Beta: XEOHE

Special Thanks to: Wolfram von Bielefeld...

It was spring when it had happened. Little Wolfram sprinted out of the castle and into the gorgeous courtyard; the different flower aromas meshed together, creating a soft and sweet scent as he ran.

"Wolfram!" was heard from the stairs behind him.

He didn't turned around or anything. Instead, he shook his head in disagreement and turned left; to a secret garden his mom had made just for him. Or so that's what the queen had told him. It's just… how much longer did a young boy his age have to take?

His nanny had brought some of her nieces and nephews one weekend, and then, on the following weekend they wouldn't show up. To Wolfram, these kids his age had a possibility of becoming his friends, whom he'd have the opportunity to ride the ponies with (he was still young for a horse), and have fancy tea parties with, and anything else that would come to mind.

But for some reason, even if Mathew or Jeanne or Sammy or Dean had fun, they wouldn't come back the next time. His Nanny would say that they got sick. Or that mom and dad had enrolled them in some kid activity or that— yes, excuses from the left and from the right.

But Wolfram knew. He knew why they wouldn't come back. He was a prince. Back than, Wolfram didn't pay much attention to titles.

All he longed for was a friend, a true friend.

But is it sure seemed that it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Of course lacking friends at his age was very unfair.

Which is why he was running to his secret garden today. Jeanne or was it Jasmine? didn't come back, even though she had promised she would. He had even planned a fun outing: they would ride ponies first, and then have a snack. Afterwards, they would go play tag and maybe hide-n-go-seek just to make Gunter go crazy. Now that would've been fun. Yes, Wolfram had definitely been looking forward to it.

But life wasn't fair to him. Little big brother was busy. Big brother was busy too. And well, Wolfie just didn't want to bother them, even if he really wanted too. Yes, there were times when he just didn't care and would throw a fit to get his brothers' attention. But like all kids his age, he wanted a playmate. Sure he had Elizabeth, but… he wanted more. Elizabeth had plenty of friends but for some reason didn't visit him often, so why couldn't he have more friends. Real friends…

Wolfram hid behind the prickly bush (that was the only entrance to the secret garden) as he heard his nanny running his way. "Wolfram!" she said as she passed the garden, not acknowledging it whatsoever. Only mother and him knew how to get in, but he hid just in case. After all, one can never take a chance. That, he learned from big brother.

Once he felt that it was safe, he, as quietly as possible, crawled to the other side. The garden was beautiful: Roses upon roses of many different colors adorned the sides. Beautiful Wolframs were all over as well; this was his garden after all. Tulips, carnations, angel's trumpet, and daffodils were also included among some unknown ones.

But right in the middle of his small garden was a fruit tree. These were his favorite part. The type that when just ripe are delicious and juicy, and might even smell good. Another great thing about the tree was that it gave great shade during hot summer days. Like the ones just around the corner…

Wolfram was going to go sit under his tree and wait till his little big brother or big brother would come looking for him. Yes, he was going to wait, and at the thought he smiled that angelic, beautiful, adorable smile of his.

But as he was about to approach it he saw someone around his height, but with a purple cloak, jumping, trying to get maybe a fruit. Wolfram approached the tree quietly, trying not to startle whomever it was. A sound like, 'kmph!' 'kmph!' came out, every time the said being jumped.

"I usually throw pebbles at them," Wolfram said. The mysterious kid, it must have been, stopped and turned to face Wolf. The wind passed by, swaying the tree, as they stared at each other. Wolfram nodded. "Sure! I'll help you look for some." He turned to one side, than another. "I got some!" he shouted as he ran back to where the kid was.

The child extended his hands and Wolfram gave him the pebbles. He looked up to Wolfram, who gave him an encouraging smile.

Soon enough, Wolfram and this young stranger began tossing the pebbles at the fruits until finally one fell. The kid picked it up and was about to hand it to Wolfie, but the child shook his blonde head. "No, you can have it," he said.

"I got some earlier," he lied.

The child nodded.

And just like that, they started to have a small conversation about names, and where they came from, and who they were. They also talked about favorite colors and foods, and whether they rode ponies.

Next thing Wolfram knew, the sun had started to set.

"Wolfram!"

"Wolfram?" was heard. Wolf stopped and turned to at the source of the voices.

He looked back at his new friend, who at some point in time had pulled back the hood of the his cloak: but the strange thing was that at that moment the sun's glare made the kid's face rather blurry to see. The child mouthed something.

Wolfram nodded. " 'kay. I promise." And with that Wolf stood and ran towards the entrance. As soon as the wind picked up, the kid's silhouette vanished.

xXx

A slight breeze rose and curled, tousling Wolfram's beautiful golden locks, waking him up. It was that dream again. The one with— with his friend…

He rubbed whatever sleep was left in his eye and looked around the very big, dark, cold, empty room he was in. His room.

Wolfram had gone back to his old room about two months ago. But for some odd reason it felt like forever. Yuuri and he had been having so much friction recently. Why exactly, was something he couldn't recall.

Conrad had been a bit surprised by the arrangement Wolfram had asked for. Gwendal was surprised by it too. And before long everyone in the castle knew something was definitely wrong. "I heard lord Von Bielefeld saw his majesty kissing another," or "I thought it was heika who had seen lord von Bielefeld with one of his troops," was the gossip circling the castle.

"… I just think this might best for both of us," Wolfram had told Yuuri, who gawked at the revelation.

Wolfram who had been all over him for like, forever, asked for this.

Wolfram who loved the maou had suggested this.

Wolfram who at that moment was so out of character, had told Yuuri one winter evening…

Wolfram sighed as he remembered that particular event. What got into him that night? But the deed was done, and he soon had moved out, back to this room.

And it was in this room where those dreams came back. Every night that kid in the purple cloak would appear. The location was different every time: one day they were by the cliff, the next by the ocean, and the one seconds before, under the tree.

God! How he wanted to pull his beautiful blonde locks in desperation, but something or someone inside of him would say, "No… don't."

Was he going insane! He internally screamed.

He pushed his covers down and slowly made his way to the window. It had been a little chilly by now, and even though he wasn't wearing that pink nightgown, his emerald pajamas weren't that warm. It was spring after all.

As he got a hold of the window, something caught his attention. Something shiny that was coming from far on the left, and if he wasn't mistaken, that was where his secret garden from long ago was hiding.

It twinkled once. It twinkled twice. And if he tried not to blink it twinkled thrice. That blur of a face would appear, would come to mind, every time it twinkled and that promise— it felt like a promise… would be remembered.

Suddenly a gentle breeze returned and passed through as Wolfram began to close the door and if it hadn't been for the wind, Wolfram could have sworn that someone had just caressed his cheek.

And the worst part was, it felt too damn familiar.

xXx

Yuuri did not like his new platonic relationship with Wolfram. Not one bit. "It's for the best," he would repeat in his mind, like a broken record, over and over again. Who did Wolfram think he was to— to say what or what not to do?

Fine. He understood that they were both getting on each other's nerves lately, but part of it was because Yuuri was in that point in his life were he was beginning to figure out who he was. And one of the things he found out was that maybe, just maybe, he did have feelings for Wolfram.

There was a secret Yuuri kept. Murata kept it as well...

Yuuri had kissed a girl. He didn't remember her name, and frankly he could care less. It was just the mood, and the setting, and it felt like the right thing to do at the moment! But truth be told, he, Yuuri Shibuya, didn't feel the spark. The spark that many talked about. And this pissed him off.

So when he came back to Blood Pledge, and while Wolfram was sleeping (and Yuuri knew that Wolfram was a hardcore sleeper), Yuuri leaned down to kiss him. It was a shy kiss. A timid kiss. A simple kiss. And above all, he liked it.

Yuuri liked Wolfram's soft lips, and if he really, really had to tell you, he would definitely say that Wolfram's lips tasted like strawberries, and that they were delicious.

And now, things are going haywire and he doesn't like it.

But just because he didn't like it, doesn't mean he had objected to this new arrangement. In fact, he had acted as if nothing had changed, and he hadn't been affected by it. This might be because Wolfram had offered to still keep an eye on the wimp, as he had called him, something Yuuri was thankful for.

Now Yuuri has started a habit of taking a walk with Wolfram sometime in the afternoon. "I've been working hard lately, so a walk around the castle should at least be fine," was something he had told Gwendal. Of course Gwendal was surprised heika had asked for such a simple request, but somewhere deep inside Gwendal had an idea about what the true reason was, which was why he obliged.

During one of their regular walks around the castle, Yuuri and Wolfram heard things being shuffled about and voices saying, "This way" and "No, that box should go to the left." This caught the couple's attention, and as they glanced at each other for approval, they headed to where the noises were coming from.

"What's going on here?" Wolfram asked with authority resonating from his voice.

Two soldiers, startled by Wolfram, dropped a dusty box on the floor while the others just stopped to look at them. "Heika!" and "Sir von Bielefeld," were said by some of the soldiers.

"Why Wolfie dear," Lady Cheri said as she made her way through the crowd of soldiers. "I'm doing some spring cleaning," she said as she stood in front of the boys. By now Wolfram and Yuuri had started to notice a few small things: some of the maids were dusting pieces of armor, while others were moping and helping in pointing the soldiers to the right direction.

Yuuri, being who he was, scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. If he and Wolf had been paying attention earlier then maybe, just maybe, they would've noticed.

Lady Cheri saw Yuuri's reaction and soon remembered. "Oh heika! I have something to show you." She grabbed hold of Yuuri's free hand and dragged him to where the fallen box was. Wolfram followed closely behind; spring-cleaning, at times, brought embarrassing moments.

Lady Cheri bent down to open the box, as a child would during Christmas, and didn't notice the white paper that had floated out right into Yuuri's feet. Yuuri bent down to pick it up. "What's this," he said, getting Wolfram's and Lady Cheri's attention.

Lady Cheri beamed, while poor Wolfram blushed. "Nothing that concerns you wimp!" Wolfram said as he aimed for the paper, only to have missed it by mere seconds.

"That's what I wanted to show you heika," lady Cheri said, taking the paper for a moment and fingering it. "As I was cleaning I found a few of Wolfie's pictures and wanted to share them with you."

"Mother!" Wolfram said.

Lady Cheri's smile widened as she handed the paper back to Yuuri.

Yuuri had an 'o' expression as that piece of paper now had a deeper sentimental value. It was Wolfram's after all.

As he looked at it carefully now he noticed something. "Say Wolfram."

"What?" Wolfram replied uneasily.

"Who's that?" Yuuri said, bidding Wolfram to come near. Wolfram's eyes widened and he pulled the paper from Yuuri's grasp.

Wolfram looked at the picture carefully: it was of him, when he was around the equivalent of a six or seven-year-old human child, and was wearing that gorgeous outfit that consisted of a red blazer with an emerald emblem, a white long-ruffled white shirt, and a pair of blue pants. The figure next to him had on a purple cloak.

To Wolfram it seemed as if it was a scene taken out from the dream he had had recently. Wolfram frowned at the thought. "Mother," he said.

"What is it Wolfie dear?" Lady Cheri answered.

"Who is that? Next to me." Wolfram said.

Lady Cheri leaned down to see, and as she saw the picture more carefully, a faint memory hit. "I'm not sure Wolfie dear. In fact, I don't remember that being there."

Yuuri, now closer to Wolfram, studied the picture; something about it made him dislike it, maybe because Wolf and that person looked close. Too close.

AN: Believe me, reviews are much appreciated it so please drop one by and let me know what's on your mind...

Till next time