Sayo: I disclaim ownership of Kyou Kara Maou and "Love Will Keep Us Alive" by one of my favorite bands, The Eagles!
This is for my baby Wolfram and my beloved Akira. Mommy loves you!!!
Love Will Keep Us Alive
Conrad smiled at the very young woman sleeping beside him and stroked her hair in an almost fatherly way, the way he was wont to do all those years ago. She had grown up a lot, had grown to love him. Their relationship had faced a lot of skepticism, but they have weathered through it. He kissed her forehead and smiled when she snuggled closer to him. She was his everything, the reason he lived.
I was standing all alone against the world outside.
You were searching for a place to hide.
Lost and lonely, now you've given me the will to survive.
When we're hungry, love will keep us alive.
His wife was the casualty of a happy marriage. Some children were devastated by divorce, but she had suffered the opposite. Her parents often looked past her eyes, lost in each other. It was Conrad who kept her together, and it was she who kept him from falling apart. She made him stronger; her vulnerability made him want to protect her. She gave Conrad a reason to go on.
Conrad held her closer, delighted when she snuggled into his warmth unconsciously.
Don't you worry, sometimes you just gotta let it ride.
The world is changing right before your eyes.
Now I found you, there's no more emptiness inside.
When we're hungry, love will keep us alive.
Her father was elected King of the whole Demon World after the Council of Kings determined that King Yuuri's pure heart would enable him to lead the New Union of Kingdoms and surely enough, his kindness and sound sense of justice did a world of wonders for all his subjects. The matter was, with King Yuuri now as absolute ruler of the world, father to four children and husband to Conrad's younger brother, Greta was unwittingly made an outsider, loved but sorely neglected because both Yuuri and Wolfram had their hands full. With Wolfram now as Yuuri's consort and champion, Conrad was now without a place by his king's side. It was natural how he had become the Princess' guardian.
Conrad could still remember the night of Greta's coming-of-age party. She was sixteen then, resplendent in a princess-cut white taffeta gown; her red hair, long and silky was let down and reached to her waist. The dress clung to the right places and showed off her full but slender figure and that was when he realized he would not be able to hand her over to anyone else. Yuuri and Wolfram had arranged for Greta to meet the eligible bachelors – lords, princes and only the richest of the rich young men to pay her court and she'd shunned them all, withdrawing to her room away from everyone. It was Conrad who had followed her there and she'd told him through teary chocolate eyes – not unlike his own -- that she did not want anyone else but him and he'd held her, never to let go. No time was wasted and in a few days they were married, surprising everyone. No one had thought Greta had been serious when she'd told Lady Celi she had wanted to marry Conrad nor did anyone have an inkling about Conrad's feelings about the matter until they'd walked down that Temple aisle and showed them all up. Thankfully, after their son Yuuri was born, everyone had forgotten about the issue; they'd become just another royal couple in the Blood Pledge Castle.
Conrad tucked Greta's head under his chin and pulled the covers over her when he felt her shiver. In his heart, he swore:
I would die for you – climb the highest mountain!
Baby, there's nothing I wouldn't do!
Sometimes Conrad himself wondered how he and Greta understood each other despite their almost 150-year age gap. She was nineteen now, and he was… he'd stopped counting at a hundred. However, they fulfilled a gap in each other's lives – needed each other like they've never needed anyone or anything before, and that was probably why they'd made it this far.
I was standing all alone against the world outside.
You were searching for a place to hide.
Now I found you, there's no more emptiness inside.
When we're hungry, love will keep us alive.
Conrad's musing was interrupted by a sharp wail from the bassinet beside their bed. Before he could gently slide his arm from beneath Greta's body she'd already gotten up, fed their baby Yuuri and gotten back to bed with him. Conrad chuckled. Greta was almost too efficient.
Greta lay down beside her husband, put his arm around her and smiled at him. "What?"
Conrad just smiled back and held her close to him. "I love you, my Princess. Good night,"
Greta just sighed contentedly and snuggled closer to him before she dozed off. "I love you too, Conrad."
When we're hungry, love will keep us alive.