IV

The spotted their first cow bell the next day.

The now-friendly inn keeper had waved them off on their journey after breakfast. His son had, too, but Wolfram and Yuuri, aware of his fiancé's gaze, ignored him. Even so the whole affair had a much cheerier air than it had the night before.

Wolfram was in a better mood. His usual nightwear was deemed acceptable on this mission as had sleeping in close proximity to his 'sister'. Yuuri, who was neither used to sleeping in a loose and frilly garment that had a bad tendency to ride up or being squeezed into such a small bed with Wolfram, had fared worse. For some reason being wrapped in Wolfram's arms while wearing such a revealing garment made it hard to sleep.

It didn't help matters that Conrad and Yozak had no problems with their husband and wife role. The two had tumbled into bed together with no difficulty and were soon asleep, limbs wrapped around each other. Every so often the two would make unnerving contented noises in their sleep.

The two were relaxed and smiling in the morning, keeping the teasing to a minimum as they lifted their 'daughters' to the back of the cart.

With evidence of his companions' cheer around him, Yuuri's naturally optimistic nature overrode his lack of sleep. He managed to ignore the snuggly atmosphere in the front of the cart and found himself enjoying the scenery. Wolfram helped the time pass by pointing out various animals and plants.

It was fun. The doll in his hand and Wolfram's hand in the other felt natural by now.

Eventually they reached a lightly-worn path which diverged from the road. Conrad slowed their progress and guided the cart down the rough track. It ended on a slight rise next to a worn fence. Several five-horned cows could be seen grazing beyond the barrier.

Conrad and Yozak jumped down from the cart. Conrad helped his two 'girls' from the cart as Yozak rummaged among their belongings.

"How are we going to do this?" Yuuri asked once his feet were on solid ground.

Conrad smiled reassuringly. "Most of the cattle have been trained to come up to the fence for food so that people can see their bells."

Yozak, who had pulled some dubious-looking vegetables from their bags, gestured to the fence. "They're already coming up."

Yuuri turned. Sure enough the cows were slowly ambling up to the fence, dark eyes on the new arrivals. Up close they were a lot bigger. But they didn't seem aggressive. They were simply standing patiently, switching their tails.

Suddenly Yuuri felt a bit more optimistic about the whole thing.

Wolfram was of the same opinion. "Hmph. This might work out after all."

xXx

Unfortunately, not all cows were so obliging. In the next field, one cow stubbornly refused to approach the fence. It steadily retreated, taking with it what chance there was to see the bell round its neck, forcing them to approach it instead. Though it was walking slowly, it had large strides and was soon halfway across the field.

Before anyone could stop him, Yuuri was over the fence and after it. Wolfram, of course, was not far behind.

Wolfram ran after the slow-moving cow and his not-so-slow fiancé. Unfortunately he forgot about his skirt and promptly fell over. Fortunately not in any cow patties.

He picked himself up and hiked up his skirts. "I don't believe I'm wearing a dress so you can go traipsing across Shin Makoku to look for a cow bell!" Flaming the cows and retrieving the bells from their charred corpses was beginning to look like a very appealing solution.

Yuuri hadn't heard the blond, though. Hardened by years of wearing dresses in his youth, the king was hot on the heels of the retreating cow. His skirts were held high in his hands revealing his dainty footwear which he preserved in the hazardous field by occasionally swerving to avoid the ominous dark brown cow cakes.

As he drew close, he started waving his arms to steer the cow to where Yozak and Conrad were waiting. Wolfram, who had finally got the hang of his skirts, caught up with him and did the same.

The cow chose now of all times to stop and simply looked at them. Close enough to see the bell round the cow's neck, Yuuri let his waving arms drop. "It's not this one. The clapper's missing."

Wolfram glared at the cow. The cow continued to stare back for a moment then lifted its tail and started to add to the field's decorations.

Both boys looked at each other and decided to retreat.

xXx

"One more field." Conrad said soothingly.

Yuuri, a bit tired of chasing cows, hoped so. He hoped that the bell was actually on a cow and hadn't been dropped somewhere and forgotten.

For the last time, the cart diverged from the road and pulled up at a field fence. The cows, which had apparently been watching for new arrivals, stopped grazing and ambled up to the fence.

Now used to it, Wolfram refrained from grumbling as Conrad lifted him from the cart. He eyed the gathering cattle. "At least they're all at the fence."

Yuuri accepted a strange purple piece of vegetable from Yozak after Conrad set his feet on the ground. "Can you see it?"

Wolfram made his way over to the fence, automatically lifting his skirt as he moved through the grass. The brown doll was still clutched in one hand. Yuuri found himself hard pressed not to smile at the sight. Wolfram wouldn't appreciate it especially since Yuuri, as he had put it, looked more girly than he ever could.

Yuuri followed his fiancé, and offered the purple vegetable to one of the heads hanging over the rails. As the cow chewed its treat, the dark-haired boy took the chance to examine the bell hanging from its neck. It made a clinking sound as he reached out and touched it. "Not this one."

"Or this one." Conrad looked perfectly at ease as he stroked the heavily muscled shoulder of the cow he was examining. He gave it a slap which it ignored in favour of the pieces of vegetable Yozak was feeding it.

Wolfram, who had determinedly been walking along the fence eyeing each cow in turn, let out an excited shout. "Found it!"

Yuuri hurried over, Conrad following more slowly, to his side. A large red cow stood a few feet back from the fence simply staring at the blond. Yuuri craned his head to see the bell at its neck. "How can you tell?"

Wolfram grasped his shoulder and pointed. "The clapper's still there, see? But the bell isn't making any noise when it moves."

They watched for a few moments but the cow stubborn stayed still.

Yozak threw a rock.

Wolfram was right - there was no sound. From the bell, anyway.

"So what now?" Yuuri eyed the cow dubiously. He didn't think it was going to approach the fence after that rock.

Yozak grinned and held up a glinting object that turned out to be a rather nice cow bell. "Now we simply swap the bells."

Yuuri was getting a familiar uneasy feeling. "What do you mean 'we'?"

Conrad cleared his throat. "Unfortunately we don't know whether anyone but the Maou can remove it."

Yuuri stared at Conrad then the cow. It didn't look angry. Maybe it had forgotten about the rock. He took the bell from Yozak and, after handing his doll to Wolfram, slipped through the rails of the fence.

The cow didn't move as he approached it. Up close it was suddenly very large and Yuuri started praying that it wouldn't try to gore him with its horns. He suspected it would hurt quite a bit.

He let out a sigh of relief when the beast suddenly dropped its head and started to graze. It ignored him as he tentatively touched its neck. Growing more confident, Yuuri reached up and worked at the clasp of the bell. It came loose easily in his hands - the protective spells to prevent theft dispelling at his touch. He grasped the leather collar between his teeth and used both hands to put the new bell in its place.

The cow continued to ignore his actions, content with the grass.

Yuuri patted its side in thanks. He walked back to the fence without further incident and triumphantly held the bell out for inspection.

Wolfram looked at the dinted bell doubtfully. Reaching out, he turned it up in Yuuri's grasp to see the clapper. "Well it does bear the Arsenio crest. It must be the right one." He let go and handed back the blond-haired doll.

Yuuri grinned as he accepted it. "That wasn't too hard. Things went a lot better than the time we were looking for Morgif." In his enthusiasm he had forgotten the troubles of the day before. And what he was wearing.

Yozak threw an arm around his shoulders. "See, your Majesty, you should do things my way more often. I've got our next mission all planned. Conrad's even been drawing up some designs for our costumes."

Conrad smiled pleasantly.

Wolfram started edging towards the cart.