Hi there evryone, this is the chapter where everyone is waiting for. Adult Flynn and Yuri! XDD I seriously enjoy writing them as adults better than kids. Thanks for everyone who fav, reviews this story. Thank you :D


The normal routine for an imperial maid consisted of lots of duties to do, and one part of them was waking up the royal members. The red haired maid took great pride in her job, and she considered herself luckier than the others because she was entrusted with the task of waking up the crown prince, got to be the one to see him first thing in the morning, and spent a few moments alone with him before other maids came in and help him get dressed for a new day. Whenever she was about to set off for the prince's room, all other maids winced and pouted at her in jealousy. She secretly enjoyed that.

The maid arrived at the prince's chamber at a bit early to seven. She knocked on the door lightly, excusing herself to enter.

"Good morning, you are early today, Hannah."

Unfortunately for her however, the prince did not seem to have the trouble of waking up by himself. Therefore he needed not assistance from someone to do so. Every time, every single time she arrived, the prince had already awake and fully dressed. She sighed softly before lowered her head in respect, "Good morning, Your Highness. You are early today too."

The prince returned her greeting with a smile.

At the age of twenty-one, the young crown prince stood out as the most handsome man throughout the entire imperial family. His golden locks that stopped just a little bit above the nape of his neck, his sapphire eyes always shine like a vast and deep blue sky. Rumours had it if ones got caught too long into the depth of his eyes; there would be no way for them to return back except accepting their fate and drowning within it.

Prince Scifo also famous among the servants due to his kind nature. He treated everyone with fairness and a polite manner. The Imperial Knights also looked up to him as a role model Commandant, with excel skill in swordsmanship, and a selfless capability to lead and sacrifice himself for the people.

The prince had always been the love interest of lots of noble ladies, and countless marriage offers had been sent to him, and yet he accepted none. That matter had been going around as the chitchat topic of the maids. Some believed that the prince had no intention of marrying until he became king. Some said that because he already had someone he loved.

Today, the prince clad himself in a white coat that hung casually above his thigh, with blue satin line on the hem of the sleeves and high button up collar. His white pants contrasted with black high collar boots. He always looked good with white, and blue, it complemented his eyes and hair in a gentle touch of dignified beauty.

Lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the voice of the prince asking her if there was anything else she needed to do. She immediately apologized and closed the door behind her as she retreated back to her other works. She could only sighed because no matter how much she fantasized; she knew that he was too high of a wish for a servant girl. However, there was no cost for hoping, so she kept on wishing that one day, His Highness would look at her differently.


Flynn had woken up early that morning, because he had an important ceremony to attend later in the afternoon. His commandant attire had been laid out yesterday night. Three years ago, he had his coming of age ceremony, as a part of the tradition was to have one of his wish granted. He had asked to carry out the responsibility of an Imperial Commandant. Since the previous Commandant Alexei Dinoia just recently passed away due to illness. The position itself had been left as it was for a few months; since they had not able to pick someone that had all the needed potential to be one. It was Flynn perfect chance to voice his request. He remembered seeing lots of Council members grasped in surprise, and a smiling face of his father. Until now, the Commandant title was usually handed down by one of the higher members of the Imperial Knight. Thus, having the crown prince undertook the task was not only causing a break in ancient tradition, but also a wave of disapproving from the Knights and the Council members. After quite a hard time convincing them, making them aware of his unending determination, they finally agreed to leave the title to Flynn under one condition. He would have to lead a campaign to exterminate a large scale rebellion organization, in which he successfully not only returned alive, but also destroyed the last seed of the rebellious force. All the knights-who returned with him after that mission had all kneeled down in front of the castle, swearing by the names and swords they were carrying that they would accept him as their leader, and to serve him till the very end. The crown prince's dedication to his duty, along with excellent skill in his sword, and an undeniable honor's recognition from the knights had finally put a stop to his protesters. One year later, Flynn was officially recognized as the first crown prince to ever make it into being the Commandant, who led the entire army of the empire. He had made a difference, by being the Commandant; he was one step closer to his ambition of changing the whole system. He would limit the authority of the Council by bringing up the power of the Imperial Knight, and dividing the power into three with the King being one of them. This ideal triangle system of his would allow more flexible and dynamic points of view in ruling the country. He would not let the council members monopolize everything anymore. He knew that the Council would make it harder for him to move towards this goal. However, he determined to change this country for better, into a place where no kids had to separate from their friends.

He stepped out of the room, feeling the need to take in some air. Later this afternoon, there would be held an accolade at the castle's square for the new promoted-knights. Every once in a year would this ceremony be held, and Flynn-as being the Commandant could not unattended.

The prince walked down the corridor, intending to take a break at the garden, before he remembered that he needed to visit his princess sister since he had left a precious thing at her place yesterday for it to be taken care of. With his destination set in mind, Flynn turned right and headed straight for the Princess Quarter.

"Please come in."

"Estellise! Am I disturbing you?"

"Oh brother, please come in."

His younger by three years princess leapt into his arms, hugging him tight. Her silky pink hair ran softly between his fingers. Despite being eighteen years old, she was still such an innocent girl. However, her knowledge about the world was equal that of his, except he had seen the reality of most aspects by having the knight privilege to travel around for duties, while she could not. Sometimes, he felt lucky because despite being the King, his father had not had the chance to experience the outside as much as he was able to.

"Oh, come here brother. The task that you entrusted me from yesterday is done." A beautiful smile dashed across her face as she pulled him along with her.

She approached her desk, picking up a black box and handed it over to him.

Flynn received the box from her, and opened it. Resides inside the box was a piece of earring made of black stone. The very same stone that Yuri-his childhood friend gave him eight years ago. After that, he had it polished and made it into an earring, so it could be with him all the time.

"From the look of it, this stone is just as normal as other jewellery gem. But if you have a look closer, it is actually a crystallized form of highly condensed aer. Usually, highly condensed aer is of red color and is poisonous. And I have never read of something that said aer could be crystallized and turned black like this." The princess put one finger on her chin, lost in thoughts.

"Then it is truly a special thing" Flynn took the stone out and put it on, the warm feeling it gave him despite the coldness pressed against his ear was something entirely different. It was the warm feeling of a first bond of friendship that lightened his path, and gave him courage to continue fighting for his goal. People who know him well would be able to pick up his habit of touching his earlobe while he was busy thinking or in stress. That included his princess sister.

"Yes, it is indeed truly special." Estellise nodded. A few days after Yuri's and his family departure, her brother was finally in the mood for talking. Then he told her everything about Yuri, and the time that both of them spent playing with each other. She admired them both; they were brave enough to start a bond that was obvious to them that could never last. The princess secretly wished she could have such courage to sneak out and make friends like her brother did.

"Time has passed so fast, do not you agree brother?"

The prince had invited his sister to go a stroll at the garden. He needed to relax his mind before the ceremony. Even though this was not his first time holding a speech in front of others, yet every time he did this, his heart could not settle down. Flynn already had the entire speech on his mind, after two years carefully planning for his goal. Today, he would make a statement or more like a direct declaration of war to the Imperial Council. He would begin his next course of action in the plan of Triangle System that he had in mind. He wondered if the Knights would agree to this or not, but he would have to do this.

"Yes it has. Years had passed with a blink of an eye."

Both of them sat down on a marble bench, drowning themselves in the gentle wind of the garden near spring-the lily garden. Eight years ago, this was the place that he first met Yuri. The flowers here reminded him so much of that raven-haired. Since Yuri…after all was named after this flower.

The princess always seemed to read what was on his mind, when she suddenly asked, "It has been eight years, do you think he will come back?"

In truth, that question had been bugging his mind for a while now. Eight years was a long period enough for ones to give up. Anyone, but not him. He believed in the promises that they made that day at the primrose field. For eternity…

He nodded in answer to his sister; the unwavering light in his eyes was enough to bring a reassured smile on her small face.

They kept on exchanging topics regarding politics with the Princess enthusiastically asked questions as Flynn calmly answered everyone of them. The mini session of lecture ended when a knight interrupted them to remind the Prince that it was almost time for the accolade. He needed to go back to his chamber to get ready. Flynn dismissed the knight back to his duty before he excused himself from his sister and promised that he would come back later tonight to read books with her.

She nodded and wished him good luck with the ceremony in which he deeply appreciated.


Flynn returned back to his room, the maids were already there to help him get dressed. Not that he needed this many people to help him. However, this formal commandant attire was quite different and more complicated from his usual armor.

After around half an hour passed, Flynn looked at his reflection on the mirror. As usual, he clad in an armor, which was bigger and heavier than the one he usually wore, and a long blue white cape flying at the back. His sword was hung around his waist just where it usually was. He took a few seconds to look at himself, wearing formal Commandant clothing, and it brought a smile on his face, and to other maids that were stealing a glance at him.

Once all he was fully dressed up, two other Captains who were his second in command arrived and escorted him to the castle square. One was an orange haired female knight; her name was Sodia. Her effort and a keen sense of responsibility were the traits that Flynn entrusted her to be his direct subordinate. The other one was quite a laid back man in his forties. Despite looking like a good for nothing knight, this man was a hero at the Great War ten years ago. Moreover, his network connection to the Guild Union was something that could prove to be useful in the near future. To the Knights, his name was Schwann, but to the Guild, the name Raven was equally famous. Personally, he had known Captain Schwann when he was still young, and he put a great deal of trust in this man.

"How is the preparation for the ceremony?" He walked down the hall, while the two Captains followed right behind him.

Sodia was the one to answer most of his questions, and was always the one that helped him with documents and paper works. "Everything is completed, Sir. All the new knights are already gathered at the square. Everyone is expecting your presence."

"Good work, Captain."

The prince stopped in his track, just before the door that lead outside, where he would face hundreds of people in a very few seconds. He took a deep breath, collecting himself, and then motioned for the guards to open it, and he stepped through. Traces of afternoon sunlight hit harshly on his eyes, but it was not going to waver his resolution to express his feeling and vision to the new knights to be. He stepped into the light, as noises of conversations suddenly died down to leave the whole air hung in absolute silence.

He moved forward, straightened himself up, his expression changed serious as he stopped, taking a total view over the curious eyes of hundreds people that were now focusing on him. It seemed the number of knight who passed the recruitment this year was higher than the previous ones.

"Greeting to everyone, I am Flynn Sidos Heurassein Scifo, your Commandant and your Prince. I sincerely congratulate all of you who had done their best to overcome the challenges of the recruitment exam. And I am deeply appreciated your resolve to offer your services to the country."

Flynn inhaled, straightened himself up again, before continued, "As you may have heard, I am the Commandant of the Imperial Knight, and also the Crown Prince of this country, the very first Prince to be made a Commandant. Since ancient days, the Imperial Knight, even though had carried out lots and lots of important tasks for the country, yet, our efforts are not officially recognized and we do not have a say in decisions that involved with the lives and living of our people. The reason for this was because most of the authority was being monopolize by the Council. They issued most of our orders and expected us to perform it perfectly, without acknowledged our efforts, and refrained us to participate in decisions that could affect our lives. Because of that, I would like to make a change, I would like for our effort to be take noticed, to be appreciated more, and to be able to take part in those decisions that affected the whole nation. We-who are always putting our lives on the line to protect this country, is it not strange that we have no right to know and understand where we are being sent off to, and what we are going to do? With that in mind, I-Commandant and Prince Scifo will strike to bring the rights and things that we deserved to have. Once again, I welcomed every single one of you, and I humbly asking for your participation to this vision of mine. Because, I know, that I cannot do this alone without the help from everyone. I want to change this country into a better place, where achievement would be appreciated, where unjust will face punishment. Where…you can call the person next to you…your friend." His hand unconsciously reached up to touch the black earring. "Thank you everyone, officially today, all of you are Imperial Knights and I welcome you to join our family."

Flynn put his arm in front of his chest, over his heart, which was now beating faster than usual. The silence still ruled the air, he wondered if his words could reach the hearts of the others. What if they did not answer to his pledge? What if he miscalculated the timing and this was too soon to make such a crazy and outright declaration.

His hand started to shake due to nervousness. The deadly silence did not help him either.

Just then, suddenly in the crowd, someone put up their fist and yelled, "Long live the Imperial Knights, long live Commandant Scifo!" Then few more people, and ten, twenty, hundred, and hundreds of excited roars tore apart the silence. The whole castle ground trembled violently to the sound. Not only the new knights, but also all the captains who were presented at the ceremony to other knights throughout the entire castle were all stood up and chanting the same thing. Flynn could feel overwhelming happiness that he was drowning in. Sodia had burst into tears, while Captain Schwann smiled gently at him. There was no word that could describe his feeling at the moment. It was a mixed of happiness, blended with anxiety. Now lots of people would place their hope and dream on him, he could not allow himself to fail them. But that was the matter of later; right now he would allow himself a bit of joy.

Turning on his heels, Flynn hid a content smile to himself. Then, suddenly, his left ear throbbed right where the aer stone was. He brought his hand up, touching it in reflex. 'Yuri?'

A gust of wind washed against his face, touching his cheek in a playful embrace. A refreshing wind of the same feel of freedom that a certain raven haired boy had brought to him eight years ago. The scent of flower that was brought along was of a flower that he knew all too well, primrose.

'I have grown to be stronger than the useless kid I once was, where are you now Yuri?'

Most of the Knights were dispatched to their stations not long after the accolade ceremony had ended. Only those that had passed the exam with high scores were kept behind and assigned to the Imperial Guards, which were under direct command from the Commandant and his second in commands. They would be patrolling the castle and the capital, and be the guards of royalty. After the main part of the ceremony came a next important event, where the Commandant and a few volunteered new knights from the Imperial Guards would engage in a friendly sparring match. This was also a part of the accolade ceremony, and it was crucial for the Commandant to get to know his knights, and for some of the knights to impress the Commandant with their skills, in hope of being entrusted with more responsibilities that could provide more chances of climbing higher.

Flynn-escorted by Sodia returned to his room to change into a lighter armor which allowed him to move around easier for the sparring later on. He sat down on the chair, looking out the window, feeling better than before now that he knew the Imperial Knight all agreed to be on his side.

A knock on his door reminded him that he needed to go for the practice ground where the sparring would be held. He quickly stood up, fixing his arms and legs armor. He left his sword on the table because it was useless since they were going to use a wooden one, just to prevent serious injuries.

The practice ground was crowded with knights-around two hundreds of them-according to Sodia's report. When the presence of the Commandant was announced, everyone straightened up and went into silence.

Sodia was the one to spoke to announce the start of the sparring matches on behalf of the Commandant. She then asked for volunteers from the new knights, who would want to have a match with the Commandant. In order to become a Commandant, ones of a noble status did not matter, that person needed to have a good vision, a board knowledge and also excellent in swordsmanship. Ever since becoming Commandant, Flynn had not lost to anyone. Those who wrongly underestimated him and challenged him to a duel all ended up failing miserably. And rumors sure had wings, after beating up ten knights in a row on his first year of attending the friendly match as Commandant; the numbers of challengers went down over the years. Last year, they only had two brave volunteers, one of them was Sodia. Obviously that she could not win against him, however, her effort and determination were what had helped her rising up the rank considerably for just over a year.

It seemed that things were going to be the same as last year, since there was no hand raised up as a sign of volunteering. Flynn sighed disappointedly. It was nice to see that they were on his side, but he did question their loyalties and their courage individually. Courage was the most necessary thing for a knight, if they did not possess such trait, they would not be able to give up their lives for the people and the country. Besides, it was not like they would use real swords to spar.

Sodia was getting fidgeted; she did consult the Commandant about this matter beforehand. If none of them would volunteer, she would have to go down and pick someone. Getting an approved nod from Commandant Scifo, she stepped forward; about to pick someone before a sudden rise of hand caught her eyes.

"It seems we finally got a volunteer. Please step out here."

The rows of people started moving and gave way to the 'going to be beat up miserably' volunteer. From afar, all Flynn could make out was that person was about the same build as him, and approximately the same height. His long black mane swung softly in unison with each of his movements. The Commandant took a few steps forward, taking in his entire feature. It would seem he was joking if he said that this person was a perfect match for him, but he was not. Everything about this man's appearance gave him the feels of equality. From the way his muscles clenched firmly under the armors to how tall he stood. However, the most captivated things that Flynn felt himself got caught in was his black eyes. Those that could read the mind of the opposite person easily. Flynn shifted a bit uncomfortably, but he quickly regained his composure, and extended his hand towards the knight.

"I admire your braveness to volunteer, and congratulation is in order."

The knight took his hand in for a firm shake, before releasing it.

"Would you state your name to me, knight?"

The raven-haired knight opened his mouth to speak for the first time, "If the Commandant can defeat me in the match, then I will let you know my name."

Flynn heard Sodia's yelled 'insolent', but he waved his hand for her to stop. This man not only had courage, but he seemed to have guts. Flynn smiled, feeling his pride boiled up by the nonchalant smirk that the other man splashed at him. The match would be promising.

Both of the man went to fighting stances, swords readied in their hand. Their eyes focused on the other, studying their opponent's moves. Even after Sodia's shouting marked the beginning of the match; neither of them intended to make the first move. The whole practice ground went silent, as everyone was concentrated.

Those black eyes that fixed on his blue ones suddenly closed, and then burst opened in a moment of one second as the knight lunged forward at a godly speed, at least to other people but not for Flynn. The Commandant brought his sword in front of him in the act of defence, making a sound of clash against the sword of the other. 'This man is skilled' he thought to himself as he gazed into those black orbs again.

"You are not so bad Commandant."

"You too."

The knight put more force into the sword, and Flynn could felt himself being driven back. The commandant kneeled down on his right leg, as he leaned on the ground for strength as he pushed upward with newfound posture power. It managed to push back the raven haired knight and took advantage of the opening; Flynn plunged forwards, thrusting his sword through the other's side as the latter dodged it just in time.

"That was close! You almost break my ribs there." The knight faked a hurt expression.

"I am so sorry; you may as well want to look out for your head." As Flynn replied back in mirth.

The fight went on with each of them took turn attacking and defending. The knight's long lock of hair floated softly against the wind as he charged and dodged; yet never seemed to get in his line of vision. A bright smile never left his lips. It went on long enough, making the others kept on watching their moves intensely. It was the first time Sodia saw such a person who could match the Commandant's strength, he moved in a sloppy motion yet left none opening for the Commandant to counterattack.

Flynn continued to attack while looking for some kind of opening to strike for. The fact that this man was left-handed made it harder for him to predict his next move. He was too used to right handed opponents that he found it difficult to counter an attack from the left.

Left…now that he thought about it, and he had been finding it was a bit strange but for some reason, despite being left handed, the knight did not seem to put too much force via the left side of his body. As if he was just playing around with the Commandant and Flynn's blood boiled at the fact that the man was not serious at all. He decided to push more of his strength onto the left of his opponent provoking him to put up more effort.

The knight seemed to understand the Commandant's intention as seeing how his face expression turned a bit… panic? Flynn could not believe what he was seeing. But he had not been wrong about reading one's emotion, since he trained to do that since he was young, being able to read your enemy's expression would give you advantage in reading his movement.

And suddenly, the knight's movements became a bit disoriented, for Flynn this would be his perfect chance to finish this fight. With where to attack in mind, Flynn put more strength into each of his thrust of swords, forcing the man to move back until, he stumbled upon a piece of rock, losing his balance along with concentration.

"This is it." Flynn shouted, plunged the wooden sword through the man's black hair, towards his left shoulder. The man had not yet have the time to recover, upon seeing how Flynn's attack was coming at him, he grasped in terror, as he barely dodged the sword where it sliced a little bit close to his ear. He trembled backwards, and finally lost his balance for good and ended up on the ground with Flynn's sword at his neck.

"That concluded the match, the winner is Commandant Scifo." Sodia announced, as everyone seemed to finally recover from shock and all burst out in big applause.

Flynn and the dark haired knight both heaved in heavy breathings. Flynn looked at his fallen opponent in between his breath, the man's expression was still somewhere between shock and panic. He put up his hand and reached for his left ear, caressing it gently before let out a relived sigh. Was the reason because of his ear?

"So…you beat me, good job Commandant." The man smiled, scratching his head. "That was mean though, you could have found some other way to defeat me without me crashing against my butt. It's embarrassing." He pouted.

And Flynn found himself laughing at that. He pulled back his sword, and offered out his hand, in which the other man took it immediately. He whined, while dusting off mud and dust from his uniform. "And this uniform is new too."

"I am deeply sorry. I will send a maid to wash your uniform later." Flynn smiled widely. The match was just as exciting as he expected. It had been a long time since he found someone of that equals to him in strength and ability.

"So, now that I had defeated you. I will ask you again. What is your name, knight?"

"You sure haven't changed, still using that kind of boringly long speech. Didn't I tell you to just go right into the point?"

"Huh?"

"My name is Yuri…Yuri Lowell, Your Highness."

And Flynn felt like the whole world was spinning around him. A mix between light-headed and a bit of dizziness graced his head as he trying to register the turn of event. But he quickly regained his composure, smiling at the knight, congratulating him once again and he then walked away. As seeing no more volunteer was brave enough to challenge the Commandant after witnessing such intense match, the ceremony finally concluded.


Flynn Sidos Heurassein Scifo was happy. Today was definitely the best day in his life yet. After dinner, just as promised, he accompanied his princess sister to the library and helped her with her studies.

"Brother, you looked really happy." She suddenly commented.

Flynn picked up his head from his book he was finding hard to concentrate on the contents, crooked his eyebrows because of a suddenly weird exclamation from his sister.

"Cause you have been smiling all this time."

And Flynn blushed hard at that. Probably he was just too easy to read, or too obvious to read.

The Princess urged him to tell her the reason for his overwhelming happiness, in which he was more than happy to comply. He told her how the ceremony went with everyone agreed to fight alongside him, and how he had a spar with a very excellent knight, and that person turned out be Yuri, his childhood friend actually came back for him, as a knight.

"So he really came back!" The princess squealed in excitement, jumping up and knocked off the chair in the process. She seemed to be even more excited than him.


After finished their studies together, Flynn escorted his sister back to her chamber, and she had asked him to introduce her to Yuri next time, in which Flynn had promised her to do so. But now, he would be the one in need of seeing Yuri.

Right after the ceremony ended, Flynn had instructed Sodia to summon the black haired knight to his study room later that night. He wanted to speak to that amazing swordsman about the match that happened today. Luckily, Sodia did not seem to have any questions.

"Please excuse us."

The door to the Commandant's study room swung opened as his second in command entered, right behind her followed the black haired knight.

"You are dismissed, thank you Sodia."

The girl lowered herself in respect as she left the room, closing the door behind her. She stole a last glance at the Commandant. Why did she feel a bit of uneasiness in her heart?

After making sure that the footsteps outside went unheard, the prince finally looked up from his paper works only to be met by a very same pair of longing black eyes. A small smile graced on the blonde's lips, as he muttered, "Yuri…you are really Yuri right?"

The smile he received in return was the very same one of a genuine smile that he still remembered from eight years ago. If anything were different, it would be the smile got more mysterious, matched his slightly messy long hair in a perfect picture.

"Ah…yes? My name is indeed Yuri Lowell" Yuri tilted his head to the sides, looking at him in confusion as if he just asked the most stupid ones out of anything that he could have said to his long lost childhood friend.

Sometimes Flynn wondered if his legs and body had a mind of their own, because the next thing he knew, he was standing right in front of the raven haired man, staring deep into those black eyes that he could only see in his dream once the night falls. The memories of those days were still there, in his mind, vividly like it just happened yesterday. Their laughter filled up the atmosphere of the Lower Quarter when they were playing tag, or splashing water against each other.

Comparing to his last memories of him, Yuri indeed had grown into a fine young man. His face was smaller, and also his eyes, although the light that reflected within was nevertheless the same. Still the same mischievous and fearless kid from before.

"Flynn…or am I supposed to address you as Commandant Scifo now?" Yuri arched his eyebrow in an amusing shift of movement. Now that he was his Commandant and his Prince, should he start showing him some respect? But, being respectful was not somewhere in his agenda.

The prince laughed at that upon seeing his friend's expression, he shook his head, replied "You would be expected to address me as Commandant Scifo or Sir during works and public. However, when it is just the two of us…I would be happy if you can call me by my name like you used to in the past."

'Because, just by the sight of you, calling my name, I feel like I could forget about everything else in this world and just be myself.' Flynn thought admittedly.

A slight nod from the raven haired and a sarcastic comment on how he did not want to say his surname every time, since apparently to Yuri, it was more complicated than his given name. How more complicated it was, Flynn failed to understand.

The prince was about to turn around and offer his friend a seat, when a sudden touch on his ear made him jumped in surprise. Yuri's hand reached up and was now touching his earlobe right at the spot where the stone was. The look in his eyes softened, as cold fingers caressed against the stone surface, and Flynn could feel his ear burned against the coldness.

His friend kept on caressing the stone for a few more seconds, to Flynn felt more like hours had passed before he finally let go of the blonde's ear. He looked aside, whispering, "You seem to have taken good care of it."

Yuri then reached up and tucked a few strands of stray hair behind his ear, revealing an identical stone on his earlobe. Flynn opened his eyes in surprise. Now that explained why the other was uneasy when he was attacked near that area. Yuri told him that he had once lost the stone when he was sparring against a person, and that person went for his left ear, knocking off the earring. Yuri was in an extreme panic, he searched the ground for hours before he finally found it much to his relief. Since then, whenever fighting, he tried to draw people away from his left ear, to avoid hitting on the stone. Well, obviously, it was something of great importance to him.

A sudden warm feeling washed through the Prince's body. That stone was of something great importance to him too. Every time he encountered problems, this earring reminded him that at somewhere, there would be a same person as him who worked hard every day to become stronger. Therefore, he could not give up, not until he fulfilled his promise to that person.

That night, the two of them stayed up late and talked about what happened to each other during the time that they were parted. After leaving the city, Yuri and his parents moved to Dangrest, the city for the biggest and largest guilds to gather. That side of the continent was left alone by the Imperial because they had their own rules, and for some reason the Guild and the Empire does not get along quite well. His father found a job at a guild that offered protection to merchants, while his mother became a waitress at a tavern. Thanks to his father new job, Yuri got the chance to learn sword skills. He made quite a few friends and practice with them every day, in order to become stronger. When he turned legal age, he participated in the guild protection job, and polishing his skill. Until last week, he finally decided to take part in the entrance examination to enter the knighthood.

"You know, back in Dangrest, you are pretty famous. Considering how you eliminate a large-scale organization in a few months. And then becoming the first Prince ever in the history to be made Commandant. I trained, trained and trained every day, so that I could be of a worthy match to you. And finally, I'm here, as a Knight by your side. I won't let that night happened again." The knight eyes locked deep into his sapphire ones, with unwavering determination. "This time I will be the one to protect you."

Flynn turned his head asides, not letting the other noticed that a faint blush was slowly making its way across his cheek. He made a sound to clear his throat as he regained his composure. "Thank you, although I am not so weak of a person in need for your protection."

Yuri laughed hard at that, "Yeah right, your mighty Commandant would never need someone as lowly as me. He can take care of him just fine. Guess I should not have come back after all." Yuri made an attempt to stand up and leave.

The Prince made a sound of protest as he grabbed the black haired man's wrist into a tight grip, yanking him back, "No…I am sorry, I do not mean it like that! I…am really grateful that you came back for me. Thank you for remembering our promise."

"There is no way I would forget it. You are trying your best too, then why wouldn't I?" The raven haired spoke softly, putting up no effort to escape from the other's grip. Not that Flynn intended to let go of that arm anytime soon. He mentally hit himself for having such thoughts, and unconsciously flushed bright red for a moment.

"So Commandant, mind enlightening me with the story of your life from eight years ago till now?" Yuri nudged at his arm, a cue for the blonde to release it, in which Flynn immediately did so. Then he settled down again on the chair, reassured the blonde that he would not go anywhere until he had heard all the stories that he had missed in the past years.


Morning came finding the prince secretly wished for a bit more time to sleep in. The maids had expressed their concern over this matter, and suggested him going for a check-up. He dismissed all their worries by flashing a golden smile that filled with sunlight as he assured them that he was all right. And possibly, he believed that they were in need of checking up since he saw none reactions from them at all. Their eyes were somewhat between a dreamy and sparkling state. His sister sometimes called this 'fangirl syndrome', and he did not seem to quite understand it.

"Commandant, here is the work for today." Sodia put a stack of documents on his work desk, Flynn eyeing the height of it in disbelief. How came the work seemed to be doubled itself in size just over one night?

As if fully know what was going on Flynn's mind, the girl immediately said, "It seems that your declaration yesterday was an excellent influence. Most of the papers are about other units asking for more information regarding your plan, some are encouragement. And there were some of marriage offers addressed to you. However, I took the liberty of removing them and having Witcher to arrange for proper declination letters."

"Well done, Sodia." He was lucky to have such capable second in command. It was not just the right time to get married, not when Flynn had openly declared himself an enemy with the Imperial Council. Having a love partner at this point would turn her into an unnecessary target for politics.

Besides, he just did not feel like falling in love. None of the lady that he made acquaintances had actually caught his interest. Only…only one person had him actually made him dream about and think of every night.

Then a realization hit him hard and square mentally. He had thought of, and dreamed about Yuri almost every night in his sleep. It was with the determination of fulfilling the promise that he had made to his precious childhood friend. Until yesterday, no such thought as falling for his friend, nor being in love with him had ever registered in his mind. Now that he thought about it, just a mere touch from Yuri would make his heart burned. Just a mere word of affection from him would make his face blushed real shade color of crimson.

Flynn slammed his elbows on the desk, supporting his chin from crashing against the wooden surface, as he looked sideways, blushing hard. After eight years of parting, Yuri had grown up to be a fine young man, with quite a slender body yet strong enough to fight. His black mane had stretched out to the end of his waistline, flowing softly with each of his movements. And those delicious thin lips of him…

"Commandant…are you feeling alright Sir?" The orange haired girl asked in concern, as seeing how the Commandant seemed as if he was like having an internal conflict with himself.

"Eh…Ah…I am fine. I am fine, please do not worry."

He forced a smile to assured the girl. However, in truth, he was not fine, not at all.


After finished two-third of his documents, it was already past noon, and of course past lunchtime already. So he decided to get something to eat at the castle kitchen. It would be troublesome to ask the maids to prepare food rather than getting some bread himself. Then he would go straight to the practice ground to check on the new knights after that.

It was strange. When he arrived at the kitchen, no one was there. The kitchen was strangely empty. Flynn shrugged his shoulder, walking towards the opposite side of the room where the food storage were. Then, a sudden noise of someone attempted to move from behind him as he turned around immediately. The noise was faint, but it could not escape Flynn's trained ears.

To his surprise, he saw a familiar black haired man, who seemed to try sneaking out of the kitchen with a few loafs of bread in his hands. Seriously?

"What are you doing Yuri?"

"Oh, hi…Commandant Scifo… Good morning."

"In fact, it is already afternoon, however, please do not change the topic. What are you doing here?" Flynn wrapped his arms in front of him, waiting for a reasonable answer from the raven haired man. He did not intend to move from his spot, nor letting the other moved from his.

The knight let out a wryly smile, he scratched his head, "It seems you are no longer the kid that easy to fool."

"I could say the same about you too. And what are you doing with those breads?"

"Well, my practice stretched longer than usual, and no one seemed to do me the favor of saving some food for me, so here I am, getting some bread to stuff myself." Yuri nonchalantly said.

Flynn found himself amazed at the fact on how dedicated the knight was. His group practice was supposed to end for a while already, yet the man himself still continued practicing till now. He could not lose to him; he needed to try his best too.

"Those bastards gonna paid for that." The knight pouted, eyes lit up with mirth and mischievousness.

And how cute it was. The prince did not realize that he was smiling from ears to ears, before the raven-haired tapped him gently on the shoulder, pulling him back from his mental wonderland. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, regaining his composure. He had been wondering how many had he had to gather his composure in front of this man. Flynn started to not behave like himself anymore, ever since meeting Yuri.

After fulfilling his stomach's need, the prince and his knight decided to go and have a stroll. Since Yuri had managed to talk him into not visiting the practice ground since there was no one there during this break hour.

Since they were already at the kitchen, Yuri suggested going for the lily garden, as seeing it was closer, and Yuri have not had the time to see that garden since he came back to the castle. Flynn was happy to accompany him, since that place was special for him -the place where he met Yuri-his true friend for the first time.

"This place has not changed much." Yuri remarked.

Yes, ever since eight years ago, Flynn had made the point clear for the new gardeners that they could do as they saw fit with other parts of the garden, except this one. He needed them to maintain the garden just as it was, no changes were allowed, despite a minor one.

"Oh that's right. I have something to show you." Yuri suddenly said after the two of them settled down on a bench. Flynn gave off a puzzled look. Something to show him…again? He would not intend to talk him into sneaking out of the castle again, yes?

Seeing the look from the prince's face, Yuri burst out laughing, "Nah, don't worry. I'm not asking you to sneak out or anything. Besides, you don't have to anymore."

Well it was true that he did not need to sneak out anymore, however, the guy here was Yuri Lowell, who knew what mischief was he up to. Although, to be honest, it was nostalgic for him to jump a bit at any suggestion that came from the other.

The raven haired brought two of his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. In less than a few seconds, Flynn saw the bush nearby crunched, as a small figure of something not definitely human appeared. The Commandant acted on his reflex, reaching towards the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it out any second now. But Yuri stopped him in his track, telling him to stay put with calm expression. Flynn looked at him in confusion then shifted his eyes to the creature, which started to approach him slowly.

"Relax, you are going to give him a wrong impression." In which he followed his friend's advice since he also did not sense any hostile intent from it.

The creature took a bit of time before completely revealed itself before the blonde. Flynn wide opened his eyes in surprise. In front of him was a hound of blue and white, its tail waved softly behind him in a shape of a lightning bolt. Some sort of injury damaged one of his eyes, while the creature looked at him, carefully.

Having no idea on what to do next, Flynn turned over to Yuri for help. But the other man only smiled at him, nudging him gently on the elbow, motioned him to approach the dog first.

And so he did, Flynn slowly sat down to the dog level, looked at him in his eye, searching for some sort of reassured feeling that the dog was not going to bite him. He reached his hand, hesitantly at first, and finally pat the dog in the head. The dog stayed still for a few seconds, before the soft fur on his head began to lean into the blonde's touch, and the dog suddenly tackled him to the ground.

"Re…Repede?" The prince asked, uncertainly. It gave off a happy bark, licking his face repeatedly.

"Glad you remember him." Yuri sat down next to both of them, patting the dog's fur in a gentle stroke.

"My…how you have grown." The prince was obviously happy to see the dog again. And it seemed the dog was thinking the same thing as he kept on snuggled against the blonde's chin.

"You looked handsome Repede."

He heard a 'thank-you' bark from the dog, boring his eye at him. That made him wonder what happened to cause such an injury. He touched over the yellow scar that had blinded his left eye.

"Yuri, what happened to his other eye?"

"Well, he got hurt during a fight with some kind of wolf monsters. I gotta say that Repede himself was actually quite proud of that. Right, Repede?"

Repede let out another bark, this time it was a noise between satisfaction and pride. Flynn found himself smiling at that. As he looked at the handsome hound, "Too bad that it is against the rule to keep a pet inside the castle."

"I can always register him as a warrior dog. Repede can already fight using a dagger. And I tell you, he is one hell of a vicious fighter."

The look in Yuri's eyes, and how there was a dagger with golden hilt hung near his neck did explain it. Needless to say, he was convinced, "Welcome you to the Imperial Knight, Repede." Flynn stroke the hound's head, which earning him yet another bark.

"So Repede, why don't you show the great Commandant here what you can do?"

The dog snorted in disinterest, before turned on his feet, and lying sleepily against the blonde's feet. He yawned, and then closed his eye, soon fast asleep.

Flynn laughed so hard at the expression of the raven haired. The comment on how Repede already got all friendly with the prince so fast and a childish pout from him did not help Flynn stop laughing.

He could felt that his heart continue to beat fast yet strangely at peace whenever he was around the said raven haired man. The more time he spent with Yuri, the more he felt as though he could be with him forever. Yuri…made him forget that he was the Commandant, the Prince with lots of responsibilities weighted on his shoulder, and just be himself, just a man with the name Flynn and nothing else. He secretly hoped that moments like these would last forever.

However, fate did not exactly want to go easy on both of them. Their peaceful moment did not last long.


Yup! Next chapter is the last one. There would possibly an epilogue too, but I will see. Thank u for reading, and I apologize any weird writings.

A/n: Btw, did you guys notice I change the cover of the story. I designed that cover myself, from the cosplay, the concept, the editing. I love how it turned out to be fitted with the story XDDD