A/N: I am soooo sorry for the late update! I graduated last week was was getting ready for that and then, afterwards, my dad took me on a fishing trip and I didn't have time to finish this chapter before I left! He's also taking me to Montana to visit some family friends in a few days and I'll be gone for a little over a week. So, I'll try to post chapter 4 when I get back! Thank you for being so patient, I hope this chapter turned out ok, I feel like it was a bit rushed... :(
A HUGE THANKS TO: Square-Enix Fan, rueLf94, eclst, pikeebo, Poison's Beauty, Eveliina92, florrey, lazy fat kitsune, and Mizuki Hikari for all of your wonderful reviews! They really inspired me to continue, thank you so much!
Second Chances
Chapter 3: Missing
There was a loud pounding at his door. Wolfram opened one slightly bloodshot emerald eye. He sat up and noticed that the sky outside was dark. What could anyone want at this hour? He dragged himself to his door, rubbing his eyes, and opened it, surprised to see Gwendal and one of his own soldiers, Kaori, standing there. (A/N: I don't know if any of Wolfram's soldiers have been introduced by name…so I just picked the name Kaori because it means something along the lines of a man's strength. XD)
"What do you want?" Wolfram asked, trying and failing to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Kaori bowed, "Forgive us for waking you up so late, Wolfram-kaka. A problem as come to our attention and needs to be immediately dealt with." (A/N: kaka: Your Excellency)
Wolfram yawned, "What's the problem then?"
"The humans are getting restless," Gwendal explained, "It's common knowledge that they seek war with us. If it wasn't for Yuuri-heika…"
He left his sentence hanging. Wolfram picked up on it immediately and nodded to show he understood.
"I want you to take some troops and patrol the borders closest to the humans," Gwendal continued, "Just to make sure that they are staying where they should be. However, don't put yourself at any unnecessary risk, you'll be there to observe, not engage in battle. Do you understand?"
Wolfram nodded again, his mind still clouded with sleep, "Do I have to leave now?"
"Yes, as soon as possible."
The blonde yawned again, "Alright. Kaori, I'll meet you outside in a few minutes. Gather a few others and we'll leave once everyone is ready."
"Yes sir!" The young soldier ran off, clearly anxious to begin.
Wolfram was about to retreat back into his room to get ready when Gwendal stopped him.
"Wolfram, don't do anything reckless," he warned, a very serious look on his face, "I know that your recent breakup with Yuuri-heika hasn't left you in a healthy mood, but you must remain focused. If you get to close to the humans, the outcome cannot possibly be good."
Wolfram winced at the mention of the breakup. It had only been three days and it was still very fresh in his mind. Gwendal seemed to notice the shadow that passed over Wolfram's face at his words and immediately let it drop, knowing that it was a tender subject.
"I'll be careful," Wolfram finally spoke, reassuring his older brother.
With that, he closed the door and quickly changed out of his night clothes. Gone was the frilly pink nightgown he once wore. He had no reason for it. The main purpose of it was to get Yuuri's attention. Wolfram could have puked at how ridiculous that was.
Trying to keep thoughts of Yuuri out of his mind, he finished pulling on his uniform and left his room. When he reached the front of the castle, he found six men waiting for him. The blonde mounted his horse and waited for the men to assemble behind him.
"Alright," he ordered, spurring his horse into motion, "Let's go!"
"Hai!" the group chorused, following after him.
Yuuri looked gloomily down at his breakfast, the events of the past couple of days re-running over and over again in his head.
--Flashback--
"Wolfram? Wolfram, open the door! Wolfram!" Yuuri shouted, pounding on the wooden door in front of him for the second time in the past two days.
Only silence met his words.
He gritted his teeth and began knocking again, "Come on Wolfram! It's been two days; I need to talk to you!"
Still silence.
Yuuri sighed and walked away, deciding it was pointless and knowing that if he ordered Wolfram to come out of his room, it would ruin whatever chance he had to regain the blonde's friendship.
--End Flashback--
He hadn't talked to the blonde prince since the breakup. In fact, he hadn't even seen him! Wolfram hadn't attended any meals or meetings, and now, Yuuri was beginning to get worried. Finally deciding he had lost his appetite, he excused himself from the table.
As he was heading back towards his room, he spotted Conrad walking a few meters in front of him.
"Conrad!" he called, running to catch up with his godfather.
The young man stopped and faced Yuuri, slightly surprised, "Yes, Heika?"
Yuuri frowned, "How many times do I have to tell you?! Call me Yuuri!"
Conrad only smiled, "What can I do for you?"
"Oh, right, have you seen Wolfram anywhere?"
A shadow crossed Conrad's face as he answered, "He is patrolling the borders by the human's territory."
"When will he be back?"
"I can't say for sure, but I would guess soon."
Yuuri tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice, "Oh, ok."
Conrad wasn't fooled, "Is there something bothering you, Heika?"
"Eh? No! I just haven't seen him in three days, that's all," Yuuri explained quickly.
"Ok," Conrad said, a knowing look in his eyes.
They were both silent for a minute before Conrad spoke again, "You know, Heika, I think Gwendal would greatly appreciate it if you did some of your paperwork."
Yuuri winced at this; he hated paperwork and had been trying to avoid it for the past couple of days. Though, that hadn't been hard seeing as Gwendal was ignoring him.
"Can't Gwendal do it?" he asked, trying to keep the pleading tone out of his voice.
Conrad shook his head, "No, he's very busy right now. Look at it this way, it'll keep your mind off of things and Gwendal won't be as…upset with you."
Yuuri hung his head, there was no way out of this, "Alright," he agreed, "I'll see you later than."
Conrad nodded as he watched the double-black run off.
Yuuri groaned and slumped in his chair, closing his eyes and letting his writing hand rest. He cracked one eye open to check the time. 12:30. He had been doing paperwork for four and a half hours. His writing hand was throbbing and his eyes were burning. However, despite all of that, he felt better. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Conrad had been right. Focusing his mind only on his paperwork had made all of his thoughts of Wolfram completely disintegrate.
He sat up again and eyed the considerably shorter stack of paper. Deciding he had done enough for today, he stood, stretched his stiff muscles, and left the office, wearing a content smile on his face. This smile grew as he spotted Greta.
"Hey Greta!" he called, walking up to her, "Are you finished with your work?"
She nodded.
He grinned now, "Well, seeing as I nearly finished my paperwork," he ignored the look of utter surprise on Greta's face, "do you want to eat lunch with me?"
She giggled, "Ok!"
When they arrived in the dining hall, they were both surprised to see Conrad, Gwendal, and Gunter already eating.
"Ah, Heika," Conrad greeted him, "Join us, we just started."
Yuuri and Greta took their seats at the table.
"And where were you all day?" Gwendal asked, eying Yuuri coldly.
The double black flinched and fought the urge to cower under the older man's glare, "I was…um…doing paperwork…" he replied honestly.
Gunter and Gwendal looked utterly surprised while Conrad smiled warmly.
Yuuri frowned at this, "Why does everyone act so surprised?!"
Greta's laugh was his only answer. The maids soon appeared, bearing platters of food. They set them down in the center of the table and dished out generous portions onto Yuuri's and Greta's plates. They then bowed and left.
Yuuri, Greta, Conrad, Gwendal, and Gunter sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the food. Outside, a horse was heard. The group perked up at the sound.
"It sounds like Wolfram and his troops are back," Conrad commented.
Yuuri's stomach was tying itself into nervous knots. He needed to talk to the blonde bishōnen (A/N: bishōnen: beautiful boy. This is what Yuuri calls Wolfram when he first sees him).
The commotion outside became louder. Yuuri thought he faintly heard someone shouting as the doors were thrown open.
Gwendal, Conrad, and Gunter were on their feet instantly. Yuuri's eyes widened as a soldier clad in blue stumbled in. He was bleeding profusely from a deep wound in his shoulder, his blood dripping to the floor and staining his uniform crimson. Exhaustion and pain were clearly written on the young man's face and he struggled to remain on his feet.
Gwendal gasped and his eyes shone with recognition, "Kaori! What happened?!"
Kaori took a few deep breaths to calm himself, "Gwendal-sama, Wolfram-kaka…he was…he was kidnapped!"
Before anyone could say anything, the young soldier's eyes rolled back and he passed out.
A/N:
Slight cliffhanger! lol, well I hope you liked it! Sorry again that it wasn't that long. Now that I'm getting farther along the storyline, I'll start writing longer chapters, I promise And sorry if some of the characters seem kind of OOC, I've only watched about 10 or so episodes of Kyou Kara Maou (not really in order) and read about 50 fanfictions so I'm still "getting to know the characters". lol So, please review and tell me if they're acting in character. If they're not, please, please, please tell me what I have to do to correct it! Thank you!