Hi, it's Scarlet and it's been a while since I've updated, but here's the next chapter. I checked the poll and it said that only 3 people voted although over 50 people viewed my profile? I know fanfiction has been weird over the past couple of weeks, so I'm just going to blame it on that; and the poll is still open. As it stands, everyone wants Wolfram's lover, Gadwin, dead. If not, say something, and if you're scared of putting it in the review section or voting, send me a private message. We'll work something out; this is an interactive story, you guys do get a say. But I make the final decision. Also I want to say, read the story carefully guys, I really like to drop hints of who knows, who knows what and what really happened.
IMPORTANT, READ THIS BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER: this chapter is from your (reader's/ viewer's) POV. I paused the story so a question could be answer. The question is in bold, not to be confused when I'm changing perspectives. What you are observing (the character's behavior) is in italics and what Wolfram (in this case) is explaining, saying, talking (whatever) isn't bold or italics or underlined, it's just normal text. There's also stuff at the bottom of this chapter that you would want to read. Happy reading!
To Nickesha: Thanks, I corrected chapter six and the other chapters that have grammatical errors. I may not have gotten them all, but I got the really obvious ones.
To Tensa: Vote received and the last part of your review scares me a little. I don't think I'm going to have that bastard in my story, but I can't promise that I won't. I hate him too.
To Ashlygmz: I already answered your questions, but I'm going to put the questions and answers at the bottom of this chapter so everyone can see them (to be fair).
To Sainan01: Thanks for reviewing
To Bobbyneko (review from chapter 1): That's what you think, and challenge accepted.
To everyone else: Thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting, I hope that you will enjoy this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kyo Kara Maoh (do I have to say this every time?) but if I did, there would be so many rape scenes. And I am not making any money from this, but I really wish I did.
Audience's (Reader's) POV
Wolfram was sitting on a desk with glass of wine in his hand, and the bottle next to him. He was swirling the contents while looking at it sadly. The Prince Consort sipped his wine, savoring the bitter taste. The same bitter look in his eyes; he looked restless and tired, beaten and broken. But there were still small flames in his green eyes. Something is wrong with Wolfram. He always had his fair share of problems, but I have a feeling that the liquid in the glass made them worse. So I had to know, "Wolfram," I started to his attention. "Why did you start drinking?"
He took another sip and smiled weakly at me. "I never really liked the taste of alcohol. It burns my throat and stomach," he started slowly. "My head would always become frizzy and a little lighter than I would like. But my emotions become so much more positive when I drank. No, I would have to say they become nonexistent, like I was never feeling jealous or angry or sad or lonely. This red liquid temporarily freed me. It allowed me to do the one thing I wasn't capable of doing myself; not caring anymore.
"But that's not the reason I started drinking. It was Greta. My beautiful little girl, no, my intelligent young lady. I never thought I would be a good parent, much less great. I never thought that I would even have children to begin with, but then Greta came." The blonde caressed the glass gently with a gentle smile.
"Our first meeting was when she tried to kill Yuuri. Shinou, I would have killed her myself, but Yuuri saved her. And then she saved me. She was the joy, the light, the happiness in the engagement between Yuuri and I. I claimed her as a way to get Yuuri to start thinking about me as a spouse but… The point is that I never expected her to claim me as her other father and I never thought that I would be so happy when she did.
"The first time she called me Papa, my heart swelled and time had momentarily stopped. It was years ago, Yuuri was on Earth and I was reading Greta a bedtime story. She was seven I believe. There was a storm that night, while reading to her, I heard the rumbling of the thunder and saw the occasionally bolt of lightening. I knew that she was scared, so I moved onto the bed and held her while I read. I tried to get her to focus on my voice instead of the storm, but with each boom and clash of thunder she trembled and held onto my uniform tighter. As if I could let her go." The Prince Consort finished the glass slowly, and poured another. He continued to stare and stroke the glass absent-mindedly while I waited for him to continue.
"I finished the story, but didn't move. Instead, I gently brushed her hair and hummed a random song I heard on Earth hoping to calm her down. But she didn't, so I decided to stay with her. I couldn't leave her like that, trembling and terrified, not because I was Yuuri's fiancé and she was his daughter, but because I just couldn't leave her like that. I didn't realize at the time, but Greta had become someone precious to me." Wolfram looked at me with sad, distant eyes. "Around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning when the storm calmed down to point where you could only hear the gossiping of the raindrops. Greta was finally crossing the border between the worlds of reality and dreamland. Her eyes were closing, her face look peaceful, and there was a occasional snort that was actually a snore." Wolfram placed the glass on the table and closed his eyes remember the memory. "A little while longer, and her grip on my jacket loosen which was my cue to leave. Slowly, I untangled her from me, and set her straight on the bed. She slept as wildly as I did. Pulling up the cover just to her chin, I patted her on the head and kissed her forehead one last time for the night, all while humming that same random song. I turned to leave as silently as I could, but Greta stirred. Mumbling in her sleep she said to me, 'Thank you Papa.'
"I was stunned," the blonde prince whispered. "She always called me Wolfram. I replied with, 'Goodnight Greta,' and walked out of the room and towards the royal bedroom. I tried to bury the happiness fluttering in the stomach. I tried to ignore the hop in my step as I walked. I tried to wipe off the smile on my face. Because I wasn't her father, Yuuri was. And I was using her to get closer to Yuuri, but she thanked me. She called me Papa."
A minute or two passed before he exhaled loudly and turned his attention back to me. Although there was a small smile on his lips, a losing war was reflected in his eyes.
"It's hard to explain that unending happiness I felt when she called me that. I was playing house and it became real before I knew it. And I loved it." The blonde's fingers gripped the edge of the desk tightly, his bangs shifted to cover his eyes but the desperation was clear in his voice. "I loved the bond between Greta and I. I loved the tea parties with our made up etiquette rules, the tickle fights with loud and uncontrollable laughter, the sword training covered with sweat, dirt and determination, the flower crowns made by precious hands with care and precision, the cakes with figurines of the castle inhabitants and especially the bedtime stories."
The weak smile was back on his face, pain in his eyes. This isn't the Wolfram I know. He looked at the glass next to him on the table. Slowly, he reached for it, as if it's something precious and unattainable. He continued, "human children grow up too fast for my liking. All children grow up too fast for any parent's liking; you find that they stop needing you. And I know I should be proud as a parent; she can stand on her own. In fact, when she completed her sword training she could best half of my men. But it happened way too fast and too quickly. The tea parties and picnics stopped. The tickle fights, flower crowns, bedtime stories, and forehead kisses were no longer needed, or wanted.
"I remember trying to kiss her forehead after a bedtime story one night and she turned away saying that 'big girls don't need goodnight kisses anymore.'" In one gulp, he finished the glass, and poured another. More than half of the bottle gone. "I thought that only Yuuri could hurt me with words like that."
Wolfram.
"I don't remember much more of that night because I found a few bottles of this red elixir." He held the glass high, close to his eye level. "They say that this elixir either makes you feel nothing at all or everything at once. I'm one of the lucky ones that feel the former. There are two catches: you will have the worse headache in the morning and you may do something exponentially stupid. But if you drink enough, hopefully you won't remember what you did.
"There is one more benefit to alcohol, it gives me courage to do things I never thought I could. Shinou, I hope this bottle gives me enough courage because I need it now more than ever. According to Yozak's note, 'The moon in the black sky is watching."
Yuuri's POV
God I'm tired. Gwendal was over my shoulder making sure I worked my fingers to the bones. I think he's mad that I took an extra long break with Wolfram. But it was worth it. I got to see a glance of the old Wolfram. I have to thank Yozak tomorrow for convincing Wolf to have lunch with me. Although he wouldn't go into town with me, he did agree to a walk in the garden. But of course, one of Gwendal's soldiers called me back to my desk before we could reach the garden.
I swear Gwendal and Gunter won't let me spend more than two hours away from paperwork. Not even to be with my daughter or husband. The only long break I get is for sleeping and that's only because I need rest to sign more papers.
I yawned opening the doors to my bedroom. A faint smell of wine spilt out of its bottle on the table in the sitting area. Wolfram was drinking again tonight. Well, at least he's drinking in here. I prefer he drink in the bedroom instead of anywhere else and with anyone else. But I know that drinking alone is boring, at least according to Shori. I try to avoid alcohol as much as possible, my maoh side spills out easier when I'm intoxicated. Anyways, if Wolfram drinks in the room, I wouldn't worry about where he is, or if he's choking on his vomit, or doing something stupid and reckless.
Looks like he didn't drink much. The bottle is still two-thirds full and he changed himself into his pink nightgown. I honestly didn't think that he would drink tonight. I thought that I did something that he wanted today.
Leon POV
I turned the corner at the end of the hallway, walking towards the royal bedroom. The Commander wasn't in his office, or with Lord von Voltaire's soldier, so he should be there. Hopefully. I have brats at home to feed, and a cranky nanny that over charges.
"Leon!" A voice shouted my name. I turned around to see the only redhead of the Bielefeld military division walking towards me. Fuck, how many times does he want to sexually assault me in one day?
"Lutz? What do you want?" I asked.
"That's cold, I thought were at least friends," he pouted.
"We are at most acquaintances," I replied and started to walk.
"Wait up," he jogged alongside of me. "Come on, Leon. I'll keep my hands to myself this time."
I sighed, I'm too tired to be bothered with this. I just wanted to talk to the royal brat about his hickey and now I have to deal with this idiot who wants to give me a hickey. "What do you want Lutz?"
"A kiss would be a good start." I walked faster, three more doors to the royal bedroom. "Hey, don't ignore me, I'm serious! Fine, I'll just enjoy the view from behind."
I stopped walking. "Lutz, keep testing my patience and I will write you up for sexually assault," I tried to say calmly. What is with this guy? From the day I joined the Commander's unit, he's been trying to get in my pants.
He walked passed me and said, "For what? I have touched you yet. I did said I would keep my hands to myself."
"And since when did you keep your word? Stop following me!" We reached the door of the royal bedroom. Soldiers in brown uniforms stood at attention, nodding at us once before focusing on their job: guarding the royal couple. Dammit, since the guards are here that means that the king is also here.
"When it involves you and I'm not. I have to report to the Commander about this afternoon's training since the second in commander disappeared." Lutz said knocking on the door.
His majesty opened the door. "You're Wolfram's men," he whispered. The room was dark except for a couple of lit candles. "Wolfram's already asleep, is it urgent? Can it wait until tomorrow... or maybe I can help you instead?" He offered with a warm smile. It was obvious that he was tired. He was still wearing his black uniform except for his jacket. A few buttons on his white shirt were undone. We had intruded on him; he was about to change into whatever the Demon King wears to bed.
Lutz and I bowed. "We are sorry for the intrusion, Your Majesty," I started. "I was going to inform the Commander of the arrivals of the new supplies he ordered."
"And I was going to inform him of the progress of this afternoon's training. Could you please tell him in the morning that it went well?" Lutz asked.
"Of course, is that all?" The double black asked.
"Yes, your majesty. We apologize again for the intrusion. Have a good night." Lutz responded and we bowed again.
"It's fine, goodnight to you too gentlemen," His Majesty smiled once more before closing the door.
"So Leon, would you like to go to dinner with me? My treat?" The idiot winked at me. And the flirting started again.
"I'm going home, I have children waiting for me. Remember?" I said over my shoulder as I walked away.
"Right, maybe next time?!"
I didn't bother replying. I have to get home as soon as possible, that nanny was going to charge me extra for over time. I hope that she at least fed the brats and put them to sleep.
Murata's POV
"Ah, Ludwig!" I call out to the familiar soldier. I was wandering around the castle and have gotten lost. The castle has changed a lot since Shinou's era.
"Your Excellency?! What are you doing in the soldier's wing?" the crimson hair soldier asked.
"I was walking around deep in thought and seemed to have gotten lost. Do you mind taking me back to the gardens?" I asked.
"No problem, Your Excellency," he answered leading the way.
"Thanks, I'm really sorry about this," I smiled innocently like Shibuya.
"Like I say before, Your Excellency, it's not a problem."
"Were you headed to the silver haired soldier?" I asked nonchalantly. The trick about pawns is that you can make them move on their own if you give them what they want. Besides, I'm already meddling in one relationship.
Ludwig chuckled, "Leon? I wish. He'd probably slam the door in my face. He actually just went home, Your Excellency."
"Went home?"
We turned the corner. "Yes, the Commander allows Leon to go home to his family at the end of the day. His parents died in the war, so he's taking care of his younger siblings."
"How many?"
"Three, Your Excellency, all under 20."
"That's rough," I commented, the war broke so many families. "So he doesn't stay in the castle at all?"
"Not if he has to. The only time I've seen him stay is when we're on night duty guarding the castle. Even then, the Commander will let him leave early."
"That's kind of von Bielefeld. Wait, it almost midnight and he just left," we reached the gardens. "Wouldn't he have left earlier? I don't believe your Commander would train you into the night."
"The Commander doesn't Your Excellency. We just had to report to him about training and supplies."
"Running an army sounds tiring. I think I'll keep my job as a sage. Which reminds me, I have to talk to your Commander about borrowing you."
"Being chief tactician isn't hard? And the Commander is already asleep I'm afraid. Leon and I ended up having to ask His Majesty to deliver the reports."
"Damn it." The Prince Consort too? And after I went through the trouble of asking the maids to fix something for my new drinking buddies, guess I won't see either of them tonight. "You went to the royal bedroom?"
"Yes, Your Excellency, the Commander wasn't in his office, on the training grounds, in the gardens or in the stables. That's the last place I thought he could be."
I sighed. "I guess I'll talk to him tomorrow. Thanks for walking me back Ludwig."
"Please call me Lutz, Your Excellency. Ludwig is my father's name and it sounds weird when someone calls me by it."
"Ok, Lutz. I'll see you sometime next week. Remember you promised to help me with a problem."
"Of course, Your Excellency. Have a goodnight," he bowed and walked back towards the direction of the soldiers' barracks.
Author's Note: Yes, I know nothing really happened in this chapter. It was more to move the characters around and to allow you to see into their heads. Before anyone calls bullshit on me for blaming Greta for Wolfram's cheating, the question ask why did he START drinking. Why Wolfram continued is for me to know and you to find out (or guess). Remember, this is an interactive fic, so you can ask me, the characters a question(s) and have it answer (personal, like this or in a private message) and/or you could request a scene and if it helps the story or is funny I will most likely include it. More below!
Ashlygmz Questions and answers:
1. Is Yuuri really that dense? - Yes and no. No because he thinks it's because of something else.
2. Wolf's drinking (how much and did Yuuri notice) - Wolfram's been 'heavily' drinking after their marriage (more so after the first year of their marriage). And yeah, Yuuri noticed.
3. Yuuri wondering where and with whom Wolfram does his drinking - can't answer because it's a spoiler
4. Has there ever been an incident where Wolfram slipped because of the alcohol? - As saying something about him cheating on Yuuri, nope. He's good like that, plus Yozak's there to help him.
5. Do the maids know? - Yes, remember at the end of Yozak's chapter he reminded them of the punishment of treason against the king.
6. What will Yuuri do when he finds out? - please don't hate me when you find out
7. The Drunk Wolfram in Yozak's chapter - so many spoilers but/and this was before their marriage.
