Hello, one and all! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews and alerts! I hope I can keep the pace going with this chapter. Here is Chapter 2…
.:Life's Treasures:.
Morning brought surprise and suspicion upon Yuuri as he realized that Wolfram was no longer in bed. That's odd; he's usually still sleeping when I get up for my run… After a few minutes of searching their bed chamber and bath chamber, the double-black had to admit that his fiancé just wasn't around. Trying to put it out of his mind, he quickly got dressed and dashed to the courtyard where he usually met up with his godfather.
Before, during, and after his daily run with Conrad, not once did he see nor pass a shimmering gold mop of hair. His blond tempest was nowhere to be found. It was no good. Even though today's jog seemed a little more strenuous than it normally was, all he could think about amongst his heavy breathing and panting was nothing but Wolfram.
Something else clicked in his now tired mind. Why exactly, was today's jog more strenuous than usual? Wait… Wolfram's pendant! Maybe Conrad knows something about it! I wonder if I should ask him about it. He hasn't talked much all morning. What the heck is going on that no one will tell me about?!
Yuuri decided to try his luck anyway. He desperately wanted to know the reason for everyone's previous behavior at dinner. The discovery of Wolfram's pendant kept telling him that it played a part in this whole scene. A scene where Wolfram was the leading man and Yuuri was guy who cleaned up afterwards. Badly.
"Conrad," he began slowly. The brown-haired man was drinking some water out of his flask. Indeed, he hadn't even realized that his pace was that much faster today. They were both on the verge of exhaustion. Surprised that his godson had addressed him so suddenly, he stopped replenishing his bodily fluids and gave Yuuri his full attention. And yet, he had a sinking feeling that filled him with dread.
"Yes, Yuuri?" came the reply.
"I was wondering, last night I found Wolfram wearing some kind of pendant when he was sleeping. When I looked at it closer, it reminds me of a hook or a curve or something. And there were these Shin Makoku characters engraved in them, but I didn't recognize any of it. I can't even remember if he's been wearing it all this time, but well… What do you think about it?" he took a deep breath after his explanation.
And there it was. The sense of dread was right. Conrad paled at the question, even though kept his cool during last night's intense dinner discussion. Yuuri's description of the necklace was perfect. There was no mistaking it. Wolfram's pendant had to be the same as the one he… All those years ago… It was back to haunt him…
"Conrad?"
Yuuri's curious voice broke his thoughts. All the memories from that time came rushing back, crashing onto him like a gigantic tidal wave. No, he kept it up for all this time; he was not going to lose himself now.
"About that pendant you mentioned…" Conrad had to answer Yuuri somehow "I've never heard of it."
"Ah… really?" Yuuri felt somewhat crestfallen. I was so sure he would know something about it. Oh well, I guess I'll just ask Gwendal or Gunter later. Wait… speaking of those two…
"Conrad!" he asked again, though suddenly thinking that it was a bad idea. Conrad's expression had changed dramatically. He had never seen his godfather in such a way. Dark. Emotionless. On the brink of anger… What happened?
"Uh… n-never mind." Something was wrong. Very wrong. Conrad seemed to have noticed that Yuuri was getting worried and snapped out of his trance so he could converse with his now somewhat suspicious godson.
"No, no… Ask. What do you want to know, Yuuri?" Conrad knew he was digging his own grave, but still, to have the King of Shin Makoku not trusting him would be an extremely bad thing. He needed to ensure he still had Yuuri's trust. Whether he truly deserved it or not.
Yuuri was beyond confused. He was almost scared. He could not even begin to fathom their current situation. Yet, there Conrad was, asking him to continue his barrage of questions when quite clearly, the brunet didn't want to answer.
"Ah, well…" the King had to start somewhere. "Could you uh… tell me… what exactly happened last night at dinner? Why were Gwendal and Gunter acting like that? And Wolfram… he seemed different. Did something happen that I don't know about?" Of course something happened; please don't lie to me about that, Conrad. I just want to know what's going on… I want to help.
Conrad looked back at the teen's nearly desperate expression. He breathed a silent, almost undetectable sigh of relief. Yuuri wasn't asking him that question, because he didn't even know anything about it. This was his chance to steer the conversation away from the pendant.
"Yuuri, it's just that Gwendal feels that you haven't unerringly been acknowledging that people's lives actually do revolve around you. And personally, I don't think that he was talking about himself."
"What do you mean?"
"I think, that he was specifically referring to Wolfram."
"Wolfram? But why-"
"Hours, Yuuri!" Conrad cut him off. He understood precisely how Gwendal felt. "The instant we get word that you're coming back from Earth, Wolfram abandons all his duties and rushes to the fountain to wait for you. Sometimes, you don't arrive for hours on end, and still, he waits. But what Gwendal absolutely cannot forgive is that when you finally do arrive, you don't acknowledge him at all. Sometimes, you even ignore him completely."
The double-black found himself comparing the huge pebble he was rolling around with his shoe to the growing lump of pure guilt in his throat. Conrad was absolutely right. How could he not have noticed that he was putting Wolfram though this all this time? No wonder the blond was acting different. After 3 years since the day they met, Yuuri suddenly doubted that he did anything that truly made Wolfram happy. Oh god…
Conrad decided to continue. "When Soushu was defeated and you left Shin Makoku 'for good' after the portal closed, Wolfram spent all his time waiting by the fountain, watching the water for any possible, miniscule sign of your return. He attacked anyone who tried to tell him that you weren't coming back. It took several weeks for him to finally admit to himself that it was no use. He wasn't quite the same after that until the day you actually did return."
Yuuri's heart panged. He couldn't even bear trying to imagine the pain Wolfram went through just to divulge that waiting for him was pointless.
"Wolfram…" Yuuri muttered. He wanted to see him. He wanted to hold him tight and never let go. He wanted, now more than anything, to make it all up to Wolfram. Yet, how could he earn to even face the blond after all that Yuuri had put him through?
He couldn't stand it. The pain in his heart was overwhelming him. He tried to think of something else. Something popped up in his head; a small glimmer of hope that could at least temporarily put Wolfram's misery out of his mind. There was something else he wanted to know.
"Conrad" This would be the last question for now, I swear "Who exactly did Wolfram visit yesterday?"
This isn't good. Conrad had to think fast. This dialogue is starting to move back to that topic! Still, the brunet settled on telling Yuuri certain, carefully thought of information. The importance of Yuuri's trust in him, after all, was as high as ever.
"Every year around this time of autumn, Wolfram goes off alone to visit his… 'friend'. I believe he mentioned it to you when you asked him last night?"
"Well, I know he went to visit a friend, but what I'm asking is… well, who is that friend?"
"He was- He is possibly Wolfram's dearest friend. They've known each other since childhood. He'd travel all the way from the Leonhart territory just to see Wolfram. They… they are very close." Conrad's face showed an odd mixture of remorse and disgust.
Yuuri could tell that this was a bad topic. But he had to know. He had to find out everything he could about Wolfram before he made any more stupid mistakes. He was getting the feeling that his godfather wasn't telling him the whole story. But that could wait. He could ask Gwendal later. He just needed to know one more thing.
"You said he came from the Leonhart territory… What's his name?" There it was again. The dark expression on Conrad's ever-paling face. The brunet drew himself to his full height before answering:
"Squall. Squall von Leonhart."
"Squall, huh…?" Yuuri looked up at his guardian, only to see that he was busying himself by packing up their things. The double-black congratulated himself on getting this much information. Evidently, this was a bad topic. His suspicions on that were confirmed every time Conrad answered his questions. This mysterious… Squall von Leonhart… Did something happen big happen?
"Yuuri." Conrad broke his thoughts. "I'm going back to the castle. I have duties to perform, as do you, I'm sure." He smiled a winning smile. Yes, it's good like this. Just stay calm. Yuuri would trust him for sure. And yet, he saw that his King was staring at him with strange eyes. "Yuuri?"
"Conrad…" the teen began "you don't seem to like this Squall von Leonhart…"
It was a statement, not a question. Brown eyes narrowed almost dangerously at it. Quite swiftly, Conrad turned his back on Yuuri and proceeded to march up towards the castle steps, leaving the rather stunned monarch behind. The winds that were once so cooling on his face started to blow slightly stronger, imitating what was blowing so coldly in Conrad's heart. The brunet's answer to Yuuri's final question was almost lost in the howling winds.
"You don't even want to know."
KKM
Wolfram let himself relax in the royal bath chamber. He breathed out a small sigh of content. The water was calming the tension in his muscles. His mind drifted back to last night. For some reason or another, he found that he could not sleep too well after dinner's occurrences. Getting up before Yuuri today was a rare treat. He had watched his wimp of a fiancé sleep for a while before getting up and getting a head start in his duties.
His pendant floated on the surface of the hot bath water, dancing in the tiny ripples in front of its blond owner. Wolfram smiled at the pendant. It was an odd little thing. Though it looked like it was made of silver, there it was, floating on water as though its density didn't matter at all. All these years he wore the pendant, it never ceased to amaze him. It was in fact made of a special, atypical element. The metal itself acted as though it was a living thing. It was loving. Loyal to its owner. Wolfram had never seen anything like it prior to getting it.
Receiving it… from Squall.
Fair fingers gently closed around the freely floating pendant and pulled it towards his chest. His heart; where it belonged. After a few moments of feeling its cool touch against his skin, he hesitantly pulled it away and examined it. The pendant didn't show any signs of age. Even after letting it float in the hot bath water, it remained cool to the touch. It looked and felt exactly the same as it did the very day and moment he first touched it.
Touched it…
The intricate engravings at the side of the metal were still there. Wolfram ran his thumb softly against it, wondering if he could know what it meant just by touching it, as though he never knew what it meant in the first place. The sunken engravings felt like Braille against his skin.
"Squall…" he breathed tenderly.
"Wolfram?"
The blond dropped his pendant the moment he heard Yuuri call his name through the steamy bath chamber. The curious metal resumed floating on the surface of the bath water. Wolfram turned his head to face his fiancé, only to find that he was clad in a white towel, holding a small wooden bucket of bath things.
The double-black smiled at the sight before him. "There you are… I've been looking for you all morning! Where have you been?" he asked the blond as the wooden bucket was set down beside the bath. Wolfram could do nothing but stare back at him.
"Around the castle, wimp. Just carrying out normal chores and duties, like I'm sure You've been doing as well..." the jade-eyed soldier answered, yet he couldn't help but wonder exactly why Yuuri was supposedly 'looking for him all morning'. Pale arms that were previously crossed over Wolfram's chest involuntarily relaxed. Could there be a chance after all, that his fiancé was finally coming to terms with his feelings?
Yuuri's smile widened at the familiar pet-name. He hadn't heard Wolfram call him a wimp for ages. "Mind if I join you?" He winked at the confused blond.
Wolfram quickly pulled himself together before retorting half-heartedly: "It's not as though I can stop you now, can I?" He closed his eyes and fought a smile as he felt the water around him shift as Yuuri entered the bath.
"Yikes, Wolf! How can you stand having the water so hot?! It's gonna scald us both!" the King exclaimed. "If I wasn't almost used to this sort of temperature from my ofuro back in Japan, I wouldn't dream of getting in here!"
"It has to be this hot for me, Yuuri. My element is fire, so if the water temperature is anywhere below this, I won't be able to get much of a hot bath."
"That's… pretty insane…"
The blond snorted slightly at the accusation. The two sat in silence as the water lapped against their skin. Yuuri began to shampoo his hair, occasionally taking a peek at Wolfram, who did nothing but watch his pendant do the ballet in front of him. Yuuri's eyes widened. The pendant!
As he was trying to string good enough words together to inquire his fiancé on the floating piece of silver, two jade orbs stared him straight in the eyes. Wolfram stared at his somewhat startled King for a brief moment before speaking softly.
"Yuuri?"
"Y-yes, Wolfram?" he gulped.
"Could you pass me the shampoo?"
Onyx eyes blinked in confusion before realizing that the blond was simply asking for permission to wash his hair. Feeling stupid, he grabbed the white bottle and handed it to the waiting soldier. Yuuri watched as his blond beauty frothed up his golden locks in what seemed like perfect slow motion.
Preeeeettyyyyyy….. The brunet barely stopped himself from drooling. Pull yourself together, Shibuya!
And yet, those royal midnight eyes never left the show in front of them.
KKM
-Sigh-
Gunter von Christ brushed a few fine strands of long silver-lilac hair out of his eyes. He read the name in the page of the book he was reading once more. He hadn't seen that name for a long time. Still, last night's almost-fiasco brought up fond memories as well as the urge to dig up some old books.
He turned the page of the old book and found that familiar name again when he heard a soft, but firm knock on the heavy wooden door of his office.
"Gunter?" came a deep voice from behind the door.
The advisor's ears perked up at the voice. He straightened himself up before replying, "Come in."
The door opened slowly, revealing a very disconcerted Gwendal. He made his way to the table where Gunter was going through the tones of old books that he had taken from the library. A dark grey eyebrow cocked as Gwendal realized just how many books there actually were; his previous worries momentarily forgotten.
"Just what were you doing in here?"
Gunter chuckled a little as he recognized the skeptical tone hinted in Gwendal's voice. Odd… he hadn't heard that tenor in a while. He was starting to miss it.
"Well, I was preparing for my lesson with His Majesty later, but since I had some time to spare I thought that I could maybe find something here and bring up some new information during our class." Provided His Majesty decides to come quietly this time…
"I… see." Gwendal strode past the silently weeping silver-haired advisor to peer out of the window. The sun's rays felt warm against his frowned face. A tall apple tree stood out in the garden below; its golden leaves blowing in the autumn wind. A sad smile found its way to Gwendal's face. Such happy memories took place there.
"Something on your mind, Gwendal?" Gunter's voice broke his thoughts.
Gwendal sighed, pushing away the memories that were rushing back at him for a while, "I just wonder how Wolfram is taking in what happened at dinner."
"Ah, that."
"How could you have missed informing His Majesty about Squall von Leonhart?! I thought that you were supposed to cover 'The Formation of The Ten Territories' with him as part of Shin Makoku's history? Then perhaps last night's close call would not have happened!"
Gunter huffed. "It is not as though I have not tried to teach His Majesty everything that I, as his Royal Advisor and instructor of our nation's customs, was supposed to teach him! I cannot possibly be blamed for this!"
"Well, of course you can! I have been through quite a few of your lessons, Gunter! You do not seem to have the flair needed to bring people back, wanting to learn more! It would not kill you to incorporate some interesting facts during your classes!"
"How dare you, Gwendal! Absolutely everything about Shin Makoku, its customs, culture and history, is interesting! I, for one, am sure that I need not inject anything into my lessons that could possibly mar its wonderful truth!"
Gwendal von Voltaire brought his palm to his forehead, attempting to soothe the dizzying ache ravaging him. There was just no winning against this man.
KKM
Wolfram ducked his foamy head under the hot bath water. It was about time to rinse; the shampoo just didn't seem to be lathering up any more foam and bubbles. Wolfram never liked having to be under water. It was just too opposite his fire element and it made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
Brilliant green eyes opened and immediately felt the slight burn of the hot water. He remembered the first time he managed to see underwater; the sense of self-pride was delightfully overwhelming. His silver pendant seemed to follow him under, appearing in his line of vision.
Squall…
A thought came to the beautiful blond's head. Perfect pink lips parted, semi-scalding water rushed into Wolfram's mouth. If I just… breathe in for a while… I might be able…
To see him again.
Water now rushed down Wolfram's throat and trachea. His chest felt tighter with every underwater breath he took. The pain in his chest was unbearable. He subconsciously wrapped his slim fingers around his neck, trying to ease the twinge that was spreading to every part of his body. He felt dizzy. It won't be long now…
Wolfram glanced upwards. He had never realized how deep the bath was. Sounds and noises from the water filled his ears, but he could not decipher any of them. He felt the last of his consciousness leaving him slowly. Pale lids slid shut over Wolfram's jade-green orbs. Was everyone's death destined to be such slow torture? A teardrop parted from his eye and blended with the water around him.
He felt his entire body being forced upwards. Cold air attacked his every exposed bit of skin. But it definitely was not cold air that was making him lean over. And it was not cold air that was literally beating the wind and water out of him, for sure. Almost immediately, Wolfram began to cough up all the soapy hot water that had entered his body.
The jade-green eyes opened again and looked up to find a very worried Yuuri carrying him in his arms. The King was dripping wet, the both of them now clearly void of any foamy bubbles on their hair. As soon as he realized that Wolfram was looking at him, Yuuri relaxed slightly as he pulled the blond into what he hoped was a comforting embrace. Their bare skin pressed against each other. Yet, the monarch did not mind, not even for a second.
"Wolfram," Yuuri's voice shook as tears started to well up in his eyes, "are you okay? I was so worried when you didn't surface after such a long time."
The blond said nothing as he wrapped his slender arms around his fiancé's neck and returned the embrace. Yuuri had just saved him. Just what in Shinou's name was he trying to do before he was rescued? Wolfram buried his face in the crook of Yuuri's neck, feeling horrible.
"Yuuri…" was all he could manage.
The King held his Prince tighter at the vulnerable voice. Their hearts were beating together against the cooling silver pendant that was currently being sandwiched between them. Yuuri was getting frightened. He grit his teeth as his tears dropped onto Wolfram's shoulder and slid down his back.
What on Earth is going on?! Please… someone please help me!
To Be Continued…
This has to have been THE LONGEST CHAPTER I have every written IN MY LIFE.
I actually wanted to name him Leon von Squall or something, but I read in another fic that 'Leon' was already taken, so… Anyway, by now, I'm sure many of you can guess the main points in this story, but I'm continuing this to the end! Till then, PLEASE REVIEW!