blond sighed. He just couldn't believe how many people nowadays tend to cause trouble. He can't manipulate people's minds into making them stay out of trouble. He may look like him, but he isn't Shinou after all. It was up to him to make things peaceful again. He can't complain about it, can he? As he passed by an intersection, he saw a smiling Conrad walk towards him. He tried to ignore and let the smiling man pass by him, but his brother didn't share the same notion about it.
"Here, I know that you didn't eat breakfast, so I thought it would be best to sneak this apple out." Conrad threw the apple up in the air and it landed on Wolfram's hands. "Do I have any orders to accomplish?"
"Yes, you do. First, don't stay too close to my fiancé, and second, don't let him cheat on me." Wolfram said as he looked straight at the brown eyes his brother had.
Conrad continued to smile and waved his hand before walking past his brother.
The blond took a good look at the apple and smiled a bit. No wonder his fiancé sticks to his brother like a hell-paradise koala on his favourite branch. He headed straight to the stables to get on with the mission.
The market was filled with people. No one could deny that with a crowd like this, a theft wouldn't be noticeable. The merchants urged the people to buy their goods as the seemingly convinced townsfolk looked at their shopping lists to see if they needed the item or not. Then again, maybe they can squeeze it in their 'tight' budget. Some children tugged on their mother's dresses and pointed at what caught their eyes on. Some parents were trying to calm their newborns and at the same time apologizing to the storekeeper for the trouble they've caused. There would be some boys shouting and crossing wooden swords along the streets and at times, circle around the fountain. It was the picture of a normal market day.
Green eyes watched over these people as he leaned his back close on a brick wall, near a dark alley. The person's face was concealed by the brown cloak he wore; no one would know that he was of royalty. But, that was the whole point of wearing a cloak, right? From left to right the eyes scanned; but no matter how many times he did that, he couldn't spot anything unusual or suspicious. The stranger's crossed arms unfolded and reached into a pocket. He fished out an apple. He stared at it for a moment and decided to take a bite. The moment he did, he heard hoses gallop and was accompanied by the sound of whipping and laughter. The stranger swiftly slipped the apple back into his pocket and pushed his back off the wall. He removed his hood and let his blonde hair sway to the direction where the wind was blowing. The troublemakers neared and he could see the smug on their faces. The market goers were forced to hide under the nearest stalls they could see. Shops began to close and lock both doors and windows while stalls either covered their goods with a big piece of cloth or tried to get it out of their spots.
In an instant, the market place seemed like a deserted town. The horsed hooligans made an abrupt stop before they would reach the fountain. Green eyes glared at them, but none of the three were intimidated in the least.
"Seems that the market place isn't as busy it was the past few weeks." The long haired one in the long haired brunet commented.
"But, it seems that our loss is compensated with something much better." The dirty blonde one said with a greedy grin as he eyed the cloaked man.
Wolfram frowned; he was in no way happy with what he was getting himself into. No matter, this is just a piece of cake. He unsheathed his sword and offensively positioned himself.
"You're coming with us, angel face." The fat one blurted out.
"I like where you're going with this, my friend." The brown haired one said and turned to face Wolfram. "You sure are pretty. I bet you'll be the best in you'd be the best in our collection."
"Collection? I suppose you're referring to the rag dolls you've played with ever since you were little." Wolfram smirked; there was nothing more pleasing than crushing delinquents' pride so early in the morning. "It's already a privilege for you to gaze at me. Say, why don't you just go back to the rocks you crawled from? That way, your mommies wouldn't hear how naughty their children have been. You don't want your mommies to be upset, right? "
"Well, well, you're a feisty one, aren't ya?" The fat one put on a smirk which grew by each second that passed. "I'm not that much offended. But, I know that praises and grateful moans would replace that filthy mouth of yours when I get hold of you and when we spend our time together... Tonight seems to be the best time; don't you think so, blondie?"
"Hold on, partner!" The blond one prevented Wolfram from saying a word. "That's not fair! I want to have a couple of rounds with him first!"
"It's fine if I go after you guys." The brown haired one said dreamily. "I have some things in mind that I wanna experiment on him, so..."
"So, it's decided then. I go first, then tubby, and-"
That was it; a vein just popped. It was a miracle Wolfram let them talk this much. He didn't have time for suckers.
"Alright, sweet pea, who would you want to top you first?" The blond on asked. "We don't give our women that privilege to choose, but, since you're such a sweet thing, I bet the other two would agree with me in giving you the freedom to choose... Right, fellas?"
The blond's companions nodded solemnly with closed eyes.
"See? So, who's your-"
"You disgust me..." Wolfram hissed. Though, a smirk came into place after a few seconds had passed. "I'll play your little game. If ever you could lay a finger on me, then, I guess I'll see any of you in bed. I'm telling you now, that's never going to happen."
"Why, you little ingrate-" The brown haired one closed his mouth for he couldn't bear insulting such a beautiful face, but he opened it again for an order. "Get him, boys!"
The brown haired scoundrel dismounted his horse, along with his companions, and ran towards Wolfram with only daggers in hand. Wolfram's smirk grew bigger as he began to chant. Lo and behold, his fire lion materialized and pounced on its master's prey. The victims were as black as charcoal and they had wide eyes. They froze onto one spot and collapsed simultaneously.
Unnoticed, a young boy walked up to the burnt people lying on the ground and with the stick he's holding, he poked one of them to see if they were alive... The only thing that the person being poked could do was give out a groan.
Wolfram walked towards the people he just burnt. His eyes stayed glued to the people lying flat on the ground as he knelt down to the boy's height.
"Go and tell the others that everything's alright now." Wolfram whispered.
The boy nodded, smiled and ran back to where he hid to do what he was told.
Wolfram stood up and snapped his fingers. His troops left their stations and came due to the signal given to them.
"Take these fools to Gwendal. After that, you could take a day off training..." Wolfram said and left.
Seeing that their commander was gone, the troops sighed and glared at their captives. They knew why their commander didn't want to personally bring the burnt fools back to the castle for questioning. They knew it was another desperate scheme to get their commander's attention. They looked at the burnt scoundrels as they groaned. They had been given orders to stay put. Truth be told, they were greatly infuriated with their captives and wanted to do much worse than their merciful commander, but it can't be helped. They proceeded with tying them up and carried each one on separated horses. They also took along with them the horses the hooligans were riding when they came into the market place.
Wolfram made his way to the castle and headed straight to his room. He didn't want to burden his eldest brother with worthless paper work. He was right, once again. It was another attempt for singletons to try in acting tough trying to impress him. Though, this time, none of them had scored a measly point. Those goons didn't even deserve getting paper work on them by him. Though, what made him feel worse was the fact other people give him such lovely adjectives and go in all sorts of trouble just to get even a glance from him...yet... His fiancé doesn't bother doing something like a real fiancé should. He shook his head, along with the thought, away.
He knew Yuri needed time to adjust.
A time when he could really say the words 'I love you' without meaning for it to be a lie.
But, how long does it take for him to reach that stage?
How long does he, Wolfram Von Bielefeld, have to wait until that moment becomes a reality? For sure, Wolfram, didn't know the answers. Yuri was trying, wasn't he? The double-black gives him little notes every day. He never actually heard him say those things, but it's the thought that matters, right? It's still counted as trying; that's for sure.
He sighed; all he could do at the moment was to hope that all that waiting was all worth it and to get some paper work done.
It only took few pieces of paper and a couple times of rereading for Wolfram to be ready to submit his official report. He stood up from his seat and went out of the room with the documents in his hands. He arrived at the doorstep of his brother office in a matter of minutes. Just before he could place his knuckle on the door to knock, the permission to enter had been granted. He went inside without saying a word and approached the wide desk which was filled with paper work.
"I made the report myself so that I wouldn't add up to your burden." Wolfram spoke and placed the document on an available space on the desk. "You may check it out after you're done with the others."
Wolfram waited for his brother to dismiss him, but it wasn't a dismissal that he got from his eldest brother.
"You were what they wanted; am I right?" Gwendal asked, lifting his tired eyes off the request form he was filling up.
"Brother, please don't bring the topic up." Wolfram turned his back from his brother. "Both you and I know that troublemaking goons nowadays do these kinds of things because they wanted special attention from me. They know that Yuri and I are still engaged. You know well I take my engagement to Yuri very seriously. I will not allow myself to be called the cheater. Besides, Yuri's trying...I know it. There's nothing you should be worried about."
Silence followed after Wolfram made his statement. He was waiting for his brother's reply or, at least, his dismissal. Seeing that Gwendal doesn't have a response, he decided to take his leave.
"In any case, I'm grateful for your concern. If you would excuse me, I shall take my leave..."
The blonde showed his way out and headed for the gardens. He might be able to clear his mind and he might develop a positive outlook once he sees the blooming flowers his mother had bred herself. Once out of the castle corridors, he looked from left to right and spotted his favourite place to cool down as a child. This preference has not changed until the present. That place has a sturdy tree which provided that shade he loved and was a rose bush on the side. With a smile on his face, he headed over that beloved spot and sat down on the grassy ground. Leaning his back onto the tree trunk, he looked at the rose bush with great interest. The flowers were all blooming; the roses were red, but they weren't the same shade as the red Celli's Red Sigh flowers his mother bred. These roses had a darker shade of the colour.
"Günter never thought of roses." He muttered unconsciously as he picked one out of the bush. "He loves me, he loves me not..."
The old 'he-loves-me-he-love-me-not' was somewhat popular at the castle. The maids did it in their free times; the guards did it late at night whenever they couldn't concentrate on guarding the gate. Günter started it, and the blond was pretty sure he wouldn't be the last to do it. Like everyone else, he wanted to do it someplace private; surely this was the right place to do it.
He went on chanting and plucking petals as he did. He was already on his third rose when he thought of how pathetic he looked. Before he was able to pluck the next petal, he gently placed the poo flower down beside him and brought out the apple his elder brother had given him. The spot he had taken a bite browned. He took the next bite beside it. He thought of the closeness between Conrart and Yuri and compared it to the closeness he and Yuri had. He thought the same with security, reliability and comfort. He couldn't beat the elder man in any of those things.
He took another bite. There's also the issue about these notes. Was there sincerity in those words? No, that's not it. Of course, there was; it's Yuri we're talking about. Maybe the fact that Yuri can't say those words to him face to face bothered him. Why couldn't he say those things to his face? Could it be he had someone else write those things? It hurt to think of it that way, but that may as well be the case.
He finished eating his apple and held the flower by its stem, carefully examining it. He also placed the apple core beside him. He found it annoying that he followed Günter's example in relying his luck on the petals of flowers; after all, it was a cowardly act. With the flower twirling in his hand, he decided, 'why not?'
"There is hope, there isn't, there is hope, there isn't…" The blond started chanting quietly to himself.
This will decide whether he should hold on or he shouldn't. It seemed stupid and it was stupid to say 'the fate of his engagement with Yuri relies on this', yet he went with it. One by one, petals were shed and acted as stepping stones towards a decision. Six...five...four were left when a shadow caught Wolfram's attention.
"Wolfram, what are you doing here?"
"Uh...oh Yuri, I didn't see you there." Wolfram stuttered and immediately hid his hand behind his back.
"You don't mind if I sit here, right?" Yuri asked as he sat beside Wolfram.
"What brings you here? I bet Günter is worried sick knowing you've escaped right under his nose." Wolfram asked, getting fidgety. "This is not the time for you to come here, darn it!"
"What? No, I doubt it. I asked if I could get a break, and he was all too happy to give me one. It's fine." The double-black said as he leaned onto the tree trunk. "I was looking for you, you know. I didn't see you at breakfast and you weren't in my room, so I decided to look around until I found you here. You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"Well, I have. It's not a proper meal, but I've eaten an apple." Wolfram picked up the core of the apple by the stalk and showed it to his fiancé. "See?"
"We should get you something to eat!" Yuri sat up straight.
"Like I've said, I've eaten an apple. Besides, I won't let you ruin my appetite for lunch."
"Still, my mom has always told me: Yuu-chan, you should start each and every day with a good breakfast, so that you'll have the energy to tackle all sorts of mess you'll find yourself in, especially those from your inter-dimensional travels."
Wolfram could imagine Miko saying those exact words her son had said.
"I've told you, there's still lunch to look -"
"I tried with that argument with her, but she went on with: No, darling, breakfast is the most important meal of the day! You can't miss it! Listen to mommy, Yuu-chan. Mommy knows what's best for you" Yuri had interrupted his companion.
"But, isn't it too late for that now?"
"I suppose… Say, what were you doing here, anyway?"
Wolfram flinched inwardly; he can't let Yuri know what he was doing. He set down the apple core and looked above. The wind gave a gentle breeze, and the branches started to sway from side to side, making the leaves dance.
"I was just resting; there's nothing wrong with admiring mother's flowers, is there?" The blond said and looked at Yuri.
The double-black bended his knee, wrapped his arms around it and leaned against the trunk. He seemed troubled. His gaze was on the swaying grass.
"You were holding a flower, right? You were mumbling too." Yuri said with a bit of sadness making its presence known. "What were you saying?"
"I-It's nothing." Wolfram replied immediately and looked away.
"Remember what I said about the notes? I meant it." Yuri went on and looked straight at Wolfram. "I really do feel something. I wasn't joking when I said that."
"I...I believe you. You should know that, wimp." Wolfram mumbled as his cheeks lightened up a bit.
"You should also know that I didn't want to hurt you. You're...you're special to me." Yuri went on slowly and very softly.
"Those notes," Wolfram looked at Yuri and found his eyes widening. "Yuri?"
Yuri had his head looking down, hiding an expression he didn't want his companion to see. Upon hearing his name, he looked up a bit and immediately turned away. He hated how he reacts to these things yet in the same unexplainable way loved it as well. Wolfram must not see his face.
"Yuri...are you - why are you all red?"
It was too late.
"Ah! Don't look at me! Don't look at me like that!" Yuri tried to hide his face by covering it with his crossed arms.
There was no word better to describe Wolfram's feelings at that moment. It was of surprise. He was surprised to see his fiancé all flushed, and he hasn't even done anything yet. The boy was a wimp, that's for sure...but, what could make a wimp so flushed? Was it the distance between them? No, that wasn't it. They weren't too close in order to invade the other's personal space. Did he say anything that could merit this wimp's embarrassment? He hasn't said anything suggestive or anything in relation with marriage.
Could it be...that Yuri was embarrassed of the things he himself had said?
"Yuri," Wolfram tried to take off one of Yuri's arms that were covering his face. "Are you embarrassed of something?"
Yuri gulped; it was now or never. Wolfram was right - he was a wimp.
He struggled a bit from Wolfram's attempts to remove one of his arms from covering his face and then slowly lowered them himself, his way of surrendering to the blond. He refused to look at his companion who was on all fours, trying to balance himself more successfully. Then, he slowly turned to face his fiancé.
"Those notes… I made them because I can't say those things to you myself," Yuri confessed, looking at Wolfram in the eye. "Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not a man of words. It's just… It's just I get embarrassed when I say think of saying those things to you, not to mention with the thought of actually saying it to you. As you can see...I get all awkward when I think about it."
It took all the courage Yuri had in his system to say those things.
"By sending you little notes...then you don't get to see me this way," he added as a mumble, looking away.
Wolfram let go of Yuri's hand. He sat crossed-legged on the grass. He looked down and shook a little. To Yuri, it seemed to be a bad omen.
"All this time, I thought you didn't care, you insolent wimp!" He yelled at the double-black who had fear written all over his face.
"Wolfram, please calm down! I don't want to die yet!" Yuri said with crossing hand movements going on in front of him.
Wolfram stretched out his hand; Yuri tried to get out of his position. Yuri's escape was could not be considered a success. The good news is it wasn't certain death that Wolfram had tried to give him by stretching his arm towards his wimp, it was a hug.
"You idiot, you should have said that sooner." Wolfram whispered to his fiancé's ear. "You had me get depressed over nothing!"
A chuckle soon followed that.
Seeing that Wolfram wasn't going to kill him, Yuri relaxed and hesitantly wrapped his arms around the blond. A smile even graced his face. It wasn't so bad. Really, it wasn't.
Wolfram decided that Günter was truly an idiot for believing in the power of petal-plucking. He also blamed the elder adviser for the stupidity he let himself fall into. Flowers didn't have the power to turn events into anyone's favour. They don't bring in trustworthy information. They can bring about any desired result by knowing where to start and by knowing the number of petals they hold. They just provide cowards and fools excuses for not dealing with the situation themselves. It was a relief to establish this as a fact.
"I'll wait for you, Yuri, I will." Wolfram whispered to Yuri before releasing him from his embrace.
Yuri gave him a smile, a very grateful smile.
"Your majesty, where have you gone off to? Your majesty, could it be that you hate your faithful servant Günter so much that you have played another prank in order to crush my oh-so loving heart?"
"I thought you said Günter was happy to give you a break." Wolfram said, getting annoyed by this wimp's irresponsibility.
"Eh, well…" Yuri smiled idiotically and had his eye twitch a bit. "Hide me, Wolfram! I beg of you, hide me!"
"No way, you should be taught to be responsible for your actions." Wolfram said and smirked. "Günter! Yuri's right here beside me!"
Wolfram immediately seized his king and struggled to keep him in place until Günter comes.
"WOLF, LET GO!"
"As your retainer, I am teaching you how to properly behave as our king." Wolfram said calmly. "And, as your lover, I am simply getting my revenge."
"AH! I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!" Yuri shouted with all his might, bright red after hearing Wolfram call him 'his lover'.
The shout was all what Günter needed to track him down.
Wolfram waved good bye to his wimp with a smile, knowing that there is something to look forward to in the future.
THE END
A/N: So, what do you think? It's been a while since I've submitted something. I'm not even sure if they were still in character. You know, this one is actually an old story written years ago. I suppose watching the 1st season of KKM! for two days has its charm. Anyways, I'd like to hear from you! Tell me what you think about the story!