My birthday is on Tuesday! Yay! But I have to take exams. :(
I decided I want to "answer" the review questions so in the future feel free to ask anything. Not saying I'll give you a direct answer, but I'll most likely reply with something. :)
Anon: As I had stated in the previous chapters, I can't kill off Mei. Why would I create her for this story if I was just going to kill her off? Thanks, though. I knew some people (*cough* Permissionless Lyssa *cough*)weren't very fond of her, but no one outright said it.
Yumi-chan Hamano: I'm sorry to say you won't find out what Shinou has to do with anything for at least a few chapters, but you never know, I could change my mind. He will make a few various appearances like in this chapter, but nothing big.
Elle von Werner: Hmm.. Sara... I wonder if it was him. Hmm... Is he really bad or was it a set up? Hmm... I wonder. You'll just have to wait and see. :) Plus, I think you'll like this chapter. Let's just say there's another scene with Wolfram and Yuuri. What of? You'll have to read below to find out. No skipping ahead.
Crissa: Okay...I found your review after I typed the answers to the reviews. I'm glad I checked before posting this. Sweet and innocent Wolfram... I don't know about that... *pauses before changing subject* So you didn't like Mei either. :( Hopefully, you'll change your mind. With Murata, I don't know. Maybe he's just not around (exception of lunch and showing up sometimes before school). Can you guess what he's up to? (*cough* Shinou *cough* *whistles a tune*) I want to clarify: I don't know if I typed hate before. If I did, that's a lie. It appears she hates them, but she's just not fond of them at the present time.
This is a foul language warning!
On with the story...
Yuuri's POV
It was lunch and I really didn't like the current situation I was in. About twenty girls surrounded my desk and refused to let me move. I could barely make out Murata standing in the doorway. I was about to flag him to help me, but I was attacked.
"Where's the Prince?" one girl asked, squeezing her hand tight on my shoulder.
"What did you do to him, Shibuya?" another asked.
" I overheard he was looking for you so where is he?"
"Yeah. What did you do to him?"
"Where is he? Where's the Prince?"
"You didn't make him cry, did you?"
"I bet he was only trying to be your friend and you turned him down."
"How cruel!"
"You're a jerk!"
"Heartless coward!"
"Everyone! Move!" Elizabeth's voice yelled, overpowering everyone.
It was strange. The nails that were digging into my shoulders were gone and a small aisle was parted between the girls to make way for Elizabeth. She had a calm smile on her face, but her actual feelings showed in her eyes. She was sad. She slowly made her way to me and placed her hand gently on my shoulder.
"Yuuri, do forgive them for their rash actions. They are only worried for Wolfram," she whispered.
"I...uh...I don't know where he is," I said.
"Of course you don't, silly. He's at home. He caught a cold last night and is too sick to come into school," she replied.
The girls around me started to disperse, giving me apologetic looks. I only smiled back at them as they left. Was Wolfram really sick like Elizabeth said? I wanted to ask him about the k...k-k-kiss. He kissed me. He stole my first kiss! Ah! No! My first kiss was stolen by a guy! I slammed my head against my desk causing the room to fall silent. I glanced up to see several concerned stares and Murata laughing silently in the doorway. Why is he my friend again? I felt Elizabeth's hand leave my shoulder and she patted me light on the head. It wasn't like the way she patted Greta the other day.
"Do you want to go see him after school?" she asked.
I looked up at her. Was she serious? Go to Wolfram's house? I couldn't do that. My thoughts traveled to the photo albums with the photos of Wolfram with his mother, Mei, and his older brothers and other people I have yet to recognize. Would any of them be there? It wouldn't do any harm.
"If you go, too," I replied.
"Alright, then. After school," she said before walking away.
... ... ...
Meanwhile...
Meiline's POV
Where should I hide today? Hmm...
"Meiline?" a voice behind me said.
I spun on my heels to find Conrart's best friend, Yozak, standing behind me. "Hi."
"What are you doing?" the redhead asked.
"Nothing in particular. Just going to use the restroom," I replied.
"You do know that's a boy's restroom, right?" he pointed out.
"Oh. It is. Haha! Silly me," I said nervously.
Great. Can't use this spot.
Wolfram's POV
I sneezed again. I feel like my head is about to explode. Being sick is the worst.
... ... ...
Yuuri's POV
As Elizabeth and I walked away from the school, I started to feel uneasy about going to see Wolfram. We're going there spur of the moment and I'm not quite sure what to do when I see him. We got to the road Wolfram usually turned down. I could keep walking straight and I'd get to my house. I'm sure Elizabeth wouldn't care if I went or not. She turned the corner ahead of me.
"Hello Elizabeth. Going to see Wolfram?" a man's voice asked.
"Yeah. I was shocked to hear from Lady Cecilie that he was sick. It's hard to believe someone as stubborn as he is can get sick," Elizabeth replied.
The man chuckled. "I know what you mean." A pause. "Are you going by yourself?"
"Eh? No. My classmate is..." she trailed off.
She must've noticed I wasn't beside her. I sighed. Now, I couldn't get away from going. I turned the corner to find Elizabeth staring back at me with Conrad and a redhead in front of her. Conrad's eyes widened and he smiled.
"Where were you, Yuuri?" Elizabeth asked.
"Uh. My shoe was untied," I lied.
"Anyways, this is Yuuri Shibuya," Elizabeth said to the two while pointing at me. "Yuuri, this is..."
"Conrad," I mumbled.
"Actually, it's Conrart, but..." she trailed off.
Conrad and the redhead looked shocked.
"How did you know that?" Elizabeth asked.
"Seems Yuuri is finally remembering. I bet everyone will delighted. Don't you think so, Yozak?" Conrad said.
"Yeah, but just because the kid remembers you doesn't mean he remembers everything," the redhead replied.
The redhead named Yozak did look familiar, but... "You helped Murata with those bullies before."
"Murata? That Japanese kid with the glasses? Yeah. He seems to be chased down by thugs all the time. I'm starting to wonder if he's the type who like to get into trouble," Yozak said.
I laughed nervously. He did tend to get into trouble a lot. I'm not surprised Yozak thinks that way. Yozak soon parted from us after a few whispered words with Conrad. Then, the three of us started walking towards Wolfram's house. The silence between us was awkward. It was like I was walking with two complete strangers to a complete stranger's house, but I knew two of the three from the past. But I lost my memories of them. Part of me tells me that I'm doing something odd while the other part is worried for Wolfram's well-being. I was so concentrated with my thoughts that I didn't notice that Elizabeth had stopped in front of me and I bumped into her.
"Ah! Sorry," I apologized.
"Don't worry about it," she said, shrugging her shoulders.
I looked up at the house in front of me. No. It was too big to be considered a house. It was a mansion. A huge mansion that didn't look like it belonged here. The large iron gates opened and we entered. The walk to the front doors didn't take as long as I expected it to, but I wished it did take long. I looked up at the building one more time at its closer proximity.
Conrad chuckled. "Bigger that you expected?"
"Much," I replied. "I keep forgetting that Wolfram's from a royal family."
"Conrart is too, silly," Elizabeth said.
I looked over at Conrad. "Doesn't seem like it, either."
He smiled at me and pulled open the front door and was immediately hugged by a blonde woman. The blonde woman was wearing a bright red dress with a slit all the way up to her hip and a completely bare back. Elizabeth frowned a little at the action of the woman. Who was she? She slowly let go of Conrad and I saw her face. Wolfram's mom! I guess she's also Conrad's and Mei's mom, too. Her looks had not changed at all since I was little or at least, she looks like she did in the pictures from our photo albums.
"Conrart, I've missed you so much," the woman said, attempting another hug.
"You've seen me this morning, mother," Conrad said, smiling and gracefully slipping away from his mother's grasp.
"Yes, but the hours felt like years without you," she complained.
"We have company, mother," Conrad said, changing the subject.
The blonde woman turned toward Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, you're definitely becoming a beautiful woman like myself."
I could see Elizabeth pull on a forced smile from the corner of my eye. "Thank you, Lady Cecilie."
The blonde woman smiled and turned toward me. "Who is this?" she asked aloud.
"I'm Y-" I started to say.
Suddenly, I was pulled into a suffocating hug. "Yuuri, darling. It's been too, too long! You've gotten so handsome! How is Shoma? You're grandmother keeps nagging me to get in touch with him, but it's like all of you disappeared! But why are you here? I thought you lost your memories. Did Shoma lie to me? Oh, what a cruel man your father is!"
"Mother, you're...um...hurting him," Conrad said, smiling.
"Oh!" the tight grasp was removed and I could breathe properly again.
"Lady Cecilie, is Wolfram in his room?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes. Poor Wolfie hasn't been able to get out of bed," Lady Cecilie said with a distressed look appearing on her face.
"Is-" Elizabeth was started to say, but was cut off by a man's voice.
"I don't care what you say you were trying to do! Your actions were unacceptable! Because of you, no one trusts this family anymore!"
The source of the voice stormed into the room with a blonde chasing after him. A black-haired man chased after them both, but all three of them stopped when they saw us. The man who had yelled was the same man I saw Miss von Karbelnikoff dragging off when I toured the school. She called him Gwendal. Gwendal! This is Mei's oldest brother! He does look kind of the same from the pictures, but the grimace fixated on his face was much more noticeable. The moment his eyes landed on me, his eyes narrowed.
"Who's the kid?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"It's Yuuri, Gwendal! You remember little Yuuri, don't you?" Lady Cecilie exclaimed.
He said nothing, but the blonde man rushed forward. "Yuuri Shibuya! It's a shame to say this is my first time meeting you. My sister has spoken strongly of your family. I-" he was cut off my Gwendal firm hand pressing on his shoulder.
"The boy doesn't need to meet someone like you," he grumbled, pushing the blonde man past us and toward the front door.
The man with the black hair started after the two, but was held back by Lady Cecilie. "Raven, feel free to visit me any time."
"I will, my lady," Raven said, gently taking her hands off of him and following after the blonde man.
A finger tapped on my shoulder and I turned to discover it was Conrad. "You two should go up and visit Wolfram."
We past Lady Cecilie and walked up the giant set of steps before us. Why do stairs need to be so grand in big houses? At the top of the stairs, I caught sight of a blonde who looked a lot like Wolfram. He soon caught sight of us. Elizabeth rushed over to him with a smile on her face.
"So you have come to visit. Wolfram wouldn't answer me when I asked," Elizabeth said.
"Well, we all know my nephew isn't very fond of me. Neither is Meiline. I only smiled at her the other day and she glared back so maliciously. I don't know what I ever did to those two to make them hate me so," the Wolfram look alike said.
"I can think of a few," Elizabeth replied.
"Miss Elizabeth, are you accusing me of doing wrong to my niece and nephew?" the Wolfram look alike asked, trying to sound appalled.
"There is a difference between accusing and stating the truth, Shinou," Elizabeth replied.
Shinou? This is Shinou. "Excuse me. Are you Shinou?" I asked, causing them both to glance in my direction.
"Yes, Mr. Yuuri Shibuya. I am Shinou," he replied.
"Why did you..." I started to ask.
"Oh! Would you look at the time! I have so many things to do. Sorry, Mr. Shibuya. Maybe another time," Shinou interrupted.
The Wolfram look alike dashed down the stairs and passed his sister without a muttering a single word to her. Wolfram's uncle is this Shinou guy. That still doesn't help as to why he wanted me to go to Julia Academy.
Elizabeth pulled on my sleeve and dragged me down the hallway opposite where Shinou came from. There were many exquisite tapestries hanging on the wall of knights, battles, castles, gardens, and royal families. Two tapestries caught my eye. One looked like Shinou and the other was a Japanese man who reminded me of Murata for some reason. Elizabeth caught me staring at them.
"That Shinou's great, great grandfather and the first king of Shin Makoku. The painting beside him is who you might call his right hand man. They called him the Great Wise Man. The funny thing is that no one ever knew his name. He's the reason why our country's noble color is black. To anyone, they seemed like the best of friends, but there were rumors they really didn't like each other at all. They were curious men," she informed.
We continued to the door at the very end of the hallway. I watched as Elizabeth knocked lightly on the door, but there was no answer. Instead of turning away, she proceeded to open the door and walk through the doorway. I followed after her into the dark room. She turned on the light switch and the room filled with light. My jaw instantly dropped. This was a bedroom! There was a fireplace with several sofas placed in front of it. One whole wall was taken up with bookshelves filled with volumes in several different languages. There was a desk that looked unused and a set of double doors. One door was propped open and you could see a bathroom. One thing stood out amongst everything else and looked like it didn't belong. In the corner of the room, a small art studio was set up with several canvases laying in disheveled piles. There was even paint splattered on the walls. I smiled when thinking of what the perfect Wolfram would look like with paint splattered clothes. It surprisingly suits him. I then turned my attention to the four poster double bed with velvet, emerald green curtains draped lazily around the bed from the canopy. From the distance I stood from, I could make out the blonde of Wolfram's hair.
"Wolfram," Elizabeth whispered in his ear as I walked toward the bed.
She brushed her fingers through his tangled blonde waves and placed her hand against his forehead. She frowned. His fever must be high. When I got close enough, I saw his flushed face and his breathing at a rapid pace. I felt so helpless seeing him like this. I wanted to do something, but what could I do? He probably has been taking medicine. Water? Food? Has he even eaten at all today?
"Where is the kitchen?" I asked.
"Why?" she replied.
"In case he wakes up and he's hungry," I replied, walking back toward the door.
"Oh! I can do it! You stay here in case he wakes up," she said, rushing past me and closing the door behind her.
I walked back the bed. Why does he need such a huge bed for anyway? I sat on the edge on his bed beside him. He shifted a little and mumbled something. I slowly and carefully placed my hand on Wolfram's forehead. It was very, very warm. Wolfram groaned and his eyelids fluttered open. I hastily removed my hand. His hazy eyes glanced around and finally fell on me.
"Yuuri?" he whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Hello. Um. How are you feeling?" I asked.
Without any warning, the blonde lunged at me and pushed me onto my back. He swung his right leg over me and straddled my hips. Panic mode kicked in when he leaned in toward me. I pushed him, but he grabbed my hands and pushed them above my head. A devious little smile materialized on his face as he moved closer. Just as I was about to call for help, Wolfram's bedroom door swung open and Shinou stepped in. I thought he left. Never mind. I opened my mouth to yell at him for help, but my lips were assaulted with the soft lips of Wolfram. Shinou smiled at me, walked towards one of the bookshelves, removed a book, walked back to the door, waved at me, and left me there.
I felt Wolfram's tongue enter my mouth as I struggled to free my hands. The blonde looked a lot weaker than he was. His golden waves tickled my face. His lips left mine and started kissing my neck. His kisses soon turned into sucking and it tickled. He released my neck with a small pop and he smiled at me again. He let go one of my hands and started pushing up my shirt with his free hand. Before he had the chance to realize his mistake, I pushed him off me and I fell off the bed. I stood up, darted out of the room, and passed Elizabeth in the hallway. She yelled something after me, but I ignored her and raced down the stairs with my eyes only on the door in front of me.
As I reached the bottom of the stairs, the door swung open. The redhead named Yozak was standing before me with someone thrown over his shoulder. The skirt she wore belonged to our school and the shoes looked familiar. Mei? Lady Cecilie entered the room with a smile on her face. Yozak started to move forward, but something stopped him. Mei was holding onto the sides of the doorway and refusing to let go. Yozak tugged on her a little, but she refused to let go.
"Let go of me!" Mei yelled.
"I will when you let go," Yozak replied.
"No!" Mei shouted.
"Don't you want to see your mother?" Yozak asked.
"Why the hell would I want to ever see her?" Mei grumbled.
"She's your mother," Yozak said.
"I don't give a damn who she is!" Mei yelled, kicking her legs.
Yozak looked angry. "At least you have a mother, you brat!"
"I don't want that slutty woman to be my mother! I want my father back!" Mei yelled.
I glanced over at Lady Cecilie. There were tears in her eyes. I knew Mei didn't like her mother, but I couldn't see any reason why she would hate her so much. So maybe she has trouble with keeping a single husband, but she seemed like a nice enough woman. I looked back over to the struggle going on in the doorway to find Yozak had finally got her inside the mansion, but she kept kicking her legs and flailing her arms. Yozak put her down and she started toward the door, but Lady Cecilie threw her arms around Mei before she could escape.
"Let go of me!" Mei shouted.
She started struggling with the iron grip of Lady Cecilie when she happened a glance in my direction and froze. Her face turned bright red and she looked away from me. The tears had finally escaped Lady Cecilie's eyes. Mei gave up as her mother assaulted her with kisses. Her eyes connected with mine and she frowned.
"Yuuri, what happened to you?" Mei asked, causing everyone to look in my direction.
The better question was 'What did I look like?' I glanced down at myself and found several buttons had come undone and my shirt was wrinkly. I opened my mouth to explain, but running feet were approaching. I turned around to see Wolfram at the top of the stairs. His flushed face immediately turned pale. I see he has finally woke up.
"Wolfie!" Lady Cecilie called out, releasing Mei and running up the stairs toward Wolfram.
Before anyone could say anything more, I darted out the door and I could hear Mei chasing after me. She called my name out many times in attempt to make me stop, but I just wanted to get away from there. It was crazy in there and part of me didn't want Wolfam to stop. Why? I'm a guy! He's a guy! So. He's your fiancé. It's not uncommon in Shin Makoku. You learned that in history class the other day. Plus, he's beautiful. Have you ever had someone that beautiful even look at you longer that two seconds? What? Who said that? I'm you. No. I wouldn't think something like that. I like girls! Sure. Go on and think that. I will.
I lost track of where I was going. There was a park to my left. I turned and entered it. There were kids running around and playing games, but no one was on the swings. I sat down on one of the vacant seats and watched some of the kids. A little girl had fell down and was crying. A boy ran over to her and helped her up. She smiled at him and they raced over to the other children hand in hand.
"I sometimes wish I was that little again," Mei said.
She must've found me and took the empty swing beside me while I was distracted with the children. She smiled at them.
"Why?" I asked.
"Many reasons," she simply replied.
A silence hovered in the air where I kind of hoped she would continue. "They are?"
She stared at me for a little. "Everything was good back then. Dad was still alive. You hadn't lost your memories yet. I hadn't met James either."
"James?" I asked, remembering her mention his name before.
She looked away from me and back to the children. "Have you ever been in love, Yuuri?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask?" I replied.
"James was a guard in training. He was to be assigned to Wolfram once he was done. Something happened and he was murdered." She paused. "He also loved me and I loved him very much."
She looked at me with tears collecting in her eyes. "He was the only one that ever fully understood me. When we were little, not even you could."
The tears freed themselves from her eyes and streamed down her face. "I don't want you to... I don't hate my family, Yuuri! I just don't agree with how things worked in Shin Makoku! Innocent people died all the time with that stupid civil war! James wasn't from our noble families! He was from theirs! He was that damn Saralegui's cousin! And they killed him! They killed him!"
Her voice echoed in the air. I was at a loss for words. Death was something that seemed to follow Mei around like a dark cloud hanging over her head. She told me about her father a couple time. She also told me about the nanny she had, her dog, and the flowers she planted in the garden. All of those things died. She joked around and told me she was cursed, but I wonder if she was serious.
"I don't want you to have anything to do with Shin Makoku, Yuuri. In fact, I'd rather you transfer out of Julia Academy right now. I don't know what Shinou's thinking, but my uncle is devious. I'm warning you Yuuri, don't ever go to that country," Mei mumbled.
What is happening in Shin Makoku?
That was long. A lot longer than I planned it to be.
Now, I'm off to buy soap to put in Mei's mouth. Her father would be so disappointed in her. *Shakes head*
I don't want to be one of those nagging people, but please review. I now know, thanks to the website, how many people read this. I want to thank you all for reading it, but I want to hear feedback. Plus, reviews equal more motivation to write which equals faster release dates.
Jeez. Now, I sound like a review beggar. :(
Oh, well. I don't know yet when you should expect the next chapter. Sadly, it might not be until the new year since I have so many things lined up, but you never know. I'm doing possibly the most stupid thing ever and driving home with my boyfriend (afraid of flying) after exams. Thirteen hours. I'll probably get bored sometime so maybe I'll write it then. Until then...