Shdwlight: Hey you all! Thank you very much for all your reviews. But sadly I may not update as fast as you want me to since I'm busy with studies. Hopefully, that will change as time pass. Anyway on with the story!

Pairings: Still not sure, though GwendalxOC is tempting….tell me what you think guys! So many pairings, so little time to choose…^-^

Disclaimer: For the thousandth time, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou!

Dreams of Amber

Chapter 4: Lurking Shadows

The sun made its way down the horizon, painting the clear blue sky with streaks of red, orange, yellow and even indigo. Stars were already strewn across the twilight sky, twinkling playfully down from the heavens as it had done for many centuries. Autumn had clearly touched the vast land; trees giving a colourful display ranging from red to yellow-green, while withered brown, dry leaves were caught by a gentle wind as they fell from the trees, whirling around as if dancing with their unseen partner and dropping slowly to the ground. Still green grass rippled across a plain like water, the breeze carrying a fresh, earthy scent towards a travelling group riding along a worn out path beside it.

'Truly a scene out from an oil painting,' Conrad thought contentedly, a sense of tranquility washing over him as he enjoyed the passing scenery. 'Though that couldn't be said about our current predicament….'

"WOULD YOU MOVE?? I WANT TO BE BESIDE YU—,"

"Yuri-san, did you hear something?"

"AARGH!!!! Why you little…"

"Ahahaha…"

Both Gwendal and Conrad could only shake their heads at their younger brother's antics. Although Wolfram has matured over the years, his fiery temper is still very well known among the kingdom. Not surprising, since his elemental majutsu is fire after all. Being Yuri's fiancé though, has managed to quell that raging fire and channel it to one of loyalty, compassion and understanding towards the Maou's beliefs. Then again, it's also probably part of the reason why he is protective and jealous over Yuri in the first place.

This leads to the current argument. All of them were riding on their respective horses, with Gwendal leading the group while Conrad brought up the rear. Gunter has gone ahead to the castle to make the necessary arrangements before their arrival while Murata decided to stay behind. It was when Wolfram was riding beside Yuri that Haru rode up between them and strikes up a conversation with his cousin to cut off any protests that might spill from the blonde's mouth. The last of his patience flew out the window at that point and he has been yelling and shouting the whole way back to Blood Pledge Castle, much to Gwendal's annoyance and Yuri's frayed nerves. Haru on the other hand, coolly and calmly ignore him even though the shouts were loud enough to ring through his ears.

'Poor Yuri. Stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Or fire and ice more like in this case….' Conrad thought before deciding to 'save' his king.

"Wolfram," he called out loudly to be heard over his yelling, and when he caught his brother's attention, he continued, "Could you please take over my position? There's something I need to speak to his Majesty about."

Wolfram was reluctant to move, and would have voice it out too if he didn't happen to catch a glance at Gwendal's stormy expression. Not wanting to risk his brother's wrath, he gave a curt nod of agreement and started towards Conrad, but not before he glowered and sends an angry scowl at Haru which proves ineffective since it was once again ignored.

Yuri breathed out a sigh of relief when the tension finally subsided, smiling up at his guardian with gratitude as he pull up his horse to a trot beside him. "Thanks a lot, Conrad. For a moment there I thought Wolfram has finally succeeded in making me deaf."

"You're most welcome, your Hi-I mean, Yuri." Conrad quickly corrected himself under Yuri's pointed look. "Though Wolfram seems more….irritable lately since we start off from The Great One's temple."

"Yeah, and it's no thanks to Haru."

Haru tilted his head innocently, though his eyes were sparkling with mischief, "Me? But I didn't say a word."

"You don't have to. You showed it in your actions." Yuri muttered under his breath. Haru smirked.

Then Yuri perked up as he thought of something, "Oh yeah, you and Conrad hasn't been properly introduced yet! Conrad, this is my cousin, Haru Shibuya. Haru-chan, this is Conrad Weller, my godfather, guardian and loyal bodyguard."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Haru Shibuya." Conrad said with a small bow.

Haru didn't respond, just look at him with a searching gaze so intense, Conrad has to repress the urge to sit at attention on his horse. Then Haru's face broke out into a smile and he bowed back, respect apparent in his eyes.

"The pleasures all mine, Lord Weller. I've heard so much about you from Yuri-san. I'm glad to finally meet his knight in shining armor."

"Huh?"

"HARU!"

Haru shrugged, as if to say 'well, it's true'.

Yuri coughed in hopes to cover up his embarrassment, but failed miserably as heat rise up to his cheeks. 'Damn, shouldn't have told him that.'

"Oh yeah, what's with the '-chan' earlier?" Haru asked, frowning.

Now, it was Yuri's turn to shrug, "Well, I thought it was fair trade since you keep calling me 'Yuri-san'."

"I will stop, if you stop. Deal?"

"Deal. Though it is a pity…." Yuri said with an exaggerated sigh, laughing and tried to duck when Haru punched him playfully in response with a mock growl.

Conrad smiled at the scene. It reminded him of Yozak and himself, the relationship they share one of close friends, brothers though not by blood. 'This cousin of Yuri's shares a strong bond with his Majesty, and yet…' he frowned, 'why can't I get rid of these feelings of foreboding? Why was it never known that Yuri had relatives? Why did he appear now? So many questions unanswered….'

"Conrad?"

Said soldier jerked out of his thoughts and looked into concern onyx eyes. "Yes, Yuri?"

"Are you alright? I've been trying to get your attention for the past few minutes."

"My apologies, I was just thinking about….something" Conrad replied, casting a discreet glance Haru's way.

"Oh, is it something I should know?" Eyes of black onyx filled with knowledge one obtained from ruling a kingdom and hidden wisdom peered at him closely, clearly stating 'If it's something important, you better not hold it back from me'.

Conrad shakes his head. "No, its not." he reassured, and then changed the subject, "Your cousin seems to be taking this quite well, don't you agree?"

Yuri has long learned to read in between the lines, and this was no exception. Contrary to what many would believe, Yuri is actually quite perceptive to the people around him. He noticed the tension, doubt and apprehension that still lingered around the group even though he told them that Haru is his cousin. Well, when he thought about it he really couldn't blame them. He couldn't believe it himself when his mother first told him. Deciding not to push the matter further, he gave Conrad a grin though his eyes were solemn, a silent message pass between them.

'I'm not going to let this go you know.'

'Of course, Yuri. I'll explain everything soon enough.'

"Yeah, it's surprising really…."

-Flashback-

"….and I came back here."

Yuri and Haru were waiting on their horses in the temple courtyard as Conrad and Wolfram went to finish the task they were sent here to do. Yuri took the opportunity to tell Haru everything, from the very beginning when he was flushed down the ladies toilet into Shin Makoku (much to Yuri's embarrassment), his accidental engagement to Wolfram (after lots of pestering from Haru) down to the ultimate battle between him and The Great One. There were some things he omitted, like Conrad's temporary betrayal and how he is the reincarnation of Julia's soul. The subject still made him uncomfortable.

Silence stretched out between them, both unwilling to be the first to break it. Yuri started to fidget, fingering the reins in his hands nervously. He braced himself as Haru finally spoke.

"So…. let me get this straight. You were flush down the toilet, landed in this world where you found out you are the Maou; slap the jerk on the cheek without knowing that it meant asking for his hand in marriage, got kidnapped and almost assassinated just because you're a double-black 'demon' and most humans in this world don't get along with demons, nearly getting yourself killed just from finding these boxes, this Bob I heard about is actually a demon king on Earth and Shori-san is his successor, The Great One turned evil on you because a part of him is possessed by this Originators, then you defeated him which makes him good again, went into a portal thinking you will never return but then returned because you are powerful enough to travel between these two dimensions."

And all this said without pausing. Yuri sweatdrop at that, before replying tentatively, "Yes…..?"

Haru stared at him for a full minute, blink and then shrugged, "Ok then."

Yuri nearly fell off his horse. "What kind of answer is that!?" he exclaimed.

Haru only raised an eyebrow questioningly back at him.

"You just found out your cousin is a demon king for Pete's sake! You landed here in Shin Makoku and got swords pointed at you! And you just got the whole history lesson from me! Shouldn't you be in denial or at the very least freaking out!??"

Haru watched impassively as Yuri stopped to catch his breath. He opened his mouth, stop, and then closed it with a shake of his head as if dispelling a thought. Another minute pass before he tried again.

"I…guess that's how one would normally react. It's just that…," he hesitated but was encouraged by Yuri's silent prompting to go on. "It's just that….it actually makes sense to me. As if I had expected it, even familiar with it. That's probably why it was so easy to accept. I mean, I can't really 'go into denial or at the very least freaking out' if I've already accepted it, now can I?"

"But….how?" Yuri whispered, confusion evidently etched on his face.

Haru sighed, "I don't know, Yuri. I really don't know."

-End Flashback-

Conrad listened, looking contemplative. "It makes sense to him because he was familiar with it and somehow expected it?"

"Yeah, now what I want to know is how and what does it all mean. Man, this is giving me a headache…"

"If I may be so bold, you always had this knack to bring problems, big or small, onto yourself."

"I don't bring them, they wait for me and pounce whenever they have the chance…."

"Yuri? Is that the castle you were talking about?" Haru asked, feeling a little bit awed at the size and grandeur of the grey-bricked castle.

"Hmm?" While he was talking to Conrad, they had unknowingly reached their destination. The maids of the castle called out their greeting to them while the guards that were around saluted upon their entry.

He smiled. 'Well, home sweet home.'

"Haru, welcome to Blood Pledge Castle."

"YURI!"

"Greta, you've grown!" Yuri laughed as he caught said girl in mid-leap. Greta hugged him tightly, giggling as Yuri started twirling them around.

"I miss you, Yuri."

"I miss you too, Greta. Sorry about leaving you here for so long." Yuri said. Greta shakes her head, her now shoulder-length, and curly auburn hair swishing softly as well.

"It's alright; I have Doria, Sangria, Lasagna, Lady Celi, Gisela and Lady Anissina to take care of me! While you were away, Lady Anissina showed me all her new inventions but they aren't working since they don't have enough maryoku."

Gwendal's left eye twitched at the mention of new inventions made by his childhood tor-I mean, friend. Yuri could have sworn that he actually went pale with fear before excusing himself, mumbling about unfinished paperwork. They share a sympathetic, understanding moment when they heard Gunter's screams echoing through the hallways a few minutes after.

It was then Greta looked over Yuri's shoulder, her large brown eyes widening in shock and curiosity at the newcomer. "Papa, who is that?"

Knowing who she was referring to, he laid his hand against the small of her back and pushes her forward gently.

"Greta, I would like you to meet my cousin, Haru Shibuya. Haru, this is my daughter, Greta."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Haru." Greta greeted with a little curtsey.

"It's nice to meet you too. And please, just Haru. I'm only two years younger than Yuri and I don't want to feel old." Haru chuckled. Greta blushed slightly, but laughed along with him. He reminded her a little like her Papa in a way, albeit a little cold on the edges.

"Dinner is just ready. Come on, you all must be hungry by now." Greta chirped cheerfully, her spirits high at the return of her Papa.

"Is she the one you told me about?" Haru whispered lowly so nobody but Yuri could hear.

Yuri nodded, "Yeah, Greta who once pretended to be my daughter to assassinate me is now my adopted daughter."

"How ironic. Glad things turn out the way they did, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Dinner was quiet, the clinking of silverware on plates the only sound that could be heard in the dining room. It wasn't so just a few moments ago…

-Earlier on-

"Oh Your Majesty!"

'Here we go again.' was Yuri's thought as he was crushed against none other than Lady Cecilia's bosom. This is becoming really uncomfortable.

"Mother! Behave yourself, please!" Wolfram sighed with exasperation.

"But Wolfie—,"she started but cut herself off when she spotted Haru.

"Oh my," she said, letting go of Yuri before heading towards her new 'prey'. "Who is this cute young man? Hmmm?"

Feeling a little disturbed at the undeniably beautiful blond woman's behavior, he inched a step back to get back some personal space. "My name is Haru Shibuya, Madam," he said stiffly, discomfort apparent in his eyes. "I'm Yuri's cousin, it's an honor to meet the former Demon Queen –,"

"Oh so CUTE!!!" she gushed, glomping him and crushing him against her bosom while he struggled to get free. "Not only that, you're so polite too! And your eyes, they're so beautiful…."

"Mother!"

"Lady Celi! Haru, he's-,"

"He's starting to turn blue, Mother."(Conrad)

-Back to present-

"I'm very sorry about that. I believe I haven't introduced myself. My name is Cecilie von Spitzveg, former Maou of Shin Makoku and mother to these three handsome young men. Now tell me, what type of person do you go for?" Cecilie said with a seductive tone, peering with half-lidded eyes over her wine glass.

"Mother, please! Why do you have to go for some ignorant commoner like him anyway?" Wolfram huffed.

"Wolfie, don't be rude. Since he's related to his Majesty, he's not exactly a commoner now, is he? I can see the similarities now, both of them are so cute!"

Yuri continued to eat his food, only paying half his attention to the conversation. 'Mum and Lady Celi will definitely hit it off if they get a chance to meet.' He shuddered as thoughts of squealing and dresses entered his mind. 'I hope not for a very long time.'

He was startled out of his thoughts as Wolfram suddenly stood up, causing his chair to fall over and slammed his hands on the table. 'Why do I have this feeling of déjà vu?' Yuri thought dryly before focusing on the commotion.

"Unacceptable! So what if he's a cute and Yuri's cousin? He isn't a double-black! Furthermore, his attitude surely demeans whatever royal blood is left in his veins! He is utterly disrespectful-,"

Yuri went to defend his cousin but Haru beat him to it.

"Lord von Bielefeld," he began, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "I do not have any problems with giving respect as long as I have a reason to do so. But as far as I can see, you have not done anything to earn my respect or my trust for that matter. You claim that you are Yuri's fiancé and yet you don't act like one. You keep calling him a cheater and a wimp. If you really are his fiancé, then you of all people should know that he is not the type of person who would cheat or just simply flirt with other people. You yell at him for even showing the slightest interest in anybody he comes in contact with and allow your jealousy to cloud your judgement. Don't you have faith in your own king? How is that going to look to the people of the kingdom if the person closest to the king does not even have faith in him?"

The table went silent with stunned shock. Wolfram was trembling with suppressed rage, clenching his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white. Flustered at the sudden turn of events, Yuri was torn between giving Wolfram a worried glance and sending a disapproving look at Haru. What brought this on anyway?

"Should I continue? It's quite a list." Haru said nonchalantly. Yuri almost groaned. He's definitely pouring more oil into the raging flames than necessary.

Wolfram sneered. "That cocky attitude of yours will only bring you trouble. But I guess you can't help it, since that same tainted blood runs in both your father and mother's veins as well—urgh!"

Everything happened so fast then. One moment Haru and Wolfram were having a verbal battle, and the next moment found Haru on top of Wolfram with one hand gripping his neck and his other hand holding something against his throat.

"HARU! Wha-,"

"You can speak ill about me, or anyone else for that matter but never, and I mean never, ever insult my mother, my father or any of my family again. Understand?" Haru snarled quietly, a hint of warning in his voice. Feeling the cold metal against his neck, Wolfram could only nod his head mutely.

"Good." he said, getting off him. Wolfram immediately stood up and reached for his sword.

"You…You dare to threaten one of the nobles?!" he hissed in contempt.

Haru looked back at him with a bored look, "With what? A spoon?" As he said this, he held up the spoon he had swiped off the table earlier.

The situation would have been laughable if it wasn't so tense. Wolfram gaped at the spoon incredulously and sputtered, "Wh-wha-I mean-how-,"

"I'm full now. If anyone needs me, a certain someone would know where to look. Thanks for the meal."

And with that, he was gone. As the door clicked shut, Wolfram exploded.

Gwendal rubbed his temples, feeling an oncoming migraine. "Wolfram, control your temper." he ordered a little snappishly.

"But-,"

"Wolfram, enough."

Wolfram turned his head towards Yuri; his mouth already opened to rant and yell at him but was immediately snap shut. He felt a little fear as the warmth usually present in his eyes is now replaced with stern disapproval. It's almost like being face-to-face with Yuri in 'Maou' mode.

"I will not say that Haru is not in the wrong, what he did is uncalled for. But you, you insulted his mother and father! What were you thinking? Haven't you learn the last time you insulted my mother?? How would you feel if someone else insulted your mother?"

Feeling ashamed, and yet a little hurt that Yuri would defend his cousin more than him; he let his pride take over. He sniffed indignantly, "I was only saying what I have observed and conclude. I…just went a little carried away, that's all."

"Wolfram…," Yuri said quietly, hesitating. "His father died in an accident and his mother....she killed herself right in front of his eyes. Any insult to them is like dishonoring the dead to Haru and it brings him pain. Now could you see why he was angry?"

Wolfram could only stand there, speechless. Gwendal, Conrad and Gunter bowed their heads in sympathy, Greta's hands was over her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears while Lady Celi wrapped her arms around her in comfort, her own eyes showing her deep sorrow and understanding.

"I-I didn't k-know, Yuri." Wolfram manages to croak out.

"Of course you don't. Nobody told you. Just…refrain yourself from mentioning them, ok?" Yuri said, his hands reaching for the door handle.

"Your Majesty?"

"It's Yuri."

"Yes, Yuri. Where are you going?"

"To search for Haru. I haven't given him a piece of my mind yet." he smiled at Conrad though it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yuri…?" Worried. Concern.

Yuri paused for a moment, then without turning back answered to the unasked question, "I'm alright, Conrad. I'll explain as much as I can later. Goodnight."

And with that, the door shut for the second time.

Nobody said anything for a moment.

"Wolfram…."

"I know, I know. I messed up…"

Moonlight shined its way through a high window, lighting up a silhouette standing there amidst the darkness of a vast room. The silhouette cocked its head a little, as if thinking of something highly interesting. The door to the room was slammed open and rustling of a cloak could be heard as another figure rushed into the room and kneeled before the silhouette, panting and out of breathe.

"Well?"

"They're back this time, sir."

"Oh? That's wonderful. Continue your task and await further orders."

"Understood, sir."

After the figure left the room, the silhouette went to an enormous bookshelf that was in the room. Trailing its fingers along the spines of each book, it finally found the book it was looking for and carefully took out a heavy, ancient book. Flipping through the yellowing pages, it finally rested on a page with a picture of two girls.

"Soon, after so many centuries of waiting, I'll have what I want in my grasp and no one will stop me."

Deep, chilling laughter rang throughout the room and out into the open air, the population of both race blissfully unaware of the impending doom coming their way.

I finished it! Again, I'm sorry for the very late update but I hope you enjoyed it. 'Till next time! Pls remember to review!