God Save Our King of the dead

by taikoboususu

Yuuri's not sure about his feelings, but he has no time to think more about it, as something happens in Bielefeld's lands. Yuuram/Wolfyuu, dark/creepy stuff & zombies, but humor as well -not always black!

2. Chapter 2

Disc: kkm's not mine.

Rule N°2: Never feed a zombie after midnight.

Changes there too. There should be a lot less mistakes, and hopefully, I'll find a beta reader soon ^^

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In the carriage, Yuuri was alone with Wolfram, who wasn't happy at all about the fact that Yuuri didn't want them to go on horse. Their horses were coming along though, and he knew it could be useful. But Wolfram's uncle's lands were more than half a day away, and Yuuri didn't want Wolfram to fight refusing to stop. In there, he would doze off, eventually, and it would be easier for him to cope with such a situation. Gwendal agreed it was safer for the Maou, and that way they wouldn't have to stop and still have their brains when they'd have reached their destination, even if it wasn't that far.

That was exactly why Yuuri had suggested it in the first place, but the idea, as always, was better when it wasn't one of his.

He shook his head. Now was not the time for this, he was there for Wolfram.

"I'm..."

"Sorry?" guessed Wolfram, still scowling.

"Pretty much, yeah. I really don't know what I could say. Though if you want to ... talk about..." He stopped talking. Wolfram was furious. He'd been rubbing his fist since he'd jumped inside, and whenever he stopped scowling, he would gaze out, with a strange expression on his face. He seemed almost... vulnerable. Fragile. Which wasn't something he'd ever looked before, as far as the young king could remember.

Yuuri fidgeted for a while, watching outside, as night fell.

" Is it ok if... If I do the talking?" Wolfram arched an elegant eyebrow.

Then he shrugged. Yuuri sighed, and took his hand, to heal his reddened fist. It wasn't really wounded, but he just had to do something to show he cared.

He was no fool, Wolfram had almost crossed his arms defensively when he had asked, as if saying "You did not tell me about what was bothering you, why should I?"

He didn't let go of his hand and started talking about some nonsense. He'd wanted to talk the book he had been reading, but he remembered Pochi. Had Wolfram said they were his parents as well? He seemed to do that with every cute thing they encountered, now he thought about it. He was Gwendal's brother, that figures, he thought, repressing a smile. He couldn't remember.

He'd wanted to talk about Greta, but again, reminding him that he was a father was not a very smart idea, he felt. Nothing involving parenthood, fathers or even family. Or death or graves, but he couldn't see him wanting to talk about that. So he chatted about work instead. His lessons, stuff he didn't really understand, and stuff he found really weird, and hearing a shriek he found scary outside, they spoke for a while about sounds made by animals here and on earth. They even chuckled a little, remembering a closet on a ship, where he had tried to imitate a cat and ended up imitating some monster instead. How a "meow"could be frightening, he still had no idea.

After a while, Yuuri finally decided to shut up. Wolfram sighed. It had been nice, but he knew Yuuri was doing this to prevent him from thinking about his father, and it was a cowardly thing to do. And Wolfram was no coward, he told himself.

He wasn't frightened, as Yuuri seemed to think he should be, either. Sure, it brought up memories, or rather, pinpointed their absence, because he did not remember a thing about his father. His mother had told him he was like his father, especially his temperament was. But it wasn't as if he missed him or anything, he told himself.

But he was pissed. He had rarely been this furious, in fact, and though he knew he had a bad temper, his outbursts were linked to things that bothered him. He just lost it a little, yelled, or fought, and he was done with it. And he felt better after that. He had never felt ire to the point of thinking he had, seriously, to kill someone. He had killed, of course, he was a soldier, but he never wanted that. It was duty, and killing or being killed, it was not a real issue.

But now, and since he felt things differently, for he hanged out a little too much with his wimp, it bothered him: He was furious, and he felt cold, rationalizing his feelings about this, and at the same time, knowing it felt wrong.

He sighed, watching Yuuri. He had stopped talking because he had dozed of.

"What a wimp!" Wolfram thought, with a tiny smile.

And just like that, watching his king and fiancé sleeping, he felt better, and a lot less angry. He took one of the covers, folded near Yuuri and put it on his king, careful not to wake him up, though, he guessed, if the road didn't, he should be fine, really. He caressed his fiancé's cheek lightly and sat back.

Stealing a corpse. His father's corpse. Well if there still was one, since that corpse was... well as old as he was, he thought. Which was unnerving. He shivered. No one was watching him so that was ok. He shook his head lightly, and turned on his seat. After a while, he followed his king in a dreamless sleep.

He woke up a few hours later, not feeling rested at all. He watched Yuuri sleeping for some time, listening to check if he had woken up because of something outside. But there was nothing special to hear: the sound of horses, the sounds of night, that was all.

A couple hours later, the coach stopped, abruptly, and he caught Yuuri before he fell completely. So there he was, arms under his king's armpits, half-sitted with Yuuri on one knee in front of him. Yuuri awakened by the sudden stop and his fall was half awake, one of his hands on Wolfram's shoulder, while the other was gripping the front of the ex-Prince's scarf.

And Conrad chuckled, when he opened the door. Yuuri had just had the time to raise his head to Wolfram, asking if he was ok.

So the chuckling Conrad had seen his precious godson between his precious brother's parted legs, and they where staring at each other, as if time had stopped, after Yuuri's question. He just didn't know which one he'd have to scold. At least, they were fully clothed, but... was it just the sudden stop, or they had been doing... something. He'd ask Yozak, who was driving the coach, if he's heard anything.

Murata Ken's head popped on the side of the open door, and he grinned, pushing his glasses with one finger.

"Score, Shibuya! Didn't think you had it in you!"

"M-Murata? What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" The two red-faced boys in the coach straightened up and moved from each both looked flustered but curious as well. Or rather, in Wolfram's case, suspicious.

"I just wanted to travel for some time. I've not been very far from you all this way. So now, I'd like to sit, even if we'll arrive soon." said Murata, before entering. He sat near Yuuri, who yawned sleepily.

"Shibuya?"

"Huuuh?"yawned the king.

"Could you sit with Lord Von Bielfeld? My legs are killing me, I'll use both seats, if you don't mind." said the Great Sage, with a small smile. Yuuri shrugged and sat near Wolfram, yawning again. He fell asleep again after just a few minutes and with a muttered "Wimp", Wolfram covered him again.

Murata was glad to be able to stretch his legs comfortably, even if he also wanted to have some fun with the other two. A smile appeared again on his face, as Yuuri used Wolfram as a pillow in his sleep. Wolfram's reddened face and the glare he sent him were the kind of things he enjoyed.

"What's this all about?" asked Wolfram, careful not to raise his voice too much.

"What do you mean?"

"The wimp would have asked, if he'd not been half-asleep. Why are you here, Sage?"

"I thought things could be interesting soon. When I have that kind of feeling, I follow Shibuya, as he seems to attract danger."

Wolfram snorted. Nothing had ever been this true.

"So you've nothing to do with this? You or him?" asked the blond boy.

"Nothing. And he hates feeling left out, I'm sure he's jealous right now, since he's not able to come."

Wolfram frowned. He didn't know well the Great Sage, and though he had revered him and Shinou in the past, and still did, mostly, he also distrusted them.

If the Sage was here, there was something fishy. Well, even more so than he had first thought.

Of course, he knew there was something fishy from the start, but he had not expected something that would raise the interest of those two. Which maybe meant...

"What do you know that we don't?"

"Oh... So many things, I wouldn't be able to tell you in one life." smiled the Sage. Wolfram cursed himself silently.

"You know what I mean."he spat through gritted teeth.

"That I do," answered the Sage. Pissing of Lord Von Bielefeld was always fun. And easy.

Wolfram scowled. As expected, the Sage wouldn't tell him anything useful. There was no point in trying, because he was sure, and from time to time felt like doing it, only force and torture would make him talk. But Yuuri would be upset. A pity really. Yuuri has reasons to be mad at these two as well.

So all he could do now was think or sleep. They would arrive soon, but since his king slept, there was no reason why he shouldn't. Even though the king was a wimp and he wasn't. And despite the fact he was no wuss, he didn't want to think about all this. He needed to know more, else he would reach conclusions that made no sense. Maybe that was what the Sage was doing as well.

After a last suspicious look at the Sage, who was staring at Yuuri and him, smiling, he let himself drift off to sleep.

As the carriage entered the Von Bielfeld's domain, a low branch was hit, and and bird flew away. Yuuri awoke hearing "Baaad Omen Baaad Omen!"

He rubbed his eyes, lifting his head from the shoulder it had been on. He blushed a little, and a little more when his gaze met Murata's. He heard Wolfram grumble "wimp" near him, and smiled.

"I thought I had dreamt... What are you doing here?" Yuuri asked, with a curious looked at the other double-black. Wolfram fumed.

"What do you mean? You dream about him? Are you serious?" Murata chuckled lightly.

"Oh, really, Shibuya, I never thought..."

"Stop that!" Yuuri turned to an angry Wolfram."I just didn't understand why he would show up in the middle of nowhere, so I thought that was a dream, there's nothing to be... It's not that... Whatever. So, Murata?"

The Sage pushed his glasses up while Wolfram mumbled something about cheating wimps, crossing his arms.

"I'm afraid we'll have to postpone this discussion. We'll be there in a few moments, and it's not a pressing matter anyway. I just wanted to come along."

Yuuri didn't look convinced and promised himself he'd get answers later, but Murata was right, the carriage was slowing, and soon, it stopped. Conrad opened the door, and Yuuri resisted the urge to stretch, as Wolfram would have said it was a very unkingly thing to do.

Waltorana welcomed him, the Sage and finally his nephew, taking him in a very brief hug before putting his hand on the blond head, with a large smile.

"You should visit more, I've missed you."

"Sorry, uncle. I..."

Since he stopped there, Yuuri cleared his throat.

"I agree, he and I should as well. I'm just very sorry to be here under this kind of circumstances." Waltorana nodded, and led them inside. Though the sun wouldn't rise before a few hours, Waltorana was clothed and very awake, more than Yuuri felt he was at least, but he seemed tired. Strained, even. So everybody went inside, and Conrad, Gwendal, Murata, Wolfram and Yuuri joined Waltorana for an early breakfast. The guards, five of Gwendal's and five of Wolfram's men were taken to another room, while Yozak disappeared, as he always did.

Eyeing the food, Yuuri thought they should wait to talk about the reason they were here. He wouldn't be able to eat while talking about such things. So he started eating a little too fast, just in case Wolfram would act like he always did. Which happened after his first sip of tea.

"Uncle, what exactly happened? I..."

"Wolfram." The older Bielefeld eyed his nephew with a sad smile. "We're working on it, and we all should be eating while we can. Then I'll take you to the vault. This is not something we should talk about while at table." Wolfram frowned and crossed his arms. He didn't feel like eating, and he wanted answers. He glanced around the table and sighed. Of course, he had slept, and had been in the carriage. He was being selfish again. Well he had every right to be just now, really... Fuming, he ate some pastries.

Yuuri smiled a little, observing his fiancé. He was sure he knew what exactly went through this blond head of his. He sipped his tea again, and complimented Waltorana about his domain. He'd been there only once. He eyed Wolfram again. The ex-prince had fled the castle to try to change Waltorana's mind about the new Maou. He had challenged Yuuri for the crown, and when he had sent fireballs, Yuuri wouldn't believe Wolfram would betray him. It had to be a joke.

And as he was hurt, barely staying up on his shaking legs, and saw several beautiful fire lions coming to him, he still didn't believe it.

He wasn't sure, but he thought that was the first time he remembered clearly what he had done while on his "Maou mode". He had understood Wolfram was not only ready to die to save his life. He'd know this for some time already. But Wolfram had been ready to die for him to be a good king, and to protect beliefs he didn't seem to share, at that time. And that was different than just being ready to jump in front of a flying bullet for someone. Wolf was not only devoted to him, be even to what he believed in, so even though some people still called him "selfish", Yuuri knew it was just the opposite.

He didn't want Yuuri to feel responsible for any problems that may have arisen from him being a noble. He had looked so serene, as Yuuri had finally used his powers to protect himself and counter-attack out of a reflex. Those words, he heard them again whenever he doubted himself. It helped a lot, it gave him strength, because if someone as strong, and dedicated as Wolfram believed this much in him, he had to try as well. Try, because in spite of everything, it was a hard thing to do, for him.

Fortunately, Wolfram was always there to remind him when it wasn't enough. He hoped this would never, ever change.

Murata's chuckle got him out of his trance, and he turned his eyes to him. He had stared at Wolfram for a while, he guessed, then, because every one was looking at him, some with frowns, some with smiles, and Wolfram was blushing.

"Sorry... I was thinking about our last visit..." smiled the king. Murata smiled at him, casting a knowing glance at Wolfram who raised a thin eyebrow.

"I thought so. Reminiscences like these hit me like this from time to time as well."

"Yeah, well..." He wasn't sure what exactly what his friend was talking about. "So are we done eating? I am, anyway." Waltorana nodded.

"I don't have a lot to say. We found the locks broken yesterday morning. The tombs were opened, all of them, but the remains are still there, except for one."

"Riches?" asked Murata.

"Everything seems to be there. Really, the only thing taken was his..." he glanced at Wolfram, who was still and pale as a... corpse, Yuuri thought, shuddering."... body. They must have been at least two, tombs like these are too old and heavy for just one man to open in so little time. I wouldn't expect grave robbers to be respectful, of course, but they really desecrated everything in there. Tombs parts were broken, as were some of... the others bodies. They were looking for something, I guess, and weren't sure where it was. Or who it was, maybe."

"I'm not..." Wolfram started and frowned, and Yuuri wanted to touch him, to show him he cared, and that he wouldn't be alone in this. Wolfram was not the kind of guy who hesitated easily."He's been... dead for a long time now. What remains are we talking about?"

Yuuri frowned. He didn't know anything about funeral rites in his kingdom, and he didn't really want to know. It would mean someone died, and he really did not want that to happen. Waltorana coughed.

"Well" He appeared uneasy about this, and glanced at Wolfram's brothers, but they didn't show anything, thought Yuuri."He must be dried... hum... in one piece, though. Difficult to hide, if that's what you're asking. It's not been enough time for him to be only bone, I mean."

"It's not that." said Wolfram. He glared to Murata." Was he a key, before I was? I don't see what else could..."

Murata watched him for some time, his glasses gleaming in the candles light.

"You were wondering if he still has a heart, then. Smart, " smiled the Sage. "It's true, I guess, he was a key, and you became one when he died." Wolfram nodded. He expected this. He couldn't think about anything else, that would be interesting about a dead body, and though he tried not to, he often thought about what had happened to him. When the Sage showed up, he thought that was really what they wanted. So he didn't know what to think when the Sage continued.

"But if someone was after the key, you're the one who'd have disappeared, Lord Von Bielfeld."

Yuuri frowned. He didn't like this, well, even less than before.

"There's nothing left in the boxes, though?" asked Conrad. Yuuri sighed, seeing him clutching his arm. Gwendal had a thoughtful look and was rubbing his left eye, while Wolfram has one hand near his heart. This was over, he didn't want his friends to go trough this again.

"No, your keys wouldn't be useful for that." Yuuri frowned.

"For something else, they could? What does this mean Murata?" His friend cocked his head.

"I don't think they could be used as anything else than an arm, an eye, and a heart. And your blood."

Yuuri frowned.

"What about what once was a key?" asked Wolfram. Gwendal nodded.

"Should we look for those who were keys before Conrad and I? Is there still some sort of power in their remains?" Murata's lips made a thin line.

"I can't be sure of anything yet. We should find the body, and I'd like to look in the vault."

"Murata..." He just shook his head.

"I don't think this is linked to the keys at all. But it's as a good guess as any, so we should keep it in mind. Still, we shouldn't reach any sort of conclusion with so little. Maybe seeing the vault will help." With a sigh, Murata took his glasses to clean them, and Yuuri nodded, eventually.

"To the vault, then, Waltorana, if you please..."

"I have seen enough of it already... Come..."

And off they went. Waltorana led them outside, Wolfram giving them some light with a fireball.

Yuuri couldn't help himself, he said aloud what he thought about that: It was so great and useful, like having a personal sun. Which earned him knowing glances he didn't quite understand, and he raised his eyebrows as the light faltered and then shone brighter. He thought about it: It was true, Wolfram never needed a lamp or anything, he just had to use his power, so in a world without electricity, it was as if Wolfram controlled his own personal sun. He didn't see what there was to smile about.

Wolfram was already tense, and that comment... Had Yuuri just compared him to the sun? That wimp... How could he say something like that with every one around! He lost his concentration just a second and focused. He was smiling and his heart felt lighter as they approached the vault.

Waltorana asked the two guard to open for them. Yuuri expected something gloomy, with gargoyles and stuff, but it was a nice small building, decorated with lots of flowers, and encircled with a huge railing, with on the front a massive iron gate. And except the gate, vine and other climbing plants hit nearly all the bars. It was a really beautiful place. As they passed the gate, though, the gloomy things he expected showed up: The massive wood doors that lead to the vault itself were engraved, obviously, it was a very old place, and something made him shudder. He couldn't see exactly what the wood cut depicted, but he thought in the middle was the Von Bielefeld emblem. The doors were opened, and a narrow but long stairway led down. Gloomy.

He couldn't see the bottom, as the sun wasn't up yet, but the fireball was large enough for them to see where their feet were going. Conrad and Murata lit torches to the fireball anyway.

It wasn't a really long stairway, but it felt long to Yuuri who was thinking he had seen too many horror movies. He should have expected the sound of something he thought was rats. He hoped it was only rats. He shook himself. If he was in something, he was in a fantasy movie, not an horror movie, so everything was fine. Still, he walked close behind Conrad.

They finally reached a large room which smelled like an old library, only there was something more. A smell of old things, and Yuuri guessed, of old death. He remembered the death chamber he "visited" with Sara. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered when was the last time he'd thought about him. He just shrugged, unable to remember. But what he had felt that day... It was different. Probably because they were pursued, or maybe because he'd felt something strange, when in Sara's company. Sara was so beautiful, really like a girl. A very beautiful one. Glancing towards a mop of blond hair, several feet in front of him, he thought Sara could almost rival Wolf with his stunning looks. Almost... But Wolfram was just more... something. More warm, maybe.

He shook himself, looking around him. He didn't even realize he had followed the others in the middle of the room. And now, he was surrounded by stone tombs, big ones, at that. Alcoves all along the walls hid some more sarcophagi , except for two of those, which hid doors.

A richly decorated stone sepulcher was on top of a few stairs at the far end of the room. It took Yuuri several seconds to notice that Wolfram had most probably used his power to light all the torches in the room, probably all at once, with his great power of his. He was nearly jealous!

Most of the sarcophagi were opened, and he could see Wolfram was furious. He was as well, in fact, dead people should be left to rest in peace. Some parts of several of the stone coffins were broken, and he shuddered, seeing here and there bones, and near one of the smaller tombs, something he suspected had been someone's hair.

Now, everyone had gathered near an alcove on the right, and nervous as he was, he nearly chuckled seeing Waltorana with a handkerchief on his nose, explaining that, as they were all able to see, the coffin was empty. On his way to see this, Yuuri observed that it was not the only one.

"Of course, they are, you wimp. We're not all dead yet! Mine is somewhere there as well, you know! Though since I will marry the Maou, I guess I'll be buried with you!" said Wolfram with a large smile. Yuuri grimaced. He didn't want to think about his death, nor about Wolfram's.

"What's this face! You should be happy I'm willing to spend my death in your company!"

"D-don't say such things, it's bad luck! I don't want you to die!"Wolfram raised an eyebrow.

Yuuri had not said anything when he spoke about wedding, and now he was mentioning only Wolfram's death as being something he didn't wish to hear about? Could this mean... Wolfram's thoughts were broken as his Uncle cleared his throat. Right, maybe he did get carried away, in the vault where lain most of his ancestors. He was ill at ease, that was not really his fault...

Yuuri listened to Waltorana, still hidden behind his handkerchief, explaining that all the other rooms were visited as well, and in a worse state. His people had started working on it already, and if they found anything interesting, they would report immediately. Obviously, he wanted to go out. Yuuri couldn't blame him. He shuddered and gravitated near Wolfram. Somehow, being near someone who was able to bring light in such a grim place made everything less... scary. They observed the room for some time, and after a while, every one went out, and he sensed they all were glad to find the morning light coming to greet them at the end of the stairs. The sun was just rising, but it still was better, when one left such a place.

And now he was less uneasy, he had questions. They all stood in front of the gates, and while Conrad and Gwendal observed their surroundings to see if the grave-robbers had left some marks somewhere, Yuuri turned to Wolfram.

"So who's in the biggest one? And frankly, I have to say that it was really... lugubrious!"

Wolfram snorted.

"Rufus Von Bielefeld's. Though this one is empty as well because this place isn't the first one owned by our family. "

"I suppose the oldest graves were behind the doors?" asked Murata.

Waltorana nodded.

"Yes, the Ten Families are very old, one room wouldn't be enough. And we have one tomb for every member of the family there was. We keep records about the family in books, of course, but this helps and lasts longer."

"And every grave was opened nonetheless" wondered Murata. Yuuri cocked his head.

"But they would have found Wolfram's father among the first, right?"

"Exactly, Shibuya. It's not logical if they were after him from the start." Wolfram shrugged.

"If they were after something linked to the key, many people have been one, only my father and I were the last ones. But maybe it's not related to that at all."

Yuuri munched his lower lip. It would be scary if someone started stealing all the bodies of people who had been key.

"So maybe something was hidden there?" he asked, raising his gaze to Waltorana.

The noble man crossed his arms, and turned his gaze.

"I must say I never liked this place, Wolfram, you spend a lot more time than I in there, do you know something?" His nephew shook his head, but Yuuri and Murata both thought he was hiding something. Yuuri decided to ask Wolfram about it later, since he obviously didn't want to talk about it now. Murata didn't ask either: surprises were fun.

Conrad and Gwendal came back. Nothing in the surroundings was helpful.

Waltorana lead them to the main house again.

Yuuri hated feeling useless, but it was a feeling he experienced a lot, when in this world. But as the morning advanced, he still had nothing to do. Conrad, Gwendal and Murata were sleeping a little, since they had been up all night, riding. Wolfram went to help putting order back in the vault, and Yuuri wanted to help, but Wolfram said it was a family thing. That had hurt. They had Greta, and he thought they were a family. He should have been allowed to help. Waltorana had told them he would be away till the end of the afternoon, since he had sent the rest of his family in another manor, in case this place would be dangerous, he had to check on them, and he hoped he would have news from the men he had sent to look for the remains. So Yuuri regretted his idea of taking the carriage in the first place, because he wasn't tired at all. But had nothing to do. Except exploring the area. After all, Waltorana seemed to have sent most of the people living there away after the robbery, and those who stayed were helping in the vault. "Just family"muttered Yuuri, frowning. The servants in this place couldn't be more family to Wolfram than he was, that he knew! Or he hoped... But the truth was, he knew nothing about this side of Wolfram's family. He knew Wolfram had lived here for a while, but not when or how long. Still, maybe it was just about Wolfram's secret about the vault. Curiosity was killing him. But Wolfram was still angry, since Yuuri had insisted a lot, in front of the servants, which had led them wondering about the relationship of those two, because surely, their young master was not really speaking well to his king, even if they were engaged. So Yuuri had fled a fireball, and planned to wait a few hours. He would come back with food, his mother always said that gathering people to a meal was the best way to make peace. Which meant he had to kill time for a few hours.

He wandered in the empty manor, observing the paintings, for a while. He chuckled, thinking none of them appeared to have been Wolfram's "work". He stopped in front of one beautiful painting. He guessed it was Wolfram, looking about 5 or 6. Well, if he had been human, so probably thirty something... The child was seated on Cecilie's lap, she was exactly as the Cecilie he knew.

And just behind, a man was smiling at them. Blond and blue-eyed, the man look like Waltorana. He seemed younger, though. He assumed it was Wolfram's father, and sighed. He had finally learned Wolfram's father was dead as his son was still in his mother's womb.

It was sad, they had never been together like this. A man who never knew his son, a son who never saw his fathers smile, or heard his voice. That was depressing, and he would have liked to be able to do something.

Even now he was used to demon's aging, it was strange to think his parents weren't even born when this man died. He thought about his own father. He really was lucky.

Some time later, he was in the library. He wasn't sure he should wander everywhere alone, but since no one was there, and no one told him to stay out of some place, he guessed it was alright. The library was smaller than the one in his castle. It didn't surprise him. Gunter probably loved old books even more than he loved Yuuri himself, and that meant something! The man probably read two books a day, or something.

He found some books about the Von Bielefeld, and read for some time. Some time later, probably a few hours, he heard something behind him, and found Murata grinning at him. This didn't bode well.

"What now?"

"Tsss so distrustful! You're like this only with me, you know!"

"I'm starting to learn, so, what is it?" said Yuuri with a smile.

"Follow me." Intrigued, Yuuri followed his friend to a large study room.

"Hmmm I'm not sure..."

"C'mon, Shibuya. We are here to learn. And Waltorana isn't exactly sharing everything he knows, don't you think?" Glancing around him while Murata closed silently the door behind them, he shrugged.

"Must be a family thing."

"My, my, you're really learning! You noticed as well Wolfram's hiding something?"

"He he what did you expect? I'm his..." He stopped talking, looking at his hands instead. Murata burst out laughing when he saw how red his face was.

"Don't worry, Shibuya. It's not obvious yet, but you should know by now" he said, with a very serious look and a deep voice "I know everything!" Shibuya laughed.

"You wish!"

"Not really. I feel I already know to much, to be honest."

"I suppose that must be tiring. And boring."

Murata nodded, staring at a painting. Waltorana and a women.

"Which is why I love hanging out with you. Most of the time, you're really predictable, but you always manage to surprise me!"

"You know I never feel certain if you're insulting me or praising, right?"

"That I do" snickered the Sage. "Which is another thing I find fun."

Yuuri shook his head, smiling. It felt good. Just now, he was with Murata, the friend from Japan, the teenager. He liked the Sage as well, but sometimes, he missed his carefree friend.

"So..."

Murata raised his head, still smiling.

"You really know? I mean... what do you think you know?"

"Aaah I'm not sure, Shibuya. What do you think I think I know?"

Yuuri frowned.

"Murataa..."

"Shibuyaa?"

"Geez, stop it, you know..."

"What?"he asked, too innocently.

"I hate you, that at least, I'm sure you're aware of."

Murata chuckled.

"Hmm mail. That wouldn't be polite..." said Murata, rummaging through some papers.

"Murata, that's... Put them where you found them! We shouldn't even be here!"

"Tsk, Shibuya. I wouldn't have brought you here, had I known you'd be such a spoilsport. He's right, I guess..."

"What? Who?"

"Lord Von Bielefeld."

"Waltorana? What is he right about?"

"You'd know if you read this" bluffed Murata, eyeing the letters. Of course, he thought about his fiancé as Wolfram,and not Lord Von Bielefeld. All the more fun. Yuuri frowned.

"How would you know, you haven't read them," said the king, though at his tone, Murata could tell he wasn't convinced.

"I did. Why would I bring you here if I had nothing to show?"

"Thats what you do. You guess something, and then you turn the facts enough to make us believe you knew everything all along."

"Now, now, you're making me look like some of these psychic on T. V.! Not really flattering..."

"Still, isn't that the truth?" asked the Maou, arms crossed.

Murata put the letters down. His face was sad, his voice shaken with hurt.

"T-that's what you think about me, Shibuya? Really"? He looked at his feet, his hands shaking. He looked positively defeated. Stricken with guilt, Yuuri walked to him, putting his hands on Murata's shoulders.

"No, of course not! I'm sorry Murata, I just wanted to get back at you and... Sorry, I..." He stopped, as his friends shoulders started shaking. "Murata! Come on, I... shit. You... you...I hate you!" Murata stopped repressing his laughter.

"I thought you were..."

"I... haha... I know... hahaha... You're such an easy prey, Shibuya! I was an actor twice, so it's not really your fault, I'm good."

"You... One day, I'll tell you I hate you and I WILL mean it, for real, you know..." grumbled the king. Murata laughed for a while, in the end, he took of his glasses and dried his eyes with his sleeve, before cleaning his glasses.

"Now, now, we both know you don't have it in you. You can't hate, it's not in your nature, I suppose." Yuuri frowned.

"Which means... " a devilish smile appeared on Murata's face "... I have no real reason to stop."

Yuuri wanted to find something clever to shut his friend, but finding nothing clever enough, he ended up laughing with him.

"Lord Von Bielfeld is right, but the young one, it's true. I'm such a wimp. Don't tell him... don't tell anyone I said that!"

They both resumed laughing. In the end, they were sitting side by side, back against Waltorana's desk, trying to stop laughing, but every time they looked at each other, or one of them started saying something, they were roaring with laughter again, without really knowing why, without really caring.

They felt good.

Finally, the fits of laughter ended, but left both of them in a really good mood, something they were grateful for, since none of them really loved the grim atmosphere brought by all this corpse story.

"You really don't mind, then?" The King, a boy, asked his Great Sage, a boy, head low, watching his friend from the corner of his eyes. If his best friend was ok with this, maybe... maybe he could just stop trying to convince himself it wasn't true.

Murata turned his head toward his friend, with a genuine smile.

"You're the only one that fact bothered, Yuuri. And to be straight..." He paused.

"Ha. Ha. You hang out with Conrad too much."Yuuri groaned.

"Ah, I guess I'm discovered. I quote him, in fact. Some time ago, he told me "I wish they would be straight with each other, in a very not straight way." I hate to admit it, but I laughed."

"Wait, wait, wait... Conrad knows too?"

"Of course he does! He's with you all the time!"

"Crap. " He didn't help on purpose this morning, then..., thought the King.

"You worry too much. Nobody minds except you. Even your mother loves Wolfram, she's planning the wedding already!"

"I thought she was... I don't know, she was being my mother, you know..."

"Aaah mama is something, that's true. But well, really, nobody minds.

And as I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted,"at which point a playful elbow met Yuuri's ribs,"even if I did mind, what? I wouldn't be a friend it it changed anything about what I think of you, and you wouldn't be honest with yourself if that changed anything about the way you feel. In other words, I wouldn't deserve a friend like you, and you wouldn't deserve him as.. whatever you want him to be. Not at all, in fact."

Yuuri sighed.

"Great Sage alright... Makes me feel stupid..."

"Curiously enough... You're not the first person to say such a thing" smiled Murata." You're not, though. And as hard as it will be, believe me, sometimes, you make me feel stupid." Yuuri eyed him, doubtful, and then smiled.

"I find that very easy to believe, actually" he lied.

"Right" Murata smiled. Yuuri chuckled.

'I suppose I'll have to find something to wear for the wedding, I guess..." added Murata.

"Eh? We're not there yet, you know? And I mean... I don't think Wolfram..." Yuuri shrugged. Murata crossed his legs, frowning.

"What?"

"Well... You know how he is... I mean... I just can't tell what... I'm not even sure I...I guess he's just as confused as I am..."

Murata raised his eyebrows, still smiling. He thought the only thing preventing them from having the happily ever after was Earth's stupid prejudices, because they were so strong in Japan, and therefore in Yuuri. He should have seen his friend's low self-esteem and Wolfram's special way of showing his feelings would curb their relationship as well.

Still, they were so obvious, Murata was confident they would manage, eventually. Maybe he didn't have to show him the letter after all. And Waltorana would change his mind after seeing them together, most probably.

He decided he should let them take their time, now. After all, their biggest problem, Shibuya had solved it alone. Well with Wolfram's help, even if he wasn't aware of that, but still. It was going to be alright, and Murata felt glad for his friend. For both of them in fact.

He would just spy a little. For the greater good, of course, just in case, for they still may need a push in the right direction, from time to time, and what would be the point in having so much knowledge if he never used it to... help. Yeah, help. Yup.

"Aaah now that I think about it, that's the best part, the magic of not knowing, Shibuya. I'm a little jealous, I must say. And Lord Von Bielefeld is so cute!"

"Murata!"

"Yup. He is, though, right?"

Shyly, with a tiny smile, Yuuri nodded.

"And as full of surprises as you are. My life would be so dull without you both..."

"Stop making fun of us!"

"I could... for a price..." said the Great Sage, wiggling his eyebrows. Yuuri narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He was about to answer when he heard Conrad's voice.

"I think someone's calling your Majesty" smiled Murata with a mock bow which was even more ridiculous since he was sitting.

"Right... then I'll think about it. Your price, what is it?" asked Yuuri, standing up.

"Eh? Oh I guess I have to think about it as well. And I'm not really sure I could" finished the Sage, not really sheepishly.

Yuuri just shook his head.

"Go first, I'll put everything just as I found it." Yuuri nodded and went to the door. With a large smile, as he started to open the door, he turned to his friend.

"I missed you."

Murata looked surprised, but a matching smile appeared on his face.

"So did I."

Yuuri nodded. He knew.

He went searching for his Godfather.

He found Conrad in the library, and they went together in the kitchens. It was past noon already. They found the servants taking a well earned break from the vault and a certain young master who was very hard to please, as in good old days.

They hushed as they spotted the King, but seeing him smile, asking politely how they were, they found he was very different than what they expected. They prepared some food for him to take to Wolfram, and Conrad smiled at him, saying he'd eat there, as there wasn't enough for three in the basket anyway.

Yuuri shrugged, and went outside.

The vault was really a nice place in daylight. It looked like a very tiny house, not the home of the dead at all.

The guards greeted him politely and he smiled at them. He gave them the smallest of the two basket he had taken with him, when, before going, he had asked if they would be relieved soon. They would not be at all, in fact,since nearly every other guard were searching the domain to find anything that would lead them to the robbers. The guards were really surprised, and really grateful.

Yuuri told them to enjoy and went inside.

He was alone, this time, and even if the sun was high, the young King soon got goosebumps. The stairs were rather narrow, and the bottom was lit, but still darker, really as one would expect from a horror movie, and Yuuri thought he should have brought garlic, or holy water or something. Still, Wolfram was there, all alone, somewhere, so it was stupid to be afraid. Even if Wolfram had been elsewhere, it would have been stupid, for that matter...

He went down, and was glad to find that all the torches were still lit. On his right, he could see one the doors was opened. He warily went that way, to find another room, pretty much the same, lest Rufus Von Bielefeld's fake tomb, of course. And two more doors. That was one big family...

"Wolf?" He called. He frowned. No answer. He entered the room, and went to another opened door. He half-expected something to jump on him. He hoped it would be Wolfram.

But nothing did, and he entered this third room greeted by the large smile of his friend. He frowned.

"Wolf? Are you ok?"

"Ah! Yuuri! I didn't hear you coming." Yuuri took a step backwards seeing his friend dusting a skull, and he shuddered, wondering what Hamlet was about. He couldn't remember clearly. Wolfram didn't speak to the skull so things could have been worse. Instead, he put the skull in one of the tombs, with reverence.

"What... What are you smiling about, Wolf?" Wolfram sighed. He had left his blue coat somewhere, his was shirt was dusty, and he looked relaxed.

"Come here."he said. Yuuri approached and looked at the tomb.

"This is one of my ancestors. I remembered an old story about him. The scum who robbed the place left his skull on the floor, as if it was some junk!"he fumed, but soon he shook his anger. He would keep it for when he'd find them, and they would pay."Do you see that?"he pointed to a large hole in the skull. Taking a step back, Yuuri nodded. Wolfram chuckled.

"Wimp." He smiled again.

"I'm not a wimp!"

"Yes, you are. Anyway, this is... well was Lord Willibrand Von Bielefeld. His wife has been one of the Ten Lords for nearly 150 years, so only wedding made him a Bielefeld, but his wife then married a Von Gantz, and considering the circumstances, he was allowed to stay here... And this, Yuuri" he said with a mischievous smile, pointing again at the hole in the skull, "is his wife's doing."

"His wife?"

"Right. This, Yuuri, is what happens to cheaters!" he cackled, seeing Yuuri's face blanched.

'That's..." Yuuri shook his head. He must be joking. "I'm sure he only smiled innocently to someone, if that's true..." muttered the king." Besides, we should go out for some time. It's past noon already, and clearly, you need some fresh air." Wolfram raised an eyebrow.

"Here, lend me a hand, first." he said, and starting pushing on the cover of the stone coffin. It was really heavy, a massive bloc of stone, engraved with writings Yuuri couldn't read, but together, they closed it.

"Rest in peace this time, Willibrand the Cheater", Wolfram said, before following Yuuri outside.

"That's not very respectful..."

"That's how he was remembered in our history. The greatest cheater in the family, in fact, the only acknowledged cheater, is him. And he wasn't even family to begin with."

At some point, he had grabbed his coat, to lay it behind the vault, for them to sit on. The place was shaded by the vines.

"I should wash my hands," Wolfram said, eyeing the basket.

"Oh, right. Hold out your arms." Coking his head, Wolfram obeyed, and he smiled as a small water dragon took care of their hands before disappearing in the grass.

"Why Yuuri! You can be useful!"

"You say that as if... Forget it." He was able to summon small amounts of his power, but the real power of the Maou still came to him only out of anger of fear, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Wolfram chuckled. "Wimp."

"I'm not! ...You sure seem to enjoy yourself, you know..."

"I suppose I do. I mean... I'm pissed of, really, because of those scum robbers... But it's been a long time since I've been here. I guess I missed the place."

"Yeah, your uncle said you knew the vault better than he did. You lived here for some time?"

Wolfram casted him a long glance, and he grabbed a sandwich. He tore it in halves, and gave one to Yuuri.

"I came here when I learned about Conrad." He checked Yuuri's face and shrugged. It wasn't as if he could, or would change anything, regardless of Yuuri's reaction, so he continued.

"I was in my thirties, I think... Since I couldn't trust him anymore, I asked mother to let me come visit the other side of the family."

"Oh... She must have been sad. It must have been hard for you, too, and Conrad..."

Wolfram watched an ant climbing the vine.

"I don't think.. Well, you've met mother. She had lost Dan Hiri a little earlier, and then she tried to replace him, so she wasn't really... focused on me, I'd say. Conrad was the same, I guess."

You must have been lonely, thought Yuuri. He didn't say it, Wolfram would have thought it was pity. It was not.

"Waltorana welcomed you?"

"Yes, he was glad. I visited even less than I do now. And he's always missed his older brother, and since they all say I'm so much like him..."

"You don't think so?"

"How would I know?" snapped Wolfram. He rolled his eyes and glared at the same time.

He was thoughtful for a moment and then he shook his head, taking another sandwich, again sharing with Yuuri. "I've heard I look like him a lot, same hair color, same face. Mother says he was passionate, as well, but he had a sweet temper, I was told. So I don't think I'm like him."

Yuuri smiled, closing his eyes.

"Maybe you are. You can be nice, sometimes. You are now."

Wolfram reddened.

"Yes, well... hum I stayed here for some time. I studied to be a better fire wielder mostly."

"Why did you go back to Blood Oath Castle?"

Munching another sandwich, Wolfram pondered.

"I was bored, I think."

"You don't know?" Yuuri chuckled.

"Well I was a child."

"Hmm you still..." Wolfram glared and Yuuri smiled sheepishly. "Forget it. So you were saying?"

"Here I had no one around my age. Uncle is great, but..."

"I know what you mean. It's weird, having several families. But who was your age in the Castle?"

Wolfram frowned. He wasn't sure what to think about that, so he choose to answer instead of commenting. He'd keep it in mind, though.

"The war started soon after I was back, so it's not as if there was time to play. Rather, the mood wasn't there. I mean, the real war was 20 years ago, as you know, but before... or even after. The country has never been really peaceful. Till you came that is. I worked, when I came back. I studied with Julia a lot. And I watched them all go to war." Not wanting to darken the ambiance by speaking about the war, Yuuri asked:

"I'm sure you were a hard student, weren't you?"

"Not a all!" Yuuri cast him a dubious glance and he found cute the way his friend furrowed his brows, his cheeks pinkening.

"Alright, then, not that much. The same as you are, I guess."

"Really? The magnificent Wolfram Von Bielefeld is comparing himself to me?"

"Ma... magnifie... A-all I'm saying is that it depends on the teacher, you freaking wimp!" yelled a nearly red as a tomato ex-prince.

"Meaning?" asked Yuuri, who wasn't even startled by the outburst.

"Meaning you flee Gunter a lot, and you could appear lazy."

Yuuri gave him an amused, curious smile.

"You don't think I am?"

Wolfram crossed his arms on his chest before deciding he was still hungry, and he took a pastry.

"I don't think you are all the time. And you don't flee when I teach you something. And since I can understand without any difficulty why one would flee Gunter..."

Yuuri chuckled.

"That's not nice."

"Says the one who flees." replied the third son of Lady Cecilie, with a mischievous smile.

"Hehehe guilty." Yuuri smiled.

Their backs against the vault, they were under the sun, but shaded enough by their surroundings so that it was hot, but not too hot.

"I think I progressed though. I have a lot more to learn, but..."

"You're still a wimp."

"I'm not."

Wolfram stare at him, clearly dubious, but with a fond smile.

"You know you are."

Yuuri blushed.

"Well... When y-you say it like that... Somehow, it's not such a disgraceful thing to be..." He reddened more, embarrassed, as his gaze met Wolfram's. "or not to be..." He said, that was the first thing that crossed his mind and maybe things would be less...

Now Wolfram had a confused look on his face, and the double black laughed.

"That's something you reminded me of, when you had this skull in your hand. From a play, from Earth. That was scary."

"See. Wimp. Told you so." Yuuri frowned.

"It's not I'm a wimp, it's weird to-to touch it, I mean it was someone!"

"So what? It's just bones, now. I treat them with respect, of course, especially since those are my ancestors, but what should I be afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid," He frowned at the blond's snort." I'm not. It's just weird, is all."

"I don't see why. You're afraid of the Kohi?"

"N-no, not anymore, I guess... I freaked out the first time I saw one, but I like them now" said Yuuri with a tiny smile. They were fun and nice, after all.

"Well it's not that different. Bones. Very very old ones, nothing more. Quite dirty, tough."

Turning to him, Yuuri stroked Wolfram's cheek with his thumb.

"True" He said, trying not to blush too much."You've got dust all over you, even on your face. There."

Coloring again, Wolfram raised a hand to his cheek, now really hot and red, with widened eyes, he stared dumbfounded at Yuuri, who avoided his eyes.

Wolfram was about to say something, as Yuuri felt him lean towards him, as his own cheeks felt so very hot, when they heard someone calling His Majesty.

Wolfram repressed a groan and stood up, as the guard calling informed them that Gwendal and Conrad were looking for them. Yuuri kindly smiled, and grabbed the basket. As they joined them in front of the vault, both older men could tell something was going on. The two boys were avoiding each other's eyes. Conrad smiled knowingly, and Gwendal narrowed his glare.

"What's up?" Yuuri asked. He still had a content smile plastered on the face.

"I'm going to check our surroundings again. I wanted to give you this. He was not very happy, alone in the room"

"Muuuuuuuuuuh" moaned the sword.

"Morgif! I totally forgot to take him!"

"MuuuuuuuAuuuuuuuuuUUh" it moaned indignantly.

"Aaahha sorry, Morgif. So Gwendal, you're staying with us? I'll help here I think." He thought Wolfram was in a better mood, so he'd probably be ok with him helping. "Murata is still inside? He's preparing something, right? ... We should interrogate him, but he won't say anything I guess..."

Gwendal rummaged his temples. It was not the first time, and it would certainly not be the last, he'd ask himself why on Shin Makoku his King asked questions if he didn't bother to wait for any answer. So as usual, he grunted and went to business.

Conrad smiled. "I think Gwendal will stay around here, your Majesty. I will come back in the afternoon. The Great Sage is currently in the library."

"Oh. ok. I'll check on him later, then. See you around, and thanks, Morgif says thanks, I think. He missed me" he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Wolfram muttered "wimp" and went back in the vault.

During the afternoon, they had mostly rearranged 3 rooms entirely. Yuuri had been introduced to enough dead people for the rest of his life. He remembered Wallerand Von Bielfeld, who looked like a mummy and still had very long hair. He had been Waltorana's eldest uncle, and had been one of Gunter's predecessor, at Blood Pledge Castle.

Waldemar Von Bielefeld he remembered as well, because his name made him think about Harry Potter's nemesis (which had earned him a look from Wolfram that clearly said "what-are-you-blabbering-about-AGAIN?"), and Wolfram said he was kind of a wimp which was, he said, extremely rare, in the family.

Wissem Von Bielfeld he would remember as well. He was known Lordy Wissem, for though he was a male, he was never seen wearing anything except dresses, and he had been known in his time as the most beautiful woman in the country, because very few people outside the family knew she was actually a he. Hence the contraction of Lady and Lord. He lived more than 2 centuries ago, but his silver dress was still shiny.

One of them had freaked the hell out of him: Wolff Von Bielefeld. He had been a famous sailor in his time, and had a wooden leg, as in pirate stories, but it was never publicly acknowledged that he was a pirate, and Yuuri had to swear on his life to keep the secret.

The wooden leg had mostly been eaten by time, but Wolff's bones were frightening, white and shiny, and Wolfram said it was because he had been boiled and eaten, though it was part of his legend. A servant had said at this point that another part of the legend had given him his name "Two-Legged-Wolff", for he formerly had 3 they said. Most of the servants had laughed a lot, and eventually, he had understood, laughing with them, while Wolfram was fuming about how it was scandalous. But Yuuri didn't like him, anyway. The names were too similar, and Yuuri had felt the urge to hug Wolfram, as if such a bad omen (he felt like it was one, in any case) would take Wolf from him.

But all the while, Wolfram's smile had never faltered for long. He liked talking about his family, and even Yuuri admitted, and he was the first to be surprised, he had fun. The servants helped as well, and told them stories and rumours, about ancient times, and they both loved it.

So he was bound to mess up, naturally. At some point, while they were taking care of the third room, Yuuri had observed that two corpses were in the same tomb, and he thought the robbers had made a mess again. He was wrong, but Wolfram had expected him to misunderstand this, since he was such a wimp: If he was surprised when Wolfram had shown up in his bed, the fact that a wife had shown up in her husbands grave had to be hard for him to comprehend. 'Cause he was a wimp.

So Yuuri had tried to defend himself but had not much to say. Except that if he was such a wimp, he wouldn't have already been in a coffin with someone. To make matters worse, Yuuri didn't want to lie, and even if he did, he couldn't lie to save his life. Not to Wolf, in any case. So a some point, Wolfram learned that it had happened, with Sara (which, with his usual insight he had called Sara and not Saralegui, which, he knew already, always pissed off Wolfram), which meant problems, as Wolf, oh so predictably, yelled "You wimpy treacherous cheater". And Wolf had been all the more insulted as all his ancestors were now witnesses. So Yuuri, bravely, had fled.

It was a pity, really, because he had really enjoyed his time with his fiancé, for once, and if he had only tried to listen...

Now, however, Yuuri was lingering in the main house, hoping Wolf would calm down, and pondering. Had he been cheating? They were very close, in the coffin, and Sara smelled really good, he remembered he had thought that. He had thought he was very beautiful as well. He frowned. To be cheating, you had to be actually doing something, not just thinking...

But some corner of his mind told him he wouldn't like it, if someone he loved (who couldn't be Wolf, since Wolf clearly hated him, and always yelled at him, and they were both guys anyway) thought that way about someone else.

Still... It was true, Sara was beautiful, even if "Lordy" should fit him very much, and he had smelled good, and it wasn't as if if could prevent him from thinking what he thought.

He frowned again, losing his thought.

He refused to be called a cheater. The engagement was a mistake in the first place, and if Wolfram didn't want it, it wasn't as if he had done anything to prevent him from canceling it.

But he felt guilty even if he had done nothing wrong, which was unfair.

And it had not been his idea, to go in the coffin either, nor had he tried anything since that time. He never even thought Sara smelled good after that, though Sara had hugged him once, which would, hopefully, never reach his fiancé's ears, even if again, at that time, he had done nothing wrong at all. So Sara had used some sort of magic perfume, or something, which was unfair, really. What could he do against magic? So he was the Maou, maybe he could have done something, but he wasn't aware Sara was using this perfume thing in the first place. If he was.

Yuuri scratched his head with both his hands, and went to the library. He wasn't a cheater, and he wasn't a wimp, and he didn't love Wolf.

"Stupid stupid wimp!" yelled Wolfram, which successfully made run away the last of the servants in the vault. They had dinner to take care of soon, anyway.

Wolfram fumed, and hissed, and yelled, and hit the wall for some time. He stopped hitting the wall when he noticed coldly that his knuckles were being as treacherous and unfaithful to him as his stupid wimp of a fiancé. He cursed his hand, and he cursed Yuuri, but then uncursed him because it wasn't a thing to to do the Maou, and not even a thing he wanted to do to his fiancé, even if he deserved it, since he was such a CHEATER!

And this Saralegui, for crying out loud! He would have to kill the hell out of him, one day.

He would have to grab his girly head, one day, he would even call him "Lordy" if it didn't link him to someone of his family, which he clearly wasn't going to, but oh yes, he was going, one beautiful, marvelous day to grab his head and cut all his hair and shake his sneaky snake's eyeballs out of this newly bald head of his and make him eat them! But even that would not be enough, because Yuuri was nothing except a cheating wimp! A traitor! A coward! A... He ran out of terms because he didn't need any other, since Yuuri, anyway, was just a stupid, stupid cheater. And god, it hurt.

Wolfram let himself slide along one tomb, he didn't care whose, and sat, defeated. He hit the floor with both fists, since that way the traitors he tough were his knuckles wouldn't be hurt again. He tried to calm down, and it took him a while.

He'd blame the robbers. He hoped they would find them soon, that way he would let off his steam on them. They deserved it, after all. But he had not been very respectful, himself. He should get back to work. Think about something else. Or rather, he should stop thinking altogether. That hurt. He should stop feeling as well. It hurt even more.

He sighed. Saralegui was an ugly snake. It didn't matter. He'd love his wimp all the same, even if he was a cheater. He just wished he would... Wolfram frowned. They had been having such a good time. Why did he always manage to lose it that way? He knew he had no patience, and he had a bad temper. He always had a hard time keeping his emotions in check. But it was Yuuri's fault after all. He made him feel like this. He frowned. It was unfair. Yuuri was a wimp and a cheater, and still, he couldn't help loving him.

He got up, when he heard someone walk in the vault.

Yuuri won't come back yet, he's too much of a wimp to come back now. He must think I'm still furious. Which is not very far from the truth, but since I love him, it's not as is I could do anything else than forgive him.

"Oh my!" he heard. Oh crap he thought. Not him on top of everything.

Cocking his head on the side, with a smile, the Sage waited for him to come in the main room. He knew he had heard him, and he wasn't a coward, so he wasn't going to hide. So to the main room he came.

"What?"

"Are you ok?"

"No. Is there something less obvious you want to talk about?"

The Sage smile. Such a nasty mouth...

"Not really. Shibuya is not exactly good company right now, so I just thought I'd say hello."

Wolfram crossed his arms on his chest.

"Say it and leave me alone, then."

Murata chuckled.

"My my, ill-tempered, are we?"

"Again, do you have something to do here, or you just came to state the obvious?"

"Well. I wanted to try. But you're so moody... You seemed to have a nice time earlier."

Wolfram flushed. He didn't want to talk to him, nor about that, nor about anything, nor to anyone.

Murata shrugged.

"I wanted to ask..." He turned at the sound of feet descending the stairs. He raised an eyebrow at Yuuri, Conrad and Gwendal. Yuuri saw Wolfram and turned his gaze to the ground, while Wolfram turned his head on the side.

"What did you find?" They all waited, and no one spoke. Murata raised his glasses, and glanced at the stairs.

"Wolfram?"

"Brother?"

"I asked you, why did you call us? What did you find?"

Wolfram turned one raised eyebrow to his brother. "What do you mean?"

"Wolfram... If that's to... "Yuuri groaned.

"We should..." Murata had no time to finish, they heard a rock-fall, and when the smoke and dust cleared, the stairs only had 5 steps left. The entrance was blocked. The way out as well.

"What now?" sighed Yuuri. "Hey! Waltorana? Can you hear me? Hey!"

"It's no use Shibuya. This have been planned. Who told you Lord Von Bielefeld found something?"

Yuuri cast an angry look to Wolfram through the smoke.

"The other Lord Von Bielefeld." he said.

"What? Uncle? Why would he do that?"

"Dunno, maybe it's so easy for you to say people are traitors because you're one. And your Uncle as well."said Shibuya, shrugging. He pouted.

"Why you...! You can't say something this... You wimp!" yelled Wolfram. They exchanged that way for a few minutes. Conrad turned his head from his brother to his king to his bratty brother to his godson to his colorful-languaged-baby-brother-who-used-to-be-so-cute to his inventive-insult-wise-whom-he-used-to-believe-innocent-godson. So... he had missed something big, apparently.

Gwendal massaged both his temples. He loved traveling, because traveling meant being away from Anissina, and he often forgot why most of the time, he didn't join the king in his trips. He remembered now.

Murata, a large smile on his joyous face sat down to take scores. He wasn't surprised that Yuuri was doing well. A grumpy Yuuri had quite a vocabulary, and no one made Yuuri as grumpy as Wolfram could.

"W-wolfram! Wolfram come here!" Wolfram was furious, now he'd make him come to him? Who the hell did he think he was? Well being the Maou, he could always try.

"WOLFRAM, NOW!" yelled Yuuri, and Wolfram just had time to see him running to him, as he felt something behind him.

Conrad and Gwendal were near him, now, sword drawn, as they frowned at it, while Yuuri had grabbed a bewildered Wolfram by the elbow to make him take some steps away from it.

"The cheater" he said, numbly.

"Enough now, Wolfram!" Grumbled his eldest brother.

That shook the fire-wilder out of it.

"Not Yuuri, you... That's Willibrand the... Oh crap!"

All around them, they heard scratching noises. Old bones were trying to - getting out of their coffins. They had not closed all of them yet, not even half of them thought Yuuri, shuddering. All he could think was it couldn't be real, because in all horror movies, the stench was something that had to be unbearable.

"Wolfram, the stairs, protect them there!"

"No Rufus' tomb! There a way out here!"

Murata smiled. He knew old vaults like these often held secret passages, and he'd been suspecting that was what Wolfram was hiding.

"Well hurry up and open it" snapped Gwendal. Wolfram was slashing around him as Yuuri tried to help protecting Murata. He showed the hidden lever to Murata while Yuuri stared fascinated as Conrad fought against a zombie drag-queen, in a lovely silver dress. Lordy.

The pirate, Wolff, had only one leg left as he tried to bite Gwendal. Yuuri couldn't help looking for the wooden one. And how did he get out of his tomb?

"Snap out of it, Yuuri!"yelled Wolfram, as he blanched. Half-heartedly, Yuuri slashed in front of him. The had been people. Wolfram's family. He turned his gaze towards the other door as Wolfram gasped, the one that was closed, the one that exploded, pushed by he didn't even know how many ugly decayed limbs.

"All the beings that make up the element of fire ... obey this brave Mazoku who summons you!"yelled Wolfram, and his fireball went trough the masses of corpses

"Just how many dead people are here, Wolf!" moaned Yuuri as saw the dead were still coming toward them, only now they were in flames.

"Murata..."

"It's rusted! Help me, I'm not heavy enough, it won't.., aaaah!"he cried, as his hand was crushed under Yuuri's and Wolframs who had literally jumped on him. The lever went down with a deafening sound and broke, but in front of the fake tomb dedicated to Rufus Von Bielefeld, a passage appeared.

"Brothers, this way!" Wolfram yelled, as he pushed the double-blacks in the tunnel.

"All the beings that make up the element of fire, obey this brave Mazoku who summons you!"whispered Wolfram, as his brothers came near him. He set more of them on fire, but they still didn't stop. His lion distracted them enough for him to go back near his fathers tomb.

"Wolfram, Come back now!"shouted Conrad as he prepared to come and get him. The blond mazoku didn't plan on staying for chit-chatting tough, and in a few seconds, he was near the passage. He didn't escape Waldemar's sharp claws, though, and a throbbing pain on his left shoulder made him wince.

A few seconds later, they were all down in the passage way, and Gwendal used his maryoku to close it with earth.

It was pitch black, inside, and only shuddering breaths were heard for a few seconds.

"All the beings that make up the element of fire"sighed Wolfram," obey this brave Mazoku who summons you!"

A small fireball lit them, and Yuuri glared at him, but it was Gwendal who yelled his worry.

"What the hell did you think you were doing, going back inside?"

Wolfram smile and held up the basket. They had not eaten much at noon.

Yuuri frowned as he saw his friends shoulder. He immediately went to him and started healing his foolhardy fiancé.

"Just for food, you..." Yuuri shook his head. Why Wolfram never tried to think before acting!

"Well, Lord Von Bielefeld, I'm glad you kept your secret. I'm convinced if you had spoken about it, we would have been awaited there as well."Wolfram chuckled.

"I didn't want Uncle to know about it."

"Why?" asked Yuuri, still pouring healing maryoku in the wounds.

"I pretended to mourn my father... And I used this way to go playing." Gwendal shook his head.

"You should be ashamed, Wolfram!"

"Yeah, well.. Sorry, brother. It's not as if I had something to mourn."And I loved my father for that, he thought, that's the only think he could do for me.

Conrad smiled at him. He knew Wolfram had tried to find some way to create a link with a father he never knew. Even something like that wasn't so bad. And he guessed the kind of playing he was talking about.

"To play?"

"With a sword."shrugged Wolfram, with his unwounded shoulder. Waltorana believed mostly in magic, so Wolfram had to find a way himself to keep practicing. It wasn't his fault if he had to use the vault for that, and it was as a secret between his father and him. He had liked that.

Yuuri smiled at him. He was just glad every one was going to be ok, Wolfram could be so careless...

"And here I thought maybe you were normal at some point..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There, there, nevermind. Does-it still hurt?" asked Yuuri with a nice smile.

Wolfram shook his head, blushing.

Gwendal looked around him, but past a few feet, everything was dark. He looked at his youngest brother.

"So where does this go?"

"Thats why I went for the basket, brother. It's an old place, and I didn't use it that much. I'm not sure I can remember the way out."

"It's still friendlier than..." Conrad showed the way they came from with a sign of his head.

Yuuri took the basket from Wolfram to give it to Murata.

"So that's why you came? What did you know exactly? You weren't surprised when the stairs fell. Why did you let us come inside in the first place, if you knew? You always do that..." He pouted.

The fireball made a gleam on his glasses as the great sage nodded.

"I don't know about the thing that raised the Von Bielefeld family, but I expected an attack, at some point." Yuuri frowned.

"Surely, your higness, you know more about these, though." They all turned to the Sage, as Conrad asked nicely.

"It's not maryoku, right, Murata?"

"I don't think so. Right now, I know only what it isn't for sure, we need to learn more. And the dead wouldn't have destroyed the stairs, that was maryoku."

"Uncle wouldn't..."

"I suspect your uncle is safe with Yozak for now, Lord Von Bielefeld. We should make them know we escaped, however. I wouldn't want all your family to roam here and there, and they will open the way for them if they think we're still here."

Wolfram frowned. It was not as if it was really his family. It was insulting to pretend it was.

"They burn with a magic fire, it didn't stop them but eventually, they'll burn, thought?"

"I'm not really sure. I don't know what creatures exactly they are."

"They're not zombies?"asked Shibuya.

"The way they were raised from the dead may make them different." Yuuri sighed. He had spend a good day with them, when they were dead. Now, he didn't like them anymore. It was a strange thing to think and it made him smile. It was funny, in a creepy kind of way.

"We should get going then. Try to remember, Wolfram. Which way did you use?"

Wolfram took the head and made his fireball bigger.

"I'm soooo glad you're here Wolfram! I'd totally freak out without the light!"

"Wimp" muttered Wolfram. Did he have to say things so... Geez."We don't have much choice for now, only one way. "

They followed Wolfram's fireball in silence for some time. After a while, Yuuri was bored, so he went near Wolfram to talk. Conrad followed him closely, ready to unsheathe his sword, and Murata and Gwendal stayed a few feet behind in a thoughtful silence.

"So how did you learn about this passage, if Waltorana didn't know about it?"

"I read something about it."

"Where?"

"In my grandfather's diary. It was in the things I inherited from my father."replied Wolfram. He concentrated on keeping his light, as well as where he put his feet. Yuuri was going to trip on him at some point, he suspected. The wimp always did things like these.

"What did he say about it?"

"He used this way to escape, when his life bored him, mostly. He wrote about the passage, so at first, I just wanted to find it. When I did, I wanted to explore. I made maps, it was fun. And one of the exits lead to a hunting lodge where I could practice with my sword without being disturbed." Plus he could throw a fit without being scolded there.

Yuuri watched his friend with a small smile. That sounded lonely, and he was glad he could be there for Wolfram now. Had he really thought he didn't love him? He couldn't understand why anymore. He wanted to always be there for him. He misstepped, and Wolfram caught him roughly to jerk him up. He muttered "sorry" as Wolfram snorted and mumbled "wimp".

"So how big is here, actually? You said you made maps. Where did it go?"

"Well theres a way that leads to the main house, trough an old well."

"I wouldn't go that way. I'd say we were spied on in the house as well as in the vault."said Murata, calmly.

"A long tunnel lead to the forest. Nothing much around, as far as I can remember. Another one leads to the ancient marble excavation south of the main house. I never had the chance to follow all ways..." He tried to remember more.

"Feels like the 6th sense in the Moria or something..." smiled Yuuri. I see dead people, he thought.

"The what?"

"Oh, nothing. It's from a story on Earth."

"Wolfram?" asked Conrad. "How long did it take to reach an exit?"

"That depends. To the hunting house, something like 2 hours. I was smaller, though. In the diary, it said some people were lost here for days."

"D-days? Whoah I'm glad you grabbed the food, now."

"It won't last for days, Shibuya. We should find an exit quickly."

"It's not like I wanted to stay here for days, you know!"

"There is enough for tonight, at least, your Majesty." smiled Conrad. He had said there wouldn't be enough for 3 of them only to leave those two alone, after all.

"I think that way" Wolfram pointed to his right, "leads to the well. The other two should be... I think I took the one in the middle."

They followed silently, and time passed very slowly. Yuuri found himself thinking again about the silver dress. A zombie drag-queen was quite a sight. He chuckled. That earned him a glare, and he was about to explain himself when he heard Conrad unsheathe his sword. He saw him scanning the dark passage in front of them as he was pushed behind. He couldn't see anything, so he tried to concentrate on hearing, as it seemed the others were doing.

Then he heard a moan, and patted Morgif. Then he heard an answering moan, coming from the dark.

Wolfram was near him, taking a step forward, but still behind Conrad, as he needed to be steady to be a reliable source of light. It wouldn't do, in a fight, if the light moved and changed, Yuuri understood as much, and though Wolfram had his sword out as well, he seemed to be aware of that as well, since, contrary to his usual ways, he hadn't already launched forward. Yuuri smiled: He knew Wolfram had to concentrate to refrain himself from doing it.

He just stood there, as Conrad easily took care of the incoming zombie, and he wished Wolfram's fireball could light all of the tunnel. He winced, as the corpse fell on the ground. This had been a person. It wasn't right. It shouldn't have been walking around, and Conrad shouldn't have had to fight it.

"We should bury him" he heard himself say, with a shaky voice.

"As expected from Shibuya" said Murata with a voice which held some sort of teasing. "You're nice even to those things..."

"They were someone's kids, or parents, don't say they are things! I couldn't even really try to kill them back there..."

"You should have. I could, and those used my ancestors. It pisses me of. If I find the scant responsible for this I'll... "shouted Wolfram angrily. Yuuri interrupted him by putting a hand on his arm.

"Wolf, calm down, please. I'm sorry. We should concentrate on getting out of here, I'm just... sorry."he said, pitifully. "It's ok, I'll come back when it will be finished, and I'll order a proper burial. We'll take proper care of your family as well, Wolf. Let's go."

Wolfram still looked furious, but he just nodded and led the way. After a while, everybody had been silent and they met no other walking corpse. Yuuri repeated "Calm down, calm down, calm down" in his head. He tried not to think about the fact that the last one would not rot for it was more a skeleton than a zombie really, he tried not to think they were just very very old bones, as Wolf put it, even if they now were looking for... maybe brains, as in the movies. Or just food. Or warmth. He thought death had to be cold, but they still attacked while burning because of Wolf's fireball, and he thought it didn't smell anything like what he expected. If there had been a smell, and he wasn't really sure, in fact, it would have been more of burnt paper. He lifted his head to watch Wolfram. He had not noticed his wary look as the boy looked around him, seemingly unsure about the way to take next, as he had stopped in a small cavern with three exits.

"Darn it. We're lost, right?"

"I know that already, you wimp! I told you all I didn't remember which way to take!"grumbled Wolfram.

"It's ok, Wolf" smiling, Yuuri patted his back. "As long as we're together, anything can happen but we'll manage, right?"

Wolfram reddened at his winning smile, even if he surely meant all of them and not only Yuuri and him, but he was still angry at himself and didn't dare to look at his brothers to see the disappointed surely on Gwendal's face, and the apologetic smile on Conrad's.

"We should stop for a while." said the Sage."My feet are killing me, anyway, and we'll hear things coming from here."

"You think more will come?" asked Gwendal, as he sat against the wall.

Murata took the food out of the basket and motioned at Wolfram to set it on fire, freeing his hand. He distributed part of the sandwiches to each of them, and the few pastries left. It wasn't enough for a real meal, but it was something at least. And none of them was really hungry.

Yuuri suspected that if it had not been Murata giving the food, the 3 Mazoku would have tried to give them both all the food, and he was glad he didn't have to argue on that matter. The Great Sage was seldom criticized, even Wolfram was more or less respectful with him. Less lately, though, but he could understand it. He and Shinou had not been exactly nice to him in the past, it was only logical for him to distrust them both.

He didn't like it, for he wanted every one to get along, especially since both Wolfram and Murata were dear friends, but he was able to understand.

"I see few possibilities. One, "said the Sage, as he started eating, "a spell was cast on the vault, as an attempt to kill Shibuya."

Yuuri shuddered and concentrated on eating, eying the burning basket. It didn't warm him physically, but it was their only light for now, and that was warming him. He had sat near Gwendal, and the others had taken place in front of them, Wolfram and Conrad in front of each other, so that they were able to see two entrances each, and only Murata faced the wall, as if he didn't fear anything coming behind him. Yuuri feared exactly that, hence his place against a reassuring, solid wall.

The basket burnt in the middle of their loose circle.

"Two, it's affecting the dead on a larger scale."

"You mean the dead would be rising in all this land? Or all the country? That's..." Conrad didn't finish. He didn't have to. That would mean everywhere, people would be attacked, that would mean Greta would be in danger, that meant so many things Yuuri didn't want to think about, that he closed his eyes firmly and shook his head.

"How that could be possible? It's not, right, Murata?"

"I'm afraid it is. But that's because I'm a pessimistic, you know, you have to be after so many lives." he smiled wryly."But it could all be a coincidence as well. You're less guarded here, when you leave the castle, I would attack on such an occurrence, were I your enemy. And something unrelated would have caused the dead to rise here. That's less likely, but still a possibility. So as I said earlier..."

"We have to learn more." Finished the King for him.

"Correct. You see why I don't usually bother to explain while I've not a precise idea of what's going on?"

"I'm starting to... So why did you do so now?"

"Because I need you to understand how serious this situation could be. We have to find a way out soon." And I already know you won't be happy when we're out, he added to himself.

"I'm positive I've already been here, and my guess would be that this way" said Wolfram pointing behind Conrad "leads to the forest. If I'm right, it will take less than one hour to reach."

Murata nodded. Gwendal finished his sandwich and eyed his youngest brother.

"How far of the main house will it be?"

Wolfram thought about it, for a few seconds.

"West of the main house. And I'd say about 4 hours, from the house. The land is even, mostly, and the bridges on the river are well-maintained."

Gwendal sighed and got up. "Then let's get going."

They followed his lead, and then Wolfram's, who had summoned a new fireball.

He was right. Soon, they felt a cold wind coming through the passage they took. Night had fallen. They could hear noises, made by some normal forest creatures, hopefully, and not too far away, a river.

As they reached the exit, Conrad and Gwendal helping the others to go out, since they were too small to reach it, the way being partially destroyed by years, Yuuri heard Murata heave a long sigh and he frowned. He hated it, when Murata did that. It meant he was going to say something he wouldn't like.

"We'll go to the river," he said. And he then asked Wolfram to lit a torch. Yuuri watched them with a frown as they lingered, talking together when they reached the river.

"We have to go now. First Earth, and I'll lend you enough power for us to go back right away."

"So what's the part I hate?" asked Yuuri dumbfounded. He turned to Wolfram, when he muttered wimp.

"You really need to learn to see situations as a whole, if you want to be a good king. You won't like leaving someone here, but it's necessary."

"Exactly" agreed Murata.

"I don't see why. It's not as if we left something important here, Yozak and Waltorana are safe, you said. And Ao and the others are horses, do they eat those as well? Please tell me they don't!" The four other sighed.

"Even if he said they should be fine, we have to know for sure, and if they had to flee, they won't have any informations to give us. So we need to sent someone gather facts. But I can't say I like it." said Gwendal, watching his younger brother. Yuuri shook his head.

"No, and certainly not Wolfram. I don't see why it should be him! Conrad could take care of ...himself... more..." He had felt the temperature rising just as he realized what it was saying.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself contrary to someone, I am not a wimp."started Wolfram coldly, "and if you were more kingly, you'd already know I'm the best choice since I know the land, I have light if I need some, I'm armed and I am a soldier" finished Wolfram pushing his forefinger on Yuuri's chest with each of his last words. He turned around and started walking away of the river, but Yuuri ran after him.

"Wait, Wolf, I... sorry, I never meant..." said Yuuri pleadingly.

"Don't you trust me?" asked Wolfram to his king, coolly.

"Of course I do, that has n-..."

"Then it's settled. Go back now."

"But Wolf, I... I know you're strong and..."

"I'm sorry Shibuya, but he's right, we should go now, your lovers quarrel can wait."

"Murataa... Wolf, that's..."He stopped as Murata had grabbed him by the arm to drag him to the river.

"Damn it! Wolf, come back safe and soon, and that's an order!" he shouted. He didn't hear any answer as the whirlpool was taking him. He always forgot Murata could do that.