Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou kara Maou, or make any profit from this fanfic.

Chapter 2: Arrival of the Boy-King

The sun rose lazily over verdant hills, casting its saffron light over all it encountered. The rays of gold emanated from that single point, traveling in glowing lines, then exploding into a prism of color when reflected in the glistening drops of morning dew that hung on every blade of grass. But all the splendor of the sun as it caressed the countryside in its many forms could not compare to the ethereal beauty of the boy-king, His Most Royal Beloved Majesty, King Saralegui.

His Royal Majesty was currently perched on an edge of a crimson colored velvet carriage seat. One hand was tenderly placed under a perfectly sculpted chin. His round lavender-colored glasses partially obscured his striking chartreuse eyes. And his long flowing hair hung forward, enveloping his body in a flaxen veil so heavenly that no man-made material could ever hope to compare in beauty or fineness.

His long flowing robes, made of the finest silk had been crafted by poor, lowly subjects who rejoiced at the opportunity to callously murder some silk worm larvae for the glory of his Majesty. To see his Majesty so wondrously clothed was their only thanks, and they were eternally grateful to have such a benevolent King.

And King Saralegui smiled softly to himself as he mentally prepared for the arduous tasks ahead…

"Beries, what are you reading?" Sara asked, glancing over at his bodyguard with a slightly annoyed look. It was uncharacteristic for Beries to be so verbose. Usually he was silent and observant. But maybe Beries was as bored as Sara was by the long carriage ride.

"The Epic Journey of His Most Royal Majesty King Saralegui-(may he live forever) to the Land of the Ferocious Super-Evil Man-Eating Demons," Beries replied proudly.

"How can it already be written if I haven't finished the journey yet?" Sara asked peevishly.

"It is being written right now. I brought Melvin the court scribe along since he always writes such wonderful things about your Majesty," said Beries.

"Is that so?" Sara asked sweetly, noticing for the first time, a small non-descript human, who was furiously writing on some parchment in a far corner of the carriage.

Melvin glanced up, startled at being noticed.

"Well, carry on then, Melvin," Sara continued with a smirk. "Although I do hope for your sake that you are not being sarcastic. Unless of course, you would enjoy spending some time in the royal dungeons."

Melvin gulped and hurriedly scribbled out a few words. Then he continued writing.

Sara sighed and leaned back into the plush carriage cushions. His hand grazed against Beries' arm, and he shivered, wondering why his bodyguard always seemed to have such a cold body temperature.

~o~

"I wonder what his Majesty Saralegui will be like," Sangria said dreamily.

"I heard that he is as beautiful as any woman," Lazania said.

The maids oohed and aahed over this new fact.

"I've also heard that he is close friends with His Majesty King Yuuri," Lazania continued.

"What will Lord von Blielfeld think of that?" asked Doria.

"Things should get interesting," Lazania said. "Especially since Lord Weller isn't around…"

The maids continued to whisper and giggle as they continued about their daily chores.

~o~

Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff sipped her morning coffee while listening to the idle chatter of the maids. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Silly girls! Think of all they could accomplish if they directed all that energy and enthusiasm towards science instead of gossiping. Still, she supposed it was mostly harmless amusement.

Anissina glanced over and noticed that Greta was copying her posture as she sipped her juice.

Anissina felt a sense of accomplishment. She finished her coffee and looked over at Greta again. Greta gulped down the rest of her juice and smiled up at Anissina.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," Anissina said approvingly. "You need to have enough energy for learning…and of course, practicing science."

"Okay!" Greta shouted as she bounced from the room happily.

Young children needed good role models. And there was no better role model in Shin Makoku than the infamous Poison Lady.

~o~

A carrier pigeon landed on the window sill outside Lord Gwendal von Voltaire's office. Gwendal opened the window, and removed the message from the pigeon's pack. Gwendal's brow furrowed and his frown became deeper as he read the message.

Hey Boss,

The captain decided it's time for the return of the Blue Wind in Dai Shimaron (and not just because he had seafood last night).

I've decided to join him for a while. Hope you don't mind!

Hugs and Kisses, XXOO

~Yozak

Gwendal crumpled the piece of paper and wondered why he always had to be the responsible one. Every one else always ran about doing whatever they felt like. But not Gwendal. He was responsible and hard-working. Surely the castle would implode in a flurry of undone paperwork and insane inventions if Gwendal ever decided to become irresponsible, or Shinou forbid, take a vacation.

Gwendal's thoughts were interrupted as Gunter, Yuuri, and Wolfram entered his office.

"Oh Majesty," Gunter effused. "It will be such an honor to witness your historic diplomatic meeting with King Saralegui."

"Hmmph!" said Wolfram. "Saralegui better not try anything underhanded again."

"Wolfram," Yuuri said as he put a hand on Wolfram's arm. "I'm sure Sara didn't really mean any of those things he did before. Besides," Yuuri continued brightly, "The best way to show Sara how to become more trustworthy is to give him a good example. Which means we need to trust him completely, of course."

Gwendal's eye twitched. Just then Greta and Anissina walked into the office.

"Gwendal, you still look grumpy and stressed," Anissina pointed out. "Maybe what you need is-"

"What I NEED is for everyone to focus on their duties," said Gwendal.

"Hey, does anyone know where Conrad is?" Yuuri asked, looking around.

"I hope that flakey brother of mine didn't run off again," Wolfram said.

Gwendel's eye twitched. "Conrart is in Dai Shimaron with Yozak," he said gruffly.

"WHAT!" Yuuri shouted. "Conrad left again? Don't we have to get him back?"

"There's no time for that now," Gwendel said. "King Saralegui will be arriving in a few hours."

"Don't worry wimp," Wolfram said while placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I'll protect you."

"I don't need anyone to protect me," Yuuri protested. "And don't call me a wimp!"

"Well you are." Wolfram huffed. "And King Saralegui is-"

"Wolfram!" Gwendel interrupted. "Try not to start any international incidents this afternoon.

Wolfram scowled, then pouted at his older brother, but didn't say anything else.

Then there was a knock at the door.

"Hey," Murata said while he entered the room with José, "Look who Shinou decided to send for a visit!"

"Why did Shinou send José here?" Yuuri asked perplexed.

"I don't know, Shibuya," Murata answered. "You know how he gets sometimes."

Yuuri blanched. Yes, Shinou was a being of many moods. Most of them were not pleasant.

"Maybe he's a replacement for Lord Weller's jokes," Murata suggested with a wink.

"Eh?" Yuuri said while trying to remember if José told jokes. He seemed to remember a few, but José wasn't really around all that often.

José seemed to sense he was on the spot. Although there was nothing more difficult than being funny on demand, José was pretty good. He scratched his head for a minute. Then his face lit up with a smile "Oh I know one, and it's really funny." His face stretched into a grin. "You'll die laughing when you hear it. What did the Pythium say when it sat on the hot stove?"

Murata groaned and face-palmed. Yuuri wondered why.

José paused dramatically before supplying the punchline to his joke. "Oomycete!"

Gwendal's frown deepened.

Greta shrieked with laughter, since it was a joke that could still sound funny, even if you didn't know much about fungal-like organisms.

Then they heard a squealing sound come from down the hall.

"Apparently mother is back from one of her journeys," Gwendel muttered.

Celi burst into the room, and descended upon Yuuri. "Oh Your Majesty," she said while squishing his face against her ample cleavage.

"Mother!" Wolfram yelled.

"What's the matter, Wolfie?" Celi asked while giving Yuuri another squeeze.
"Jealous? Do you want some attention too?" Celi dropped Yuuri and pulled Wolfram into a boob hug.

"Mother," Gwendal said with an eye twitch, "What are you wearing?"

"I'm wearing my red superhero outfit of course!" She said with a giggle. "It always makes things so much more fun!"

"If you added a little more glitter to your outfit you'd look like Sandra Sandoval!" José said with a grin.

"Who?" asked Yuuri.

"And José gets points for obscure pop culture reference number one!" Murata said, while making a note on a pad of paper.

"Mother. If you must participate in the diplomatic meeting, please change into something more respectable."

"Oh Gwennie, you're no fun," Celi said with a pout. Then she brightened up as an idea struck her. "Come on, Greta," she cooed. "Do you want to try on some of the beautiful dresses that Grandma bought for you?"

"Ok!" Greta squealed.

Gwendal rubbed the side of his forehead. He could feel a tension headache coming on.

~o~

An excerpt from The Epic Journey of His Most Royal Majesty King Saralegui-(may he live forever) to the Land of the Ferocious Super-Evil Man-Eating Demons, written by Melvin the lowly court scribe, who of course does not even know the meaning of the word 'sarcastic'.

The carriage came to rest outside of the ominous Blood Pledge Castle. And a cursed place it was, living up to its name. The windows were dark and splashed with blood. Random shrieks and screams could be heard from within the bowels of that wretched place.

And then, King Saralegui, enveloped in a halo of light, descended from his carriage. He paused for a moment to tilt his head toward the sky and tuck a wisp of his flaxen hair behind his ear.

Then a creature so black that the sun was nearly blotted out stood at the entrance to the cursed castle. His red eyes looked as if they could burn a path straight to Hades. He opened his gigantic mouth filled with sharp teeth and made an unintelligible roar that sounded something like "Sara!"

Far from being afraid, the heroic, most brave, courageous King Saralegui smiled. And it was a bright smile that would surely rival any precious gem in its shine. "Yuuuuuuri," he trilled in a silken dulcet tone. Even hosts of angles with heavenly instruments could never hope to rival the ethereal beauty of the boy-kings voice.

A deformed bird creature cried out "Bad omen."

And a glob of bird feces landed on top of King Saralegui's most sacred hair.