Yuri could hear Conrad's heart racing and it thrilled him to know that he was the cause.
They had been riding for just a few minutes but long enough that the gates to Shinou's temple were no longer in view.
Then Conrad suddenly stopped his horse and shifted to look at Yuri. "Heika…"
"Yuri." The boy reminded him.
Giving a faint smile Conrad said, "Yuri." Then he suddenly turned serious scaring the boy a bit and said, "Yuri, do you realize how dangerous that was?"
Yuri cocked his head, "Dangerous?" Then he cocked his head to the other side. "What are talking about?"
"The switching ceremony!" Conrad was shocked the boy could forget so quickly. Then he pulled the boy into a hug, which thrilled Yuri. "When I heard you did a switching ceremony I was shocked you'd do something so dangerous."
"Um, why do you keep saying dangerous? From what I was told the worst thing that could have happened, was I ending up married to Wolfram and Murata. Of course neither Shinou nor Murata bothered to tell me any of this till after we started cleaning up."
Conrad blinked then pulled back, "You mean you were told you about the switching ceremony, but no one never bothered to tell you the dangers or the side effects of such a ceremony?"
"No, no one said anything about side effects till after it was over and no one's ever said anything about any kind of danger."
Conrad sighed dropping his hands to his side, "Did Geika chant any sort of spell during the ceremony?"
Yuri thought for a moment, "Um, I don't know maybe, why is it important?"
"Did you see the circle that Wolfram stepped in light up at all?"
Yuri thought for a moment and then said "Yeah I think it did glow red faintly for a second when he first stepped in on a fork, but then I was so panicked at the time I didn't pay much attention."
"Panicked?" Conrad asked fearing the boy had been in danger.
But then was shocked when Yuri said, "Yeah after he stepped on the fork he was about to back away and not enter the circle. If he did that then I'd never get to kiss you again!" he let out a startled gasp and put his hands to his mouth blushing like mad at confession he just made.
Conrad was shocked at this confession.
Yuri then put his hands down and looked at them and continued, "Well I held up my lantern for him to see me and acted like I didn't know he was supposed to be there and called him. He was so angry that he ignored the rest of forks he was stepping on then he then stepped on the glass with the water in it and somehow tripped. I guess I didn't notice at the time but now that you mention it there was a very faint light but I'm not sure what color it was. When Murata helped Wolfram up, I thought it was a trick of the light when I saw a light green glow. Because by the time he got to his feet and stormed over to me he wasn't glowing at all."
Conrad sighed, "Yuri there are lots of different types of ceremonies. A lot of them are dangerous. But switching ceremonies are the most dangerous of them all! No matter how safe and simple it seems. It's a spell asking nature spirits to approve the switch and bless the new union. For it to have glowed red in the beginning means the spirits were angry and didn't approve of the switch but if it glowed yellow in middle means that they must have realized you were serious and resigned and accepted the ceremony. When you saw the green it means they have accepted the new union; however if they really had been opposed to the ceremony and never approved they could have attacked and you could have been seriously hurt."
"Wow, really? I didn't even notice the colors till you mentioned it."
Conrad sighed, "A lot of people either can't see the light or like you never paid much attention. Did Geika talk you into doing this ceremony?"
"Well, I don't know really about talking me into it. I mean really all he did was tell me about the switching ceremony. But when I told him I didn't know anyone who would be willing to take Wolfram on and he volunteered. I was shocked that he wanted to take Wolfram. I didn't even think he liked Wolfram like that, but who was I to argue. He was willing to take away the thing that was keeping us apart."
"Yuri…listen about that kiss..."
Yuri knew what he was going to say. 'That kiss meant nothing, you were only seeking comfort.' Or something to that effect, either way Yuri decided to show him that he was not just a little kid looking to his godfather for comfort. So he gathered all his courage and interrupted him by leaning up and kissing him, then pulled back blushing. He smiled and said, "Now you can comfort me on my not so broken heart over my broken engagement. Plus you can comfort and protect me when said ex-fiancé comes looking to kill me for accidently getting him married to someone else. Then you can take me on a date to help heal my not so broken heart while keeping me safe."
Conrad blinked, and then something Yozak had said hit him. "Has Bocchan ever asked Lord von Bielefeld to go on a date with him? Has anyone ever seen them kiss?" Now Yuri has kissed him twice and even asking him to take him on a date.
Yuri took his silence as a rejection. "Maybe we should get back to the castle, it's late."
Conrad shook his head, "Yes, of course." Then turned around and they started towards the castle.
Yuri couldn't believe this! Here he went through all of this to get rid of Wolfram and to hopefully get Conrad to agree to go out with him and he rejects him right off the bat before they ever did anything. After that first kiss Yuri was sure that Conrad liked him; even though he'd never been kissed before he could tell that Conrad was one hell of a kisser. Which is why Yuri was so confused as to why Conrad rejected him.
Conrad meanwhile was shocked, 'What do I do, now? It's not like I don't want to go out with him, but he's still so young and innocent; plus the fact that the 10 Nobles would never agree to our union.' Then he closed his eyes in a mental sigh, 'However I also know Yozak was right, Yuri is old enough to decide for himself and not even the 10 Nobles could stop him from doing what he wants with his life. I hate admitting that Yozak was right, but he was. Yuri is always looking at me. No matter the situation it's me he looks to and looks for. Perhaps I should set my pride aside and for once take what I want; instead of standing on the sidelines.'
Yuri had been a little hungry and was thinking of sneaking into the kitchen for a snack. After all he didn't more than a rice ball for lunch as they had been so busy. But now with what he perceived as rejection he lost his appetite.
After they got to the castle Conrad escorted Yuri to his room and though tempted chose not to kiss the boy and simply bid him goodnight. Though the boy had a smile on his face when he said goodnight Conrad couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. Then he started thinking, 'What could be wrong? He seemed so happy earlier. Could it be that perhaps when he said he wasn't upset over Wolfram's sudden marriage that it was all an act? Could Geika have somehow forced him into doing the switching ceremony? True Yuri has never shown a lot of interest in Wolfram in the same way he has me but perhaps I was right all along and he's just shy and the kisses really are a new way for him to try to seek comfort. '
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By the next morning the whole castle knew of Wolfram's broken engagement to Yuri and subsequent marriage to Murata. Greta took it the hardest believing that this now meant Wolfram was no longer her father. She went to his room to ask him and he refused to look at her saying yes, it was true he was no longer engaged to Yuri and that he couldn't be her father anymore. She was shocked she ran to her room crying. With all the excitement over this new development no one noticed she had failed to show up for breakfast, especially since Cheri was so ecstatic already setting up plans for a reception. Finally one of her sons was married. It mattered not to her that he refused to accept it. When she visited with him earlier he refused to talk about it and was even upset at her for wanting to do a party.
However Cheri wasn't one to let a little thing like her son being upset or upset with her to stop her. She set to work to making plans for a full out reception to celebrate his marriage. She was slightly disappointed that it didn't work out with Yuri but he was married to Murata and she was thrilled. She knew he would eventually learn to accept Murata as his husband. It would just take a lot of time.
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A/N: issm sorry but your email address didn't come through. This site doesn't allow it. I put mine in my profile if you're still interested in being editor.
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So guys who should ask Yuri why he was depressed? Conrad or Yozak?
