Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh and, sadly, I never will.
Chapter 4: The Scars of Yesterday Never Fade
Wolfram opened his eyes to darkness. He was falling, falling through a never ending black void. He felt so cold inside. No, in truth he couldn't feel anything. He was numb. Numb to his pain and to the outside world. His vision was hazy and his eyes dull. "Where am I?" The blonde muttered into the darkness and, like he had expected, there was no answer. "Am-Am I dead?" Once again, silence greeted the ex-prince. A cruel smile made its way onto his blue lips. "So even in death I am alone."
Suddenly, his feet hit bottom and his whole body coursed with a searing hot pain. The darkness suddenly brightened and the soldier found himself standing in the middle of Blood Pledge Castle's garden. "Come on now Tess, don't be that way." He heard Yuri's voice call in an exasperated tone. Wolfram's eyes slightly widened. Yuri, whose hair was now shoulder length, was chasing a young girl, with the same raven hair, around the garden on this particular sunny day. "What did I do to get you so upset?"
Tess turned around and glared at the king with her brown eyes, not answering. "Yuri dear, what's going on over there?" Wolfram's eyes had officially widened to saucer like proportions. Yuri dear? He watched as Yuri turned and chuckled nervously meeting the gaze of a beautiful brunette Mazoku woman. Wolfram's expression fell as he instantly understood what was going on. Yuri was married to that woman, and the girl was their child.
"It's nothing Maia. I'll handle it." The double black turned back to his daughter. "Tell me how I upset you." Wolfram wanted to look away, to escape this horrible nightmare. But he knew that one day this would happen. Once his engagement to Yuri was officially over, the king would be free to court whoever he wished and the soldier would be forced to just stand on the sidelines and watch. But where am I now?
He watched intently as Tess looked up at her father, tears shining in her dark eyes. "I can't believe you. How could you have just let Wolfram die like that?!" Wolfram froze and the numbness return. He was dead…? How did he die? He sincerely hoped it was protecting Yuri. However, he never got his answer as the image blurred and he was once again falling down the void. Could that've been a possible future? I knew that this would happen, but it still hurts to watch… Deciding that his pride was no longer an issue, Wolfram allowed a fleeting tear to cascade down his pale cheek.
Shinou felt his eyes widen slightly. "How could that be?" Though he had foreseen what happened to Wolfram in the penumbra, he didn't know the full extent of the poison's effects, due to the unknown power interfering with his concentration. This was no longer a game, his descendant's life was truly in danger. Even though he now existed as just a wondering spirit, Shinou promised he would to everything he could to protect the kingdom he worked so hard to build as well as Wolfram's life. A life the boy was so willing to throw away.
Murata shot the king a concerned glance. "I don't know, but that's what it said and I highly doubt Earhart wouldn't know the effects of his own poison." He swiftly shut the journal and pushed his glasses further up his nose with his index finger. "This is definitely a problem. How did our culprit know how to make the poison? More importantly, what are they planning to do now?" His grip on Earhart's journal tightened as he clenched a fist. Why? Why did they target Wolfram? And what did they want?
"I will help you find your answers, my sage." Shinou offered, but Murata quickly shut his idea down.
"Oh no you don't. Whenever you try to help, things always get chaotic because you begin to slack off."
Shinou shot the man who was once his sage a glare. "I was not asking for your permission, my sage. Iwill not allow anyone to threaten the stability of my kingdom." He watched with interest as Murata lowered his head, his dark eyes hidden from the king's vision. It was very…unusual to see the Great Sage behave in such a manner.
"Is that all your worried about? The Great Demon Kingdom?" Murata then looked up, shooting Shinou a sharp glare. "Don't you even care about Wolfram's life?"
"Of course I do. Do not mistake me to be as heartless as you were, my sage. I will do everything in my power to save the kingdom as well as my descendant. However, should Wolfram decide to throw his life away after all, his death will not be on my shoulders." The Original King said ominously, putting Murata on edge.
"What gives you the idea that Lord von Bielefeld would throw his life away?"
Shinou gave a mysterious chuckle. "Well, why wouldn't he. He is broken, sage. His heart is damaged beyond repair. Yuri wishes to end the engagement, yes, but so does Wolfram."
"What?"
"Think about it. Wolfram, who hardly trusts anyone, fell for Yuri, whose trust does not have to be gained. To give his heart away only to have it brutally stomped on. He's grown weary of it all. Do you honestly think he would feel any different having gone through such pain?"
Murata frowned. He knew the answer because he had been like Wolfram once and perhaps he still was. His original self, the Great Sage, had loved Shinou and had been the king's fiancé. He should've known, Murata thought, of the pain that would soon make itself known by being with an unfaithful partner.
Rufus Bielefeld was a trusty spy, but she was also a woman. Rufus had dressed as a man so that she could enter the battle against the Originators, later revealing that she was, in fact, female. This caused Shinou to take great interest in her. He winced slightly, remembering the night he walked into the king's room to find Shinou cheating on him with Rufus, who was unaware of their secret engagement.
Murata remembered the bitterness that swelled in his heart as he was asked to bless their son. A son who looked, and grew up to be, just like Wolfram. The only difference being that his name was Wolfgang. Stubborn and arrogant, but fiercely loyal, Wolfgang was next in line to take the throne after the untimely death of his father. A death that the sage himself had performed. Without another word to the Original King, Murata stalked out of the hall.
Yuri sat at the foot of the royal bed and stared at the annulment document that rested on his nightstand. He couldn't sign it, not with Wolfram in this condition. His frown deepened, as did his sorrow, when he thought back to the arrogant pretty boy. He sighed as he realized just how lonely he was without the blonde. He had grown used to Wolfram's rants and, to be truthful, he missed it. He had grown to love the Mazoku as a best friend. That was why he wanted to break the engagement. It wasn't for himself, but for Wolfram.
The king fell back on the bed with a loud thump and sheltered his eyes with his arms. He didn't find Wolfram a burden anymore and actually enjoyed his company greatly, but he didn't want to give the soldier false hope. Yuri wasn't as big an idiot as he appeared to be. He was well aware of how Wolfram felt about him. That was why he decided to break the accidental engagement off in the first place. Because the truth was, Yuri would never be able to return Wolfram's feelings.
"Don't hold back out of pity Your Majesty. That would be like adding insult to injury." Conrad said softly as he entered the king's chambers. He gave a small chuckle as Yuri shot up from the mattress and gave him a wide eyed stare. "Forgive me sire, I knocked multiple times but you never responded." He grinned as his Godson's face took on a familiar pout.
"Don't call me Your Majesty, Conrad, you're my Godfather."
"Sorry then, Yuri."
"And what do you mean add insult to injury?" Yuri inquired as Conrad walked over to him and picked up the annulment.
"I mean don't refrain from signing this because of Wolfram's condition, you know how he hates pity." Conrad said in a level tone as he examined the document. "Wait isn't this…?"
Yuri nodded. "Yeah, it Wolfram's letter from the time Waltorana forced him to go back to Bielefeld territories. I've decided to use this and sign my name in agreement." Yuri fidgeted with his fingers, his face becoming slightly pink. Conrad raised an eyebrow in both amusement and curiosity. "But now, I'd feel really bad for signing it, especially with Wolfram like this. I mean, we still don't know who did this to him or why."
"But Yuri, Wolfram would hate you even more if you stuck with him out of pity. He would feel that you think of him as weak." He gave a frown. "I'm sure that even when you tell him about the annulment, he won't hate you. Sure he'll be upset for a while, but I don't think he has it in him to ever hate you." Conrad knew that he spoke the truth. No matter how hard he tried, Wolfram could never defy, could never hate, Yuri. It was his greatest weakness.
Yuri gulped. "I hope you're right, Conrad. I wouldn't be able to bear it if Wolf ended up hating me because of this." The brown haired soldier gave a smile and placed a supporting hand on the king's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll all be fine."
Adelaide opened her eyes and once again found herself falling the black void known as the penumbra. Her dark hair spiraled around her as the different colored tiles appeared before her. There was a black one on the left, signaling the past, gray in the middle, representing the present, and white, pulling her towards the future. She feverishly tapped the white tile and soon everything around her went the same color.
He began running blindly. He had to find Yuri, he just had to. The blonde soldier cut around the corner of the bizarre rest house on his search for the Demon King. "I won't lose you," He muttered. "Not like this." He stopped when he heard soft grunts coming from the room just ahead of him. He readied his blade as he kicked the wooden door down. The sight that awaited him made his blood boil over in rage. Yuri was chained to a wall by metal cuffs that held esoteric stones. The double black was covered in fresh scars and blood trailed down the side of his slightly tan face.
Adelaide stood in front of him, a whip grasped tightly in her hand. Yuri's blood decorated her face as she gave an insane smile. "Ah, Lord Wolfram," She purred. "You're just in time to see the magnificent execution of your beloved king." Wolfram stirred with anger as the hand that held his sword began to violently shake. He charged at the maroon eyed woman and she countered his blade with her own, slightly pushing him back. She gave him a glare. "Consider this your punishment for not dying like you were supposed to!" She cried and knocked the sword out of his hands.
She rendered him paralyzed with an esoteric stone and smirked, returning her attention to Yuri, who slumped against the wall with a frightened expression. Adelaide flicked the whip above his head, making the double black flinch. "No Yuri!" Wolfram called as he struggled against his bonds. "Don't let it end like this. Show her your power. Show her the power of the Demon King!" He felt his strength begin to fade each time he tried to move.
He had to save Yuri no matter the cost. He would never forgive himself if he just sat here and let the king die. "No…" Wolfram muttered angrily and felt his inner spark begin to expand. Adelaide turned to him with a startled expression, momentarily forgetting about the Demon King. "GET AWAY FROM HIM!" He cried and shot a huge fireball from his hand, hitting Adelaide straight in the chest, making her fly back into the crumbling wall.
The blonde stumbled over to Yuri, sword once again in hand. The king glanced up at him, his expression full of fear. "Don't worry," Wolfram said with a soft smile. "I'll get you out of here." He raised his blade and brought it down upon the chains, but nothing happened. He would have to melt them then. "Sorry, but you're going to have to wear those cuffs as temporary bracelets." Wolfram forcefully grabbed one of the chains and began to melt it.
Yuri's left arm was free and the soldier began to work on releasing the other. He felt Yuri inhale sharply, but paid it no heed. There, Yuri's other arm was finally free. "Wolfram, behind you!" The double black cried.
"What is it Yu-Ahh!"
Blood burst from Wolfram's chest as he felt a blade through his heart. It was forcefully pulled out, leaving the blonde to stagger. He slowly turned his head. Adelaide stood with a crazed look, her golden sword now drenched in Wolfram's crimson blood. "How cute, but did you honestly think you could beat me?" The Mazoku gave no response simply because he couldn't. He coughed, blood staining his teeth. "I really must go." The woman said with a proud smirk. "I wouldn't want your brothers to find me." There was a flash and Adelaide was gone.
Wolfram swayed and Yuri caught him by the shoulders, gently setting him down on the stone cold floor. There were tears in his eyes and Wolfram realized that this time he could not be saved. "Wolf…why did…why did you come after me like this?" He asked brokenly.
Wolfram smiled, feeling his eyes begin to close. "What do you mean? Your my king, you wimp. And in the end it was all worth it. I'll die in your place, just like I've always wanted to."
"Don't say that!" Yuri shouted, tears now freely streaming down his face. "There's still time. Gwendal and Conrad are on their way."
Wolfram grasped Yuri's warm hand and smiled. "Don't." He said pleadingly. "Don't lie to me like that. We both know this is the end. Be a good king Yuri, and be happy…That is all I wish of you." He gasped for air. "Find a wife and have kids, and I'll be your guardian for the rest of time. That was surely my fate from the beginning." Wolfram felt his own tears slide down his cheeks as his body began to fail him. "Goodbye…Yuri…" His hand slipped from Yuri's and fell limply on the floor next to him. Wolfram von Bielefeld was dead.
"WOLFRAM!"
Adelaide panted as her spirit returned to her physical body. She clenched a fist, a proud smirk resting one her lips. She would do anything to make that future a reality.
A/N: Hello my lovely people! This chapter honestly broke my feels, but as promised I will be updating a chapter every week. I hope you enjoy! As you know, I'm open to suggestions so please review and tell me what you think!