A/N: Thank you for the kind reviews for last chapter! In case any of you are wondering, Little Yuuri looks like he does in the flashbacks of episode 92. I'm guessing he's about five or so in the moon scene, so that's what I'm going with. Plus his voice is so adorable then! Well, I hope you enjoy chapter two!
Chapter Two
"Your Majesty? What're you doing in here?"
The black-haired Maou groaned; so his hiding place hadn't worked out. And he thought that no one would look for him in Ao's stable. Well, at least it was Conrad. He should've known that Conrad would always be able to find him.
"It's Yuuri, Man-Who-Named-Me! Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you? It's not that hard of a name." He popped up from the hay he'd been hiding in and was instantly greeted with a bright smile.
"My apologies, Yuuri." He held out a hand to help his liege off the floor of the stable, "But really what are you doing in here?"
"Isn't it obvious? Hiding from Gunter! I tell you, if I have to learn one more name of the eighth maou's thirty-seven grandchildren I think my brain will explode." He complained, brushing the hay off of his pants.
Conrad took over the task of removing the hay from his clothes and Yuuri fought back a blush at the contact, "Well, we certainly wouldn't want that, Your Majest… I mean, Yuuri." He could tell that his death glare was ineffective given that Conrad had to look away and bring a hand to his mouth.
"You're laughing at me!" Yuuri accused, pointing his finger at Conrad's chest. The older man just shook his head, keeping his hand over his mouth and refusing to look at Yuuri. "Yes you are! Admit it! Look at me!" Conrad finally spared a glance for his king; the boy was pouting now and his black hair was practically blonde given the amount of hay that sat upon his head. "Conrad!"
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Conrad murmured behind his hand as his shoulders trembled from suppressing his laughter and his brown eyes sparkled. Yuuri's expression softened and his cheeks warmed a bit at the sight of the normally composed Conrad trying to keep from laughing.
Even if it was at his expense, Yuuri found that liked seeing Conrad like this. "Yuuri, Conrad." He told him fondly, before shaking away the tender feelings and exchanged them for a grin, "Do you want to play catch?"
"It would be my honor, Yuuri." Conrad smiled back once he pulled himself together again and finished brushing the hay off of his head for him.
Conrad gazed helplessly from the sidelines as the giant bed seemed to be devouring the tiny child that was smothered with blankets. He could hardly detect the rise and fall of his chest because of all the layers and that had him uneasy. Would they be able to tell if he stopped breathing? Gisela hovered over him, occasionally pushing back her father whenever he wandered too close to the boy, and examined him carefully. Everyone had gathered in the maou's bedroom, even little Greta who looked on with astonishment at seeing her father so small. Wolfram sat on Yuuri's bed, holding Greta's hand in his as he just stared at the figure cocooned in the sheets. Conrad couldn't help but wonder if the child's cheeks were too pale or too flushed and watched Gisela continue her check-up.
Finally she straightened and looked all around the room, "It seems that this is indeed His Majesty." Gunter wailed in the background, "But I can assure you all that there doesn't seem to be any physical damage other than that he is a lot younger than we're used to… but he isn't injured, save for a couple of bruises which is surprising considering the circumstances."
"So… he'll be okay?" Wolfram ventured cautiously.
Gisela faltered for a moment and looked away, "Physically, yes… mentally… I can't be sure until he wakes up."
Conrad swallowed thickly, a lump already formed in his throat, "How old is he, Gisela?"
"About five… maybe six years old." She looked hesitant, "I can't be sure, but given that he's been aging like a human for the majority of his life I'm guessing that he's around that age."
Conrad clenched his fist and turned his gaze back to the unconscious child. If one didn't know better, Yuuri would appear to be sleeping peacefully. Angelically, almost. Everyone fell silent for a few minutes; the only sound that penetrated it was the tinkling of rain outside and Yuuri's soft breaths. Finally, Wolfram stood up quickly and glared at Gisela.
"What am I supposed to do with a five year old fiancée?!" he demanded, his cheeks aflame and Greta held onto his hand tightly.
"Wolfram, calm yourself." Gwendel grunted, his ever-present frown directed at his youngest brother, "You'll disturb him."
Gisela sighed tiredly, "Lord Wolfram, I'm sorry, but perhaps his mind has been salvaged."
"What do you mean?" Both Wolfram and Gunter asked this in unison; one voice bitter and the other desperate.
"As I said before, I can't tell what His Majesty's mental state is yet. Maybe he'll recall everything and will be exactly as he was before this incident. He'd be sixteen years old in a child's body." She explained carefully, "In another case, his mind may have also regressed to that of a child… the worst case scenario…" she hesitated for a moment, "His mind may not be able to withstand the drastic change… and be damaged irreparably."
Silence kept the group company yet again. Gwendel had Greta taken away by Anissina; the young girl growing more distraught as time passed. Wolfram paced the room in frustration which in turn caused four more wrinkles to appear on Gwendel's brow. Gunter alternated between hovering over Gisela, lamenting by the window, and standing beside Gwendel. Gisela monitored Yuuri periodically to check his vitals and to make sure he didn't go into shock. Conrad just leaned against the wall next to Yuuri's bed and watched over him; worry and guilt settled in his eyes.
After what seemed like hours, but could've been minutes, the child stirred and brought everyone to attention. Gisela held up a hand to prevent them from crowding and bent over the side of the bed. Tiny eyelids fluttered gently and his small mouth parted as he squeaked out a yawn. He blinked several times, having difficulty adjusting to the light. Finally he started to take in his surroundings and his black eyes grew wide. He stopped all movement and his breathing picked up speed.
"Your Majesty?" Gisela asked softly, but the boy wouldn't look at her. "Your Majesty?"
He clamped his eyes shut and continued to breathe rapidly. Conrad's hand twitched; the urge to go to the boy overwhelmed him. Nobody moved for a second; Gisela's face reflected extreme concern. She tried to get his attention, but the child refused to look at her or even acknowledge her.
"Yuuri." Wolfram finally murmured and the boy's eyes snapped open.
His eyes were as large and round as saucers; the contrast made his pale skin appear ghostly white. His gaze darted from face to face, obviously searching for familiarity. Tears welled up in his eyes upon finding none. His tiny fists clenched around the blankets and he drew them up around him. Gunter attempted to approach, but Yuuri whimpered as soon as the man took a step. The poor thing resembled a rabbit surrounded by a pack of wolves; trembling uncontrollably and wanting to bolt immediately.
"Yuuri," Gisela tried; the name sounding awkward on her lips but he responded to it, "It's alright, little one. Can you remember anything?"
He glanced over at Gisela and shook his head rapidly, still watching the others from the corners of his eyes. When Gwendel's frown increased, so did the fear on Yuuri's face. Gisela tried to hush him, but the boy was already screaming and trying to hide in the covers. Conrad felt his heart break at the sound of the pitiful cries; he could faintly hear the word 'mama' coming from the pillow Yuuri chose to bury his face into. Wolfram and Gunter tried to approach him, but Yuuri just flailed about wildly to keep them away. Everyone took a step back; this outburst clearly startled everyone and upset them a great deal. No one liked to hear Yuuri cry, so witnessing the child-Yuuri bawl into his pillow was heart wrenching.
The green haired nurse tried to soothe him, but he wouldn't let her touch him and just batted her away and cowered. Gisela shook her head wearily, then proceeded to usher everyone out—mainly Gunter because his cries were only distressing Yuuri more—but Conrad lingered a bit. It seemed that the child registered everyone was leaving so he slowly looked up from his tear-soaked pillow, still sobbing loudly. The glassy black eyes met Conrad's brown and the sobs stopped for a second. Conrad's eyes widened and Yuuri hiccupped. Gisela turned around slowly, astonished at how quickly Yuuri's cries ceased. Wolfram peered around her, as did Gwendel and Gunter, and all of them gaped at Conrad. Conrad would've gaped at himself as well, for he had no idea what he had done to suddenly quiet Yuuri. He'd just stood there.
Tears still poured down Yuuri's cheeks and he still hiccupped, but at least he wasn't flat out screaming like before. His hand unclenched from around the sheets and he tentatively reached out for Conrad. The soldier looked to Gisela; awaiting confirmation that it was safe for him to go near Yuuri. The boy started to whine so Gisela nodded hurriedly and Conrad was at Yuuri's side in a heartbeat. He sat down on the edge of the bed as Wolfram had done before and took the small hand that reached for him. With his free hand, Yuuri took hold of Conrad's hair and stared at him for some time before sniffling and crawling into his lap and opening his mouth. Conrad didn't breathe for a moment, bracing himself for another outburst. But it didn't come. Yuuri just yawned and pressed his cheek against Conrad's thigh. He fell asleep within seconds.
Everyone counted to ten before Wolfram hissed quietly, "What was that?!"
"Shh!" even Gwendel silenced Wolfram's inquiry.
"I have no idea, but that was amazing, Sir Weller!" Gisela praised in a whisper. "I knew you were good with children, but this is just incredible!"
Conrad just stared in awe at the sleeping child, "I… I really don't know what happened. He just looked at me…"
"I think I know what it is."
All eyes turned to Gwendel. The earth-user watched Yuuri sleep for a moment before sighing. "Small children search for familiarity when faced with unusual circumstances, right?" They nodded, "Well, what's more familiar to a child than their mother?"
Wolfram pursed his lips and looked from Gwendel to Conrad and back to Gwendel, "How is Weller being compared to Yuuri's mother?"
Gwendel sighed and rubbed his temple, "His Majesty's mother has brown hair and brown eyes, yes?" Wolfram nodded slowly, "As does Conrad."
"I see." Gunter nodded in understanding, "His Majesty equates brown hair and eyes with security because of his mother, and thus equates Conrad with security because of the similarities in color. That is truly fascinating. But why couldn't she have had hair like mine?"
Conrad, although not particularly interested in being compared to a mother, felt touched that even as a child with no knowledge of who he was… Yuuri still trusted him. He felt a twinge of guilt as he watched the boy in his arms; wishing that he were the age he was supposed to be rather than a decade younger. However, an older Yuuri wouldn't have reached out like that without getting flustered.
"We must immediately address this matter and what it means for Shin Makoku." Gwendel kept his voice low, still eyeing the sleeping Yuuri. "Wolfram, Gunter, Conrad… come with me."
"Ah…" Conrad glanced at his brother and then back at Yuuri, "What about…?"
"He's sleeping now. Gisela will stay with him and guards are posted outside. He'll be fine as long as he sleeps through the night." Gwendel informed him; well-aware of children's sleeping habits after putting up with his two younger brothers and Greta. "He won't wake up if you move him carefully."
Conrad appeared hesitant at first before steadying himself. With Gisela's help, he gently removed the child from his lap and stood from the bed. A patch of drool stained his pant leg, but he paid no mind to it. The four retainers exited Yuuri's bedroom and journeyed to Gwendel's study. Gwendel took his usual seat behind his desk while the others stood around him.
"I imagine that you can all guess why this matter of the maou being… a child would concern me." He started, folding his hands on his desk. Everyone in the room nodded solemnly and he continued, "His Majesty cannot handle the task of signing documents in this condition so I will maintain that responsibility." As if I don't already… "But other than that, there are bigger issues at hand."
"Dai Shimaron." Conrad tensed at the idea of their enemies discovering that Yuuri had reverted to a child.
Gwendel nodded, "They will not hesitate to attack in his current condition. Also, our allies and our own country would be alarmed at this turn of events. I think that it's best if the entire castle maintains the impression that His Majesty has returned to earth for the time being. It's not unusual and that way we can have a couple of weeks to figure out how to reverse this."
"I will personally study each and every item in the treasury until I uncover the one that damaged His Majesty in such a way." Gunter declared.
Conrad shook his head, "I think it's best that we leave that duty to the maids; they were with His Majesty when he passed out so they should have a better idea of where to look and what to look for."
"I was with him too." Wolfram added, "If I find anything unusual, I'll take it to you for examination, Gunter."
"And it'd be good for you to be available if His Majesty has any questions about our culture." Conrad suggested, brightening Gunter's mood, "You can still continue your lessons, just on a more basic level."
Gwendel turned his attention to his youngest brother, "Wolfram, given the circumstances and that His Majesty is clearly too young, I ask that you suspend your engagement for the time being."
Wolfram appeared torn for a moment, but then nodded firmly, "I understand. I can't imagine trying to pursue a serious relationship with a five year old."
"Alright then. So we will have the maids begin searching for the item starting tomorrow and I'll have Yozak see if anything like this has happened before. We should inform His Holiness, too. He might know what to do." Gwendel laid out the plan, his forehead creasing.
"I'll send for him first thing in the morning." Conrad promised.
"Good. Now, I suppose we should retire for now. Conrad, why don't you freshen up and then check on His Majesty again? If he's woken up again, which I doubt, he'll be less likely to throw a tantrum if you're there." Gwendel rubbed his temples at the memory.
The soldier nodded, and then exited his brother's office with Gunter and Wolfram leaving Gwendel to his thoughts and concerns.
A/N: I hope that my assumption on why Yuuri attaches to Conrad isn't too far-fetched. I noticed in the beginning that Conrad and Miko/Jennifer both had brown hair and brown eyes and thought it would be fun to have Yuuri compare the two. Also, in my mind he sort of remembers Conrad from when he was a baby, or at least his image was imprinted in his mind. Then there's the whole soul thing to consider. Not mention his mama probably gushed about the handsome man in the taxi who gave him his name throughout his childhood. It just made the most for me to have Yuuri latch onto Conrad; plus, isn't it cute to imagine a baby Yuuri cuddling with Conrad?