Love Lost and …..Invented?

By nightjade

DISCLAIMER: Again, I do not own Kyou Kara Maou! …such a cruel and unfair world……*sniff!* *sniff!*

Chapter 2: Gwendal in the Middle!

It took the whole dinner time for King Yuri to overcome his shock at the sudden revelation, to which Greta was already trying to snap him out of by saying that she wanted Yuri to lighten up since the food was marvelous and how Ewe's desserts were mouthwatering.

But despite the king's efforts to lighten up the mood around the dinner table, everyone else seemed to feel quite uncomfortable, save for Gwendal, who seemed to be having an easy time conversing with her.

Which made Yuri suddenly think: Is she a girlfriend or something? How come he chats easily with her than with Anissina?

His gaze suddenly shifted to Anissina, who was quietly eating her meal without so much as a glance at their unexpected guest.

Which made Yuri think again: I wonder if Anissina knows her that well, too! Must be a love triangle sort of thing!

But then the thought of Gwendal being caught between two women suddenly made Yuri laugh aloud that everyone looked at him curiously, which made him stop in embarrassment.

"Ano---gomen ne, minna. It's just that it's funny; we're supposed to be celebrating my daughter's birthday. And knowing how much she enjoys dinner with us, I would like us to break the ice by having everyone enjoy their meal, too!" he said with a good-natured laugh. Then turning to the Lady Calista, he grinned sheepishly.

"Uhm, I'm sorry for this uneasy silence on my part, Lady Calista. But it was just a shock for me to know that Adelbert had a sister….plus the fact that you don't look anything like him, thank goodness!----Ah! But I'm not saying that he's ugly or anything….just mean looking with that serious face like Gwendal….Ahh! But I didn't mean anything bad about it too, Gwendal! Hehehe……yare-yare, what am I saying again? Uhm…ano.." he babbled on until Murata felt that he had to interfere before Yuri further makes a fool of himself.

"That's correct, Lady Calista. It was just a mild surprise to see you here after all these years since you left the castle." he added as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

Yuri almost fell from his chair at this sudden revelation.

"Nani?? You mean, Lady Calista used to live in this castle, too?" he asked incredulously, steeling himself against his seat.

This time, it was Lady Anissina who spoke up after having a small sip of wine and wiping her mouth gently with a table napkin.

"Yes it's true. Calista's father always came here to consult with Lady Celi before and he would always bring Calista along so she wouldn't get bored. We would often play here and she would tinker with my inventions as well. She decided to stay here since then, to which her father agreed." She paused for a moment to take another sip of her wine.

"Although, when Adelbert left Shin Makoku and went against his own people, she left the castle to fight him. She didn't come back for a long time after that," she added with a grim look aimed directly at Calista.

Yuri noted the slight edge in Anisinna's voice as she spoke, which made him think that probably something bad happened between the two of them before Calista left.

He was about to say something connected to it when Conrad spoke up, cutting him off.

"What exactly brings you here, my Lady? I'm sure you have a very good reason why you've come back to Blood Pledge Castle after all this time." he said in a light but slightly reproachful tone.

As everyone turned their attention to her, Calista graciously smiled as she put down her fork and wiped her mouth gently with the table napkin.

"My apologies for simply barging in like this. Anissina is right to say that I left this castle and did not come back for urgent reasons concerning my brother and father. But now I've come back for something I've left long ago, which I regretted since I did. And I haven't been able to forgive myself for doing so."

She took a small sip of wine to clear her throat and then smiled as she put the wine glass down as everyone looked her expectantly.

"I've come back for Lord Gwendal, to ask for his hand in marriage." she said confidently, looking at him straight in the eye.

This time, His Majesty King Yuri Shibuya, the 27th Maou of Shin Makoku, fell from his chair.


And the castle was immediately abuzz! What started out as a birthday bash for the Princess Greta turned out to be an engagement party as well!

But of course, that is only in response to the announcement made earlier by the esteemed Lady Calista Amberyl Grantz about her intention to ask for Gwendal's hand in marriage.

It was like so many things started happening at once. Gunter and Conrad were helping his Majesty get up from the floor when he fell from his chair upon hearing the news. At the same time, the Lady Celi was all over her eldest son, hugging him in complete delight at the proposal. Plus, Wolfram sat bewildered in his chair, still looking unbelievingly from Gwendal to Calista. And even Greta did not know if she would be laughing with relief for Gwendal or crying for Lady Anissina, whom she considers as her older sister.

The only other persons on the room who seemed quite unperturbed were Lady Anissina herself and Ken Murata, who both sat quietly as they watched the scene passively before them. It was then that the headstrong Lady of the Karbelnikoff family decided to put things in their right perspective.

She stood up and cleared her throat authoritatively to get everyone's attention.

"While it is true that this calls for a joyous celebration, let us not forget why we are indeed celebrating this day originally. It is Princess Greta's birthday, isn't it? And we're forgetting our manners by completely diverting our attention elsewhere instead of on her alone for the time being," she said austerely, giving each one of them a reproachful look.

She walked towards the table beside the curtains which were laden with gifts and plucked a small box from the middle and then headed back towards where Greta sat. Smiling, she handed the box to Greta, who took it eagerly and curiously with her tiny hands.

"My gift to you, young Princess. Since you were once bereft of an adopted sibling, I give you this as a substitute…..or rather, as a new friend," she said with pride, smiling fondly at her adopted little sister.

Greta could hardly contain her excitement as she quickly opened the box and fished out a mechanical replica of a bear bee! Hastily finding the switch, she turned it on and watched in great delight as it soared around her while saying "nogisu!" over and over. Greta clapped her hands joyfully as she stood up and followed the mechanical bear bee around the room, then stopped when it finally landed on her shoulder, allowing her to hold it in her hands.

"Oh this is wonderful! I'm so happy to have it! Thank you very much, Lady Anissina!" she gratefully said as she caressed the mechanical bear bee with her cheeks.

Following Anissina's example, the rest gave their gifts as well. Yuri gave her a beautiful dress made by his mom from earth plus a plush pillow that looked like a bear and a bee from Murata. Wolfram came next, who gave her a magnificently woven royal robe from his uncle's province. Then the Lady Celi gave her an elegant set of hair accessories including a small silver crown fit for a princess. Gunter gave her a nice storybook about an adventurous princess (written by Anissina, of course) and Conrad gave her a custom made baseball bat with a matching fitted catcher's mitt. Finally, Gwendal offered his hand-knitted stuffed toy, which Greta excitedly claimed to be a fluffy turtle, and which made Gwendal's eyebrow twitch a little.

"It's a dolphin," he corrected simply which made the others look closely for confirmation.

Everyone was so pleased that Greta liked their gifts, they almost have forgotten about the Lady Calista, who sat quietly as she beheld the fuss before her with a small, wistful smile. Murata was the one to notice her silence first, which the others then followed as they turned their eyes to her uncomfortably.

Smiling politely, she stood up and headed towards Greta, who was still beaming from all her gifts. Almost instantly, too, her smile turned to a hesitant look as Calista stopped before her.

As everyone watched, Caslita took off the necklace she was wearing and gently fastened it on Greta's neck, who sat staring disbelievingly at her.

"Since I wasn't prepared to come to a party and was not informed of your birthday, please do accept this humble gift that I can offer. It is a necklace given to me by a dear friend who is now far away." she said with a warm smile.

"It seems that from what I heard, Gwendal is very fond of you, too. So I give this to you in honor of that love and care, from me. I know you'll wear it well, little princess." she added warmly as she saw the curious look in the young girl's eyes.

Then it dawned on Greta what the Lady Calista had said and she looked admiringly at the beautiful blue-green pendant shaped like a leaf that sparkled on a silver chain, making her smile eagerly.

"Thank you very much, Lady Calista! It's truly beautiful!" she exclaimed, looking up to Calista with joyful eyes, and then gazed admiringly back at the pendant.

In the entire hubbub, none seemed to finally notice the Lady Anissina take her leave quietly from the room, save for the observant friend once known throughout the land as the Great Sage.

to be continued…..

A/N: Ahhh….hehehe I don't know what came over me while I was writing this chapter. But so far, a storm is brewing inside the castle and our two noblewomen seem to be engaged in a silent showdown (rubs hands evilly). Next chapter coming up and this time, secrets revealed on Calista's real relation to Gwendal and Anissina! Oh goody! Another controversy! Hehehehe. Hope you'll review, everyone! Thanks to those who did. Enjoy! ^_^