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Wolfram hated every inch of skin that the dress came into contact with. Grier hadn't told him where he had found the peasant garb for him and Yuuri to wear. Wolfram hadn't asked, but he had known.
It made it even harder to regret what he had done for Fernan.
Wolfram took a calming breath and focused on the warm place where Yuuri leaned against him, his head on Wolfram's shoulder. He was glad that Yuuri was able to get more rest. They hadn't gotten much sleep, and it was possible that he would have to use his magic before the day was out. Despite his husband's confidence, Wolfram understood the risks too well not to have his doubts. Wolfram pulled Yuuri closer against him. He wouldn't let that happen. For the first time, a small part of Wolfram hoped that Saralegui really was innocent in everything that had been done to him. Anything to spare his wimp. Anything to lessen the risk that either of their emotions- their magic- would act beyond their control
His moment of benevolence was brief and faded to hardly a memory as the carriage rolled through the outer city of Shou Shimeron. There was so much sickness here. Dirt and filth and decay. It was a smell that he would never be able to forget.
It was unforgivable for a king to do nothing when his people were suffering this much. Unforgivable.
On the other side of the carriage, Lucein had fallen asleep as well, curled up on his side. It was just the four of them now, including Marques. Weller and Grier had separated from them just outside of town to wait for dark.
As the carriage rolled between the uneven cobblestone of Shou Shimeron's streets Wolfram could feel the adrenaline stirring in his chest. The eager flutter of his heart. He felt naked without a sword. Sneaking any with them was out of the question as it would be sure to raise suspicion if discovered. The brothel didn't allow clients to bring their swords or any other weapons inside and required them to be left for safe keeping in a room near the brothel's main gate. The hope was that they could acquire swords there before making their way to the tunnel that Marques claimed would lead them under the innermost wall.
Of course, all of that was assuming that Marques was able to get them past the first wall.
From his place in the carriage Wolfram could only see the back of Marques's head, and even that was infuriating. Stupid Marques and his stupid somewhat-legitimate reasons for everything that he had done. It would have been less annoying if he was just an evil bastard. That way Wolfram could just hate him and be done with it.
It was mid-morning by the time the outer gate became visible over the tops of the city's dilapidated houses. There were more people on the streets the closer they got, but no one seemed to look at them as if anything was out of place. A family of stray cats peered down at the carriage as it passed and Wolfram thought about the little cat that he had given Greta. About how guilty he felt for leaving her alone again. Once all of this was over he would have to make it up to her.
The carriage slowed and Wolfram looked up to see that they had reached the line of people and carts waiting to be allowed access to the part of Shou Shimeron designated for use by the second class. There were three guards on duty. One standing to the right of the gate, one to interview and approve those who wanted to get through, and one dressed as a beggar, asking for coin or scraps of food from those in line.
Of the three, it was only the last that gave Wolfram any real concern. Given what Marques had said about Shou Shimeron's guard, Wolfram hadn't expected to see anything remotely clever. Perhaps the presence of human stones was not the sole reason they had lost so many spies to this city.
Wolfram gave Lucien a shove with his foot to wake him, careful not to move much himself lest he disturb the wimp. His corporal was awake at once, eyes a little too wide. It only took Lucien a moment to remember where he was, though, and he gave Wolfram a silent nod.
The carriage started and stopped a few more times before it was finally their turn.
"Lucien!"
Lucien's head jerked in the direction of the speaker, but it was Marques who answered. "Morning, Dale."
The guard who had spoken was tall and thin with a crooked nose. He smiled at Marques as he approached. "We missed you and Fernan last night at Carla's. Where were you?"
"We got caught up Outside during yesterday's patrol. Found these three in an old farmhouse down south a bit. Fernan will be along later with another boy."
Wolfram kept his eyes down and his expression neutral as Dale peered at them and clicked his tongue. "Typical Fernan. That boy must be something special if he left one this pretty behind." Dale grabbed Lucien by the chin to better examine his face and grinned before turning his attention on Wolfram and Yuuri. He nodded in greeting. "Ladies."
"They're for Astor, Dale." Marques turned to bat Dale's hand from Lucien's face. "Come by tomorrow, and you can spend your wages on them."
Dale made a disappointed noise but didn't try to touch Lucien again. "Astor really does have you whipped."
Marques laughed. "You're just jealous that she'll suck mine."
The guard over by the gate snickered and Dale's face went red, glaring at Marques as he waved them through.
It wasn't until they were past the gate completely that Wolfram let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
The city beyond the first wall looked eerily normal compared to the appalling conditions outside. The houses and streets they passed could have been from Caloria. There were fewer people on the streets, but those they passed looked clean and well fed, though they all seemed to be rushing and gave them a wide girth. Wolfram couldn't be sure, but it was possible it had something to do with Marques's standing as a guard.
Yuuri shifted against him and yawned.
"We're past the first wall," Wolfram whispered into his husband's hair. "Everything's gone well so far."
"That's good," Yuuri mumbled, before falling asleep again.
Wolfram couldn't help but smile. Somehow the wimp could manage to be cute in any situation.
Across from them, Lucien seemed to be focused on the back of Marques's head. Wolfram had been blissfully oblivious to the nature of their relationship before, but after Lucien's outburst the previous night it was impossible to ignore. He had known both of them for so long. Lucein had never seemed the sort that would fall for Marques, but then again, Wolfram had never really considered himself the sort that would give in to Marques's brand of persistence, either. Still, it made him angry to see Lucien so obviously hurt by Marques. Lucien was a good corporal. A good friend. Marques didn't deserve him.
It was another hour before they reached the brothel. The building itself wasn't much different from those surrounding it in terms of architecture, but it was substantially larger and closed off by a tall wrought iron gate. Marques halted their carriage and dismounted to ring a heavy looking bell on a poll nearby.
Yuuri jerked awake when the bell rang, and Wolfram squeezed him closer. "We've reached the brothel."
"Oh." Yuuri blinked, looking up at the building. "It looks nice... Much nicer than outside..."
Wolfram gave his husband another squeeze and watched as a young woman emerged from the brothel and headed toward them.
"Morning, Astor." Marques grinned, pressing his face into one of the empty spaces between the gate's poles like a child.
The woman scoffed. "What have I told you about interrupting my beauty sleep?"
"You don't need beauty sleep," Marques purred.
Astor shook her head, but it was hard to miss her blush. "What are you doing here, Lucien?" Sharp, blue eyes were already studying them, lingering on the real Lucien longer than she looked at Wolfram or Yuuri.
"I come bearing gifts."
"I can see that." Astor pursed her lips. "The girls I'll take, but why don't you take the boy with you back to the guard? He has good eyes. I'd feel safer with another guard worth something in this miserable place..."
"Oh take the boy too, Astor." Marques reached through the gate to pet her cheek. "Dale already wants to buy him for a night or three, and we both know Fernan will spend good coin on him. He'll make you a pretty penny. I'm sure of it."
Astor looked at Lucien for a long moment, then back at Marques. A sigh. "Fine."
Marques grinned and tugged her forward. Kissed her on the mouth between the bars of the gate.
Lucien colored and looked away.
X X X
Marques stayed with them at the brothel for the rest of the day, making advances on Astor in a manner that he probably thought was distracting, but it was difficult to watch. How could Marques act like that in front of Lucein? It was frustrating to keep silent, but Wolfram knew his voice would give them away if he even tried to say anything.
At least Astor had fed them. The stew was as good as Marques had promised and he watched protectively as the wimp dug into his second helping. Yuuri had been good about keeping their cover so far. Everything was going according to plan, but Wolfram could feel his heartbeat thrumming in his chest. Waiting for the moment he would have to spring into action and protect them all. He wished he had a sword! Wolfram could hardly wait until nightfall when the clientele would start to arrive. They had passed the place where the weapons were stored while the guards were enjoying themselves and Wolfram was already contemplating possible routes back.
About an hour before sundown, the brothel "employees" began to trickle in to join them in the dining area and it became even clearer that those who worked at Clara's enjoyed a nocturnal lifestyle. When a blond girl with hair as curly as his mother's -but only half as long- entered the dining room, Astor called her over to them.
"Ellie, dear, after you've had your breakfast will you take the girls upstairs for a bath?"
Ellie curtsied. "Of course, Miss."
Yuuri sent him a worried look and Wolfram found his husband's hand beneath the table.
"The boy as well," Astor added, and Wolfram let some of the tension go out of his shoulders. At least they would be together. But then Astor continued, "He'll be harmless. This one doesn't seem like the type to give girls any trouble."
Ellie giggled and nodded.
Marques gave Astor an odd look and she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, all the while giving Lucien a teasing look. "This one can hardly keep his eyes off of you."
Lucien turned a violent shade of red and studied his empty bowl.
Astor laughed. "Don't be like that, dear. There's no shame in it. Lucien has that effect on everyone."
"Flatterer." Marques grinned.
"You love it."
"Mmm..." Marques stretched. "True. But as much as I would love to stay here amongst my many admirers, needs must." He stood, but not before giving Astor a parting kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I take care of a few things."
Wolfram took another bite of his stew. Marques really was an accomplished liar. If Wolfram hadn't already known of their plan, he would never have suspected that by "things" Marques meant "sneak enemy soldiers past the gate." Still, with Marques gone, there was no one with any authority in this society to protect them. Here was where the real danger began.
Once Marques was gone, Astor sent them with Ellie upstairs to bathe. Until now, they had had Marques to speak for them, explaining that he and Lucien were brother and sister and that Yuuri had been found with them. Astor had seemed to believe their story easily enough, but Wolfram knew they couldn't rely on that bit of good fortune forever. At least acting meek and terrified lended itself to few words. It had been easy to cling to Yuuri and look at everything with wide eyes, but taking a bath...
Lucien and Ellie were walking ahead of them and Wolfram made sure to make note of all the turns and doorways that they passed.
"How old are you?" Ellie asked Lucien as they walked. "Did you live on a farm before the guard found you?"
"Yes," Lucien answered carefully. "A farm." Then he paused and Wolfram worried that he wasn't familiar enough with the way humans aged to give Ellie a believable answer.
"I don't know how old I am either," Ellie answered softly. "But I've been here with Astor for almost eight years." She looked back at the two of them. "You don't have to be afraid. It's good here. Astor feeds us well and proper and gets rid any clients who don't treat us right. It's much better than Outside."
Wolfram nodded at her and she gave him a smile in return.
"I'm Ellie, by the way. Please feel free to ask if there's anything that I can do to make you more comfortable. I know how hard making the transition can be."
"Thank you, Ellie. You have been most kind." Lucien glanced back at Wolfram for a moment before continuing, "You can call me Mark."
"A pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Jennifer," Yuuri added in a falsetto that would have made Grier proud. "And this is Cheri."
"A pleasure!" Ellie's smile was bright. "Ahh, here we are." She stopped at a set of double doors and pushed them open.
The bathroom was small, by palace standards, but much nicer than Wolfram had expected. The large room was covered in patterned white and blue tile and there were at least six tubs, each large enough for two.
"Normally we use the baths downstairs," Ellie explained. "But since you're fresh from Outside it goes without saying that you're over due for a pampering." She winked at them before walking over to turn the knobs on two of the tubs, pouring in some soap as they filled with steaming water. "I had never seen the like before I came here," she chattered. "This room is for clients most of the time, but it's my favorite place to come and relax when I can get away with it."
"Thank you for being so kind to us." Yuuri's voice cracked from the strain of being so high, but Ellie must have taken it for emotion because she rushed over to give him a hug.
"It's nothing, dear. I remember Outside. It's so much better here, you'll see."
Yuuri nodded.
"Now, go ahead and get washed, all of you." Ellie made her way to the door. "I'll be back in a minute with fresh towels and clothes."
None of them moved until Ellie closed the door behind her.
"What do we do?" Yuuri asked in a rush. "We can't take a bath!"
Wolfram walked over to the nearest tub. There were some bubbles covering the surface but not nearly enough. They could always try to find the passage on their own, but secret passages had a tendency to be difficult to find and slipping away now was certain to raise alarm. Wolfram picked up one of the soap bottles and upended it into the tub. To his relief the water became opaque and bubbles began to multiply under the faucet. He turned back to Yuuri and Lucien and smiled.
X X X
The gods really were on their side.
Somehow they had managed to bathe, dry, and dress without being discovered. The girl, Ellie, had made herself conveniently scarce throughout the entire process. She seemed to be treating them like trauma victims rather than future brothel employees. Her kind heart had saved them. Wolfram hoped that once all of this was over, Ellie could find a better place for herself in the world.
After their bath he and Yuuri and Lucien had been tucked away in one of the brothel's bedrooms. It was a small, windowless, room that was clearly not intended for use by clients and was oddly reminiscent of his soldier's quarters. Ellie had left them here an hour earlier and now there was nothing to keep them occupied but thoughts of how Marques was fairing on the second stage of their plan.
Yuuri was pacing. It was grating his nerves, seeing Yuuri walking back and fourth in their tiny room wearing a dress, and was a constant reminder that he was wearing a dress, too. At least this one didn't belong to Fernan's dead wife.
"Stop that," he snapped, when he couldn't take it anymore and Yuuri paused. Turned to face him.
"Well, I have to do something!"
"No, you don't." He held out a hand. "Come here."
Yuuri pouted but moved toward him. Wolfram was currently sitting in the small room's only chair, so Yuuri took a seat on the bed beside Lucien and sighed. "I can't believe they live like this... Ellie knows how bad it is out there. Others must too. How can they know what it's like and not do anything to stop it?"
"Others have probably tried," Lucien offered softly. "I doubt things went well for them."
Wolfram nodded. "It's possible." He reached out to rest a hand on Yuuri's shoulder. "But remember what their society teaches them. That those outside deserve the life that they are born into. That only the second class are worth enough to live inside the first set of walls. When you aren't the one suffering it is easy to ignore the suffering of others. To forget and go about your own life."
"But it's not right!" Yuuri's voice was pained. "It's not right."
"It isn't right," Wolfram agreed. "But it's the way things seem to be."
"Not anymore. Not another day longer. We'll stop this."
Wolfram squeezed his husband's shoulder.
Yuuri sighed and turned his cheek to rest his head on the back of Wolfram's hand. "You make it all sound so... clinical. Like it happened in a history book a long time ago not something that's going on right now."
Wolfram studied the floor. He had changed so much since he met Yuuri. Wolfram knew now that it was wrong to hate humans the way he had growing up. A misplaced hate that was only born of hurt... but it was part of why Yuuri had looked down on him when he had first come to this world. Why it had taken him so long to love Wolfram back. But everything about Shou Shimeron- Saralegui- made Wolfram miss the simplicity of that old hate.
"I suppose I do look at things like this the same way I look at the things I read in books," he said after a pause. "It makes it easier to focus on what needs to be done, rather than succumb to emotions. I can't afford to..." He took a breath. "Thinking about the solution rather than feeling anger. It was the sort of thing they tried to teach me when I was younger but... better late than never I suppose."
Yuuri's cheek was warm against his hand. Soft, as he nodded.
For a long time they had heard nothing besides their own voices, and so when a woman's laugh and heavy footsteps approached from the hallway outside all of them went tense. A man's voice joined the woman's. Paused outside their door.
"Astor will be so mad when she finds out," the woman giggled as the doorknob turned.
There was scuffling outside. A wet sound. "It will be fine, pet. I'll pay you both double for it."
More laughter as the door opened. The woman wasn't Ellie or anyone else that Wolfram could remember seeing before, but he recognized the tall, thin, man behind her.
Dale had his hand on the woman's shoulder. Her dress was rumpled and her bodice was only half-laced, revealing far too much cleavage and part of a nipple. The coal on her eyes was thick and her dark curls were tangled, falling half way down her back.
"What do you want?" Lucien stood. Put himself between Yuuri and Wolfram and their unwelcome guests. "We were told we would have the night to ourselves."
Dale's eyes fixed on Lucien and stayed there. "A night to yourselves indeed." He crossed the room in two long strides. Towering over Lucien. "And what better way to spend that time than with me, humm? I'll make sure you're begging me for more before the night is out, you'll see." Dale's grin was enough to turn Wolfram's stomach.
The girl by the door let out an excited squeal. "Ohh he is adorable, Dale. You simply have to let me watch."
Wolfram narrowed his eyes. There were only two of them. One man to three and a woman who seemed half-drunk. They wouldn't be too difficult to overpower. The question was would they be missed? And where could they be put once-
"Not here," Lucien's voice was soft. "If you want to... You'll leave my sister and Jennifer out of it." He looked up at Dale. "You'll have to take me somewhere else."
Dale cupped Lucien's cheek. Licked his lips.
"We can take him back to my room," the woman offered. Giggled.
Yuuri moved to stand, but Wolfram was faster, caught him in a hug that landed both of them on the bed. "Mark, you don't have to..." Wolfram hoped his voice was high enough and suitably muffled by the fabric of Yuuri's sleeve not to raise suspicion. That Yuuri would understand the meaning behind the hand that was pressed against his mouth and not say anything. Wolfram held tight to Yuuri and hoped that Dale and the woman would be distracted enough by Lucien not to question the strangeness of their action. Wolfram turned his head enough to see Lucien step away from Dale and come to sit beside them on the bed.
"Don't be scared. It will be all right. Just stay here and don't worry." He kissed Wolfram on the forehead first. Then he did the same to Yuuri, hands shaking. "I'll be fine, little sister. Just stay here and look after Jennifer. I'm sure someone will be here to take care of you if I'm not back soon." Then he stood and walked back to stand by Dale.
"Mark..." Yuuri's voice cracked. "Don't."
Lucien only shook his head. Gave Wolfram a lingering, hard, look over his shoulder as Dale led him from the room.
And just like that, Lucien was gone, the girl's laughter getting steadily fainter before it disappeared entirely.
Yuuri was still in shock. "We can't just let-"
"Yes we can. I don't like it either, but-"
"But that guy is going to-"
Wolfram held him closer. "I know. But Lucien made a choice. We could have overpowered both of them, but it also could have given us away. Lucien gave himself up for a reason. If we do anything now to try and save him, his sacrifice won't be worth anything."
Yuuri made an aggravated noise, punching the bed, and it was hard for Wolfram to keep himself from doing something similar.
As soldiers they had been trained to give themselves up for a mission, especially to protect the king. Lucien hadn't given himself up to death, but at the same time- Wolfram would never be able to forget the feeling of Marques's hands when he had been captured. What it felt like to be touched without wanting it.
Lucien didn't deserve to have to feel that way.
Wolfram swallowed and tried to remind himself that this was war. That Wolfram would have done the same, if it meant protecting Yuuri. "Lucien will make it through. He deserves for us to have faith in him."
"I hate it," Yuuri growled. "I hate it, I hate this!"
"I know." Wolfram held him close. Buried his face in the wimp's neck. His smell. "It will all be over soon, remember?"
It would be so easy to let the anger come. Take control. But Yuuri was warm and here and safe. And warm. And that was all that Wolfram could allow himself to think about. He couldn't think about the tingle of power. The heat that was ready, always ready beneath the surface to swallow him.
And so Wolfram held on to Yuuri. Held him until the rage stopped and the only thing in his mind was the sound of both their breathing.
Eventually Yuuri spoke. "I wonder what's taking Marques so long?"
Wolfram shook his head and only silence followed.
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Marques had to grin as he glanced around the final corner separating them from Clara's. So far all of his plans couldn't have gone better. No wonder Shinou had come to him when the world needed saving.
Clara's seemed to be as busy as it always was. The trick would be waiting for a gap between incoming patrons to slip inside. Then he could find a place to hide Weller and Grier for the time being while he found out where Astor had stored Lucien and the "girls". Once those three were safely to the tunnel's entrance, he could worry about getting Weller and Grier past everyone, using force if they had to.
They had been lucky with the guards at the gate. There had only been three on watch and two of them had gone down to Grier's potion-soaked cloth without so much as a peep. The third man had reached for his weapon before Marques had given a good thump on the head with the hilt of his sword.
It had actually taken them longer to travel through the second city on foot than it had to get past the gate. The longer they had walked, the more quiet and focused his companions had become, and Marques would have been a fool not to feel nervous turning his back to either of them. Weller in particular seemed to hold him in high disdain.
Some people could be so ungrateful.
Marques leaned out a little farther from his position and a sudden wave of pain and dizziness made him clutch the stones of the nearby wall for support. Once all of this was over he was never going anywhere near a human stone again even if Shinou himself got on his knees to suck his cock.
"I could really use a drink..." he muttered and raised his head.
"This isn't one of your usual visits to this establishment," Weller snapped at him. "Remember why we're here."
Marques rolled his eyes. "Oh yes! I had completely forgotten. Whatever would I do without you here to keep me on my toes, Sir Weller?"
Weller glared. "Your attitude isn't helping."
"Well it's helping me. Takes the edge off the sting. Something you wouldn't understand, halfblo-"
"Enough." Grier's voice held warning.
Marques pouted. Sighed. "Fine. Let's just get on with this."
It wasn't long until there was enough of a lull in business for Marques to escort his guests through the gate and into the entry room of Clara's. A door to the right led to the weapon's-check and after a quick look around Marques ushered the other two men inside. Even though Clara's was doing quite well, the number of clients was clearly not what it once had been and there were plenty of dark corners that were rarely used. They didn't even have anyone on guard.
Marques unclipped his sword from its harness. "Do you think the two of you can manage not to cause a fuss while I go and get the others?"
Grier snorted. "Just go. We'll manage just fine."
"If you insist," Marques purred, hanging his weapon on a nearby peg before making his way to the door.
Once he was outside the weapon's-check, Marques peeked out the main door. No one else seemed to be making their way toward Clara's. Weller and Grier should have plenty of time to find a dark corner and stay there.
Somewhat satisfied, Marques headed off in search of Astor.
The dining hall was full of noise. Some of the younger girls were playing stringed instruments and singing up above on a make-shift balcony to keep them out of grabbing reach while laughter and other sounds overlapped their music. Even though Astor liked to insist that anything worth paying for could only be practiced in her employee's private rooms, here was the place the working boys and girls had to entice their prospective clients, and they went to all sorts of interesting measures to do so. Luckily, Marques had been there enough times to know where Astor preferred to spend her time.
There was a small staircase toward the back of the dining hall that led to another balcony, this one higher and less obvious than the one the musicians made use of. Halfway up the stairs, he could smell the sticky sweet smoke of south-grass.
This would be easy.
Marques knocked when he reached the top of the stairs and Astor's lazy voice told him to enter.
"What's worried you, pet?" Marques sat on the edge of the chaise Astor was reclining on. Even in the relaxed position, Astor had a clear view of the majority of the dining hall. "You normally like to keep a clear head when you're working?"
Astor laughed and sucked in smoke from the long pipe that she held in practiced fingers. She waited a moment before exhaling and handing the pipe to him. "Oh, shut up."
Marques pouted and took the pipe, twirling it in his fingers rather than inhaling. "Humm? You still haven't answered."
She waved at him dismissively. "What are you doing here alone? You normally don't visit me without that troll Fernan."
"Do I need a reason to see you?" Marques caught her hand and pressed a kiss into her palm. "Though you have seen right through me, I'll admit. I'm worried about those three I brought in earlier."
Astor glared. "Do you think I can't take care of my own?"
"Of course not!" Marques sighed. "It's still new for me. All of this. I just wanted to see that they're all right."
Astor studied him for a long moment before shutting her eyes. "We need more guards like you, Lucien. No one cares about each other anymore." She pursed her lips.
Marques used the opportunity to steal a kiss. She tasted like south-grass and cherries.
"I keep all the new ones close. I put them three doors down from me." Her eyes were wide and relaxed. "No stealing from me, Lucien. Those girls- That boy- deserves a night of peace before the likes of you and Fernan paw him."
Marques gave her his best smile. "Of course." He handed her back the pipe.
Once he had closed the door behind him and walked partway down the stairs, Marques couldn't hold back his excitement any longer and he let out a little laugh just for himself. "The girls" and Lucien were only three doors down from Astor's private rooms. Only three doors down from the entrance to the tunnel that would take them into the very center of this city.
Marques was so pleased with himself, that he seemed to make it to Astor's room in record time. The hallway outside her door was close to silent, a stark contrast to the noise of the dining hall. Marques strolled down the hall and pressed his ear against the door in question and was somewhat disappointed to hear only silence. He knocked.
There was no answer.
Marques turned the knob slowly, for a moment doubting that he had come to the right room. He shouldn't have doubted himself, though, "the girls" were seated on the room's small bed, looking tense.
"What took you so long?" His Majesty's voice was sharp and full of concern. "If you had only come five minutes sooner than maybe... maybe..."
Marques frowned. "What do you mean?" His Majesty and Wolf were sitting on the bed but- "Where's Luke?"
"Dale took him," Wolf answered. "Lucien went with him to ensure we weren't discovered."
Marques realized he was holding the door frame for support, hand already aching from the force of his grip. Dale had taken Lucien. Dale was probably touching Lucien at this very moment. Marques could hardly breathe the tightness in his chest was so great. "Where?" he choked.
"He was with a girl," His Majesty explained. "Dale said they were taking Lucien back to the girl's room..."
Marques had to close his eyes. Take a deep breath to steady himself. He wasn't thinking clearly. Luke wasn't in any real danger. It was just fucking... Just fucking but...
Luke was his.
The thought of Dale touching Luke shouldn't be enough to cloud his judgment. But it was.
Marques couldn't- He had to stay focused. He had to remember what they had come here to accomplish. "I'll take the two of you to the tunnel first, then I'll get Luke... Then I'll go and retrieve Weller and Grier. We've just added an extra step. Everything should still be fine." He glanced back into the hallway to make sure it was still empty. "What are you waiting for? Let's go."
His Majesty and Wolf followed him in silence the short trip to Astor's door. Marques reached up, running his fingers along the top of the door's frame until he found what he was looking for. The key slid easily into the lock and turned and Marques let out a shaky sigh of relief. Now that one thing had gone terribly wrong, he couldn't help but expect it to be the beginning of some terrible wave of misfortune. He ushered them inside and closed the door. "The entrance to the tunnel is behind that tapestry," he explained in a rush. "Stay here until I bring the others, but if someone comes or it sounds like trouble, you'll have to go on ahead without us."
Marques turned, already wracking his mind for which of the girls Dale had seemed to favor in the past. He and Dale had never been close, and Marques had never thought it would be important to pay much attention to what he did. Stupid. Stupid.
"What did the girl look like?" he asked suddenly, raking a trembling hand through his hair. "You said Dale was taking Luke back to the girl's room."
"She had brown hair," His Majesty answered. "Dark, long hair and um..." He looked at Wolf. "Largish breasts?"
Wolf glared. "She also couldn't seem to stop herself from laughing."
"Right," Marques muttered to himself. "Elinor."
Marques turned and headed for the door, ignoring the argument that had sprung up behind him about breasts and the importance of noticing them.
Elinor was one of Clara's more popular girls, as well as a notorious gossip. Marques couldn't remember the location of her room though, which meant he would have to risk raising suspicion by asking someone.
How could Luke have just gone with Dale? Of course it made sense considering the circumstances but... but now everything was so complicated. His chest hurt and he couldn't seem to be able to make his palms stop sweating. Marques couldn't remember ever feeling this way before.
The bad feeling stayed with him as he asked one of the boys in the dining hall for the location of Elinor's room, and worsened as he barely kept himself from running there.
Once he reached her door, Marques didn't waste any time with knocking.
"Do you mind?" Elinor squawked. Marques couldn't even see her. All he could see was Dale on the bed. Luke beneath him.
"Yes," he hissed, crossing the room in long strides before kicking Dale as hard as he could- hard enough to send him sprawling from the bed. "I mind."
"What the fuck are you-" Dale started but never finished. Marques's hands were too tight around his throat. Dale's face was turning red. Redder.
"You'll kill him!" Elinor screeched. "Stop it!"
Dale was struggling violently beneath him. He was barely clothed. His pants were down around his ankles, hindering his movements to Marques's advantage.
Marques pressed his thumbs harder against Dale's throat. "Oh he should be so lucky," he panted, so full of rage that he could barely feel where Dale was hitting him, each blow not quite as hard as the last. "Don't worry Elinor. I won't kill him. But I will have to kill you if you don't stop screaming, love. Be a good girl and go find someone else to entertain tonight."
Elinor must have taken his words seriously because as she left she closed the door behind her.
Dale's face was turning purple. He stopped struggling.
A hand lightly touched his shoulder. "Marques... that's enough."
Marques shook his head. His face was wet. "He... he touched you."
"And so have you, if you recall."
"But that's different!" Marques's voice sounded like a sob. And then he wasn't choking Dale anymore, his arms were wrapped tightly around Lucien instead. "Luke..."
"What has gotten in to you," Lucien breathed. "I've never seen you like this?"
"He touched you," Marques said again, holding Lucien tighter.
"I'm okay. It's only... only sex, after all. I'm not hurt."
"I don't care!" Marques managed. "I mean, I care that you're alright. I'm so glad that you're not hurt... But he touched you."
Lucien let out an irritated sigh. "So what if he touched me Marques? You've 'touched' almost everyone you've ever met. What's so different about-"
"It's completely different!" he snapped. "It doesn't matter when I touch people. It doesn't mean anything. It never means anything!"
Lucien huffed and wiggled from his grasp. "So what's the problem? Come on, we need to-"
Marques grabbed Lucien's wrist. "It's not like that with you, though." It was so true. Touching Lucien was the only kind of touching that mattered. "Where? What did he do? Where did he touch you?"
"It's not important." Lucien sighed. He was wearing a shirt and pants but both were completely unbuttoned.
Marques stood, then pulled Lucien with him to sit on the bed. "It matters." He leaned in to kiss Lucien but the other boy turned his head away. Marques kissed his cheek, his neck, instead.
Lucien put his hands on Marques's shoulders but any attempt to push him away was half-hearted at best. "Damn it, Mark. You can't just keep... doing this."
"It's alright. We have time-"
"That's not what I mean." Lucien's voice was soft, heartbeat fast beneath Marques's tongue. "You kissed Astor in front of me- You've had sex with hundreds of people!"
Marques frowned between his attentions to Lucien's neck. "But none of that means anything." He pulled back to cup both of Lucien's cheeks with his hands. "You're the only one that means anything to me."
Lucien's laugh sounded like a sob. "I'll bet you say that to everyone."
Marques shook his head, then he leaned in to kiss Lucien. Soft. Slow.
One of them moaned. Marques had never felt so much. He never wanted it to stop. Lucien was so warm. So solid against him. All the pain faded away, replaced with the tingling anticipation for Lucien's next kiss. The soft nip against his bottom lip that made him shiver. Whimper. His heart was beating so fast. Marques opened his mouth wider and Lucien accepted the invitation. Tongues met. Wet. Hot. Sliding tentatively together. He never wanted it to stop.
Marques moaned when Lucien touched him. For so long it had only been mouths that touched. The press of his hands against Lucien's cheeks. But then Lucien's hands were running over his shoulders. His chest. And all at once, Marques realized that not only was he hard but he was close. So close from only a kiss. And so he kissed Lucien harder. It was the only thing he could do. He was afraid that if he moved at all this wonderful feeling would stop.
Lucien's hands trailed down. Over his stomach. Thighs. Marques knew he was the one making those high noises in the back of his throat, but it didn't matter because- there. Lucien was touching him. Hand over cloth. Cloth over hard eager flesh. Rubbing softly. So softly. But it was enough.
Marques gasped, breaking the kiss, resting his forehead against Lucein's as his cock pulsed. "Oh gods. Lucien. Oh..." He kissed swollen lips. "My Luke."
Lucien laughed. "That was fast."
Marques licked his lips, needing to taste Lucien on them. Lucien's lips were red. Swollen. His eyes were dark, but there was something there besides lust that made the hurt comeback. A mirrored hurt. Distrust. Fear. Marques didn't think he'd ever be able to forgive himself for making Lucien look at him like that.
Marques leaned forward to kiss Lucien again. He cared so much. It was strange. Surreal. Wonderfully painful. Marques didn't ever want it to stop.
"Stop." Lucien pulled away. Put his hands on top of Marques's and removed them from his face. "We don't have time for this."
"It's okay," his words came out too quickly, all in a rush. "Weller and Grier are in the weapons-check and 'the girls' are safe at the tunnel's entrance. We can take some time without the world coming to an end."
Lucien shook his head. He wouldn't meet Marques's eyes.
"I'm so sorry, Luke. That I let him touch you," Marques said without thinking. "I'm sorry."
"You don't understand, Marques. I don't think you ever will, but..." Lucien sighed. "Thank you for coming to my rescue. It's time to move on to the next stage of the-"
"No." Marques pounced. He didn't understand. One minute Lucien seemed to want him, and the next... Why was everything so complicated? Lucien was hard beneath him. Marques could feel him pressed against his thigh. He grinned. At least something seemed to make sense. "Where did he touch you, Luke?"
"Marques-"
"Did he hurt you? Did he fuck you?"
"Marques-"
"Did he kiss you?" Marques kissed Lucien's neck. "Did he kiss you here?"
"Marques..." Lucien's protest sounded like a plea. "No. He didn't."
Marques kissed his collar. Chest. Used a hand to spread the unbuttoned shirt to reveal a pale nipple. "Here?" Marques pressed his tongue against the nub. Suckled for just a moment before moving his mouth to Lucien's stomach. "Did he kiss you or did he just spread you and take you, the brute."
Lucien's answer was to arch against him. "Nothing like this. Nothing like you-"
Marques growled. "Of course not!" He tugged at Lucien's trousers to reveal his erection, pushed the fabric lower, low enough that he could spread Lucien's legs. Press two fingers into him. "But he did fuck you."
Lucien let out a noise of surprise. A groan when Marques twisted his fingers and pressed. "Yesss."
"But you didn't like it did you?" Marques lowered his mouth to the underside of Lucien's cock. Trailed his tongue lower. Nuzzled his sack before pulling one ball into his mouth and then the other. Sucking until Lucien squirmed. Gods he tasted good. "I'll make it go away, you'll see. I'll touch you until you don't even remember what he felt like."
Marques moved his mouth lower. Pressed his tongue into Lucien's hole again and again. Relieved that at least the bastard hadn't come in him. Not that he wouldn't have eagerly licked Lucien clean had it come to that.
He was so distracted by the act of devouring Lucien that he didn't know how much time went by until he was startled by the feel of Lucien's fingers in his hair. His broken voice, begging for more.
Marques used a thumb to pull Lucien further apart. Force his tongue further inside. Lucien made a delicious noise when Marques added a finger. Twisted. Pressed against his prostate with just enough force to tease. Marques didn't stop until Lucien was sobbing. Until his begging was incoherent, and Marques's jaw was sore and his tongue was exhausted. And then, he pulled away completely. Letting his breath ghost over the head of Lucien's dripping cock and nothing more.
"So pretty," He whispered, lips just brushing against the swollen head. "Perfect."
Lucien must have run out of patience because he used his grip on Marques's hair to push him down against his groin. Marques barely had time to kiss the skin against his lips before he felt Lucien's cock pulse against his cheek. A few pumps of come escaped before Marques was able to catch Lucien's twitching cock in his mouth. Swallow far too little before the pulses stopped and he had to soften his attentions on Lucien's over sensitive flesh.
He wanted to stay like this forever.
After a while Lucien spoke. "I think... I think I got some in your hair."
Marques laughed and moved up on the bed to cuddle Lucien. "I think I'll survive." Lucien felt so good in his arms. So warm. Even though Marques felt like he could easily go another round it was somehow so much better than simple sex just to hold Lucien in his arms.
And then suddenly Lucien went tense. "Marques..." He sat up- pushed Marques off of him. "Where's Dale?"
"What?" Marques blinked, looked, to see that Dale was in fact gone.
"When did he leave?" Lucien was already off the bed, tugging on his clothes. "How much did he hear? Shit."
Marques smiled. Lucien was adorable when he was frantic and prudish. "It's alright. Maybe he learned something that will make him better with the next one of Clara's boys he takes to bed."
Lucien gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not talking about that, Marques. He knows we're not who we say we are..."
Marques felt his mouth go dry.
"Weller and Grier are in the weapons-check and 'the girls' are safe at the tunnel's entrance."
"Fuck." Marques jumped from the bed. He grabbed Lucien's hand and pulled him toward the door.
The hallway outside was empty, but who knew how long it would be before Dale told someone. Before other guards or who knows who else would come for them.
"Fuck," Marques said again. "Alright. I'll take you to the tunnel. Dale probably doesn't even know what we were talking about. If anything, Weller and Grier are in trouble but not the others. I'll take you to the tunnel. You'll go on ahead with Wolf and His Majesty, and I'll go back to help Weller and Grier with any trouble that might have started."
"But-"
"-Come on!" He tugged Lucien down the hall. As they approached the dining hall Marques knew there was something wrong. The music had stopped. He paused. The hallway was lined with doors on one side and windows on the other. They were on the first floor. "This way." He opened one of the windows and looked around outside. Clear.
There was no way to get back to Astor's without crossing the dining hall. If they went outside they stood a chance of making it to Weller and Grier. To weapons.
Marques cursed again as he stepped out of the window and into the hedges surrounding Clara's. Hopefully Wolf and His Majesty would be able to manage without them for just a little while longer.
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It felt like Marques had been gone for hours.
Yuuri worried his lip and squeezed Wolfram's hand. They were sitting against the wall next to the tapestry, close enough that their sides were touching. Yuuri moved their joined hands into his lap.
"It just doesn't make any sense," Wolfram complained in a low voice. "Every other woman I know owns pants. What is wrong with this one?"
Yuuri stopped being anxious long enough to roll his eyes. "Maybe she doesn't like pants?"
Wolfram huffed. "Whether she likes them or not, pants are practical at times. For riding and... other things..."
"You're just cranky because you think you look like a girl," Yuuri teased. "You shouldn't be upset because you're so pretty."
"Wimp." Wolfram glared, his cheeks turning pink. "Looking like a woman is nothing to be ashamed of. Don't let Anissina hear you say things like that."
Yuuri chuckled, but he didn't argue. He had learned that sometimes when Wolfram changed the subject and called him a wimp it was as close to surrender as he was going to get. Still, Wolfram was adorable when he was pouting and Yuuri took a moment to simply look at him. Perfect profile outlined by the dim light of the room. Green eyes focused somewhere far away.
Looking at Wolfram was enough to calm his anxiety for few moments, but then the sound of pounding footsteps in the hallway outside pulled him abruptly away from his small moment of comfort.
Wolfram stood in a rush, pulling Yuuri up with him. They had discovered the door behind the tapestry earlier but since the narrow, winding, staircase that lay beyond was hardly the most comfortable place to rest, they had decided to wait for the others outside. As the footsteps approached, Wolfram slid behind the tapestry and opened the little door, ushering Yuuri inside before he followed. Wolfram had only just stilled the motion of the heavy cloth when what sounded like half a dozen footsteps entered the room.
Yuuri hoped that it was Marques, back with Lucien and the others, but somehow he knew it wasn't.
Wolfram seemed to know it too. He was still standing slightly in front of Yuuri, and even in the dim light filtering through the tightly woven tapestry separating them from the room outside, Yuuri could see how tense he was. Ready to act. The footsteps traveled around the room, some coming much too close to them for Yuuri's comfort. His heartbeat seemed so loud.
"It's clear," a man's voice said from outside the tapestry, and within moments all of the footsteps filtered out the door.
It was a long moment before Wolfram moved. "Something's gone wrong. They're looking for us," he whispered.
Yuuri swallowed. "What if they've got the others? We should go help them."
"No." Wolfram shook his head. "We have to trust them to be able to take care of themselves. Conrad and Yozak were in the weapons room, after all. Either one of them with a sword could take a dozen trained soldiers, not to mention a few human guards. They'll be fine."
Yuuri frowned. Wolfram was right. "In that case, the only thing we can do is move forward."
Wolfram looked at him for a moment before his lips curved into a small smile. "Right."
Yuuri hoped the dark would hide his blush. Even on the edge of so much risk, Wolfram's pride in him could make his stomach flutter.
By now, Yuuri's eyes had adjusted to the low light inside the stairwell. The downward spiral of steps was tight and narrow. He and Wolfram would have to travel down it one at a time. While they shuffled to allow Wolfram to close the door behind them, Yuuri took a few steps into the ever increasing darkness. Yuuri knew that Wolfram would want to go first, but there was only so much of Wolfram's over-protectiveness that he could put up with at a time. Besides, this way Yuuri could keep Wolfram from rushing ahead.
Behind him, Wolfram grumbled, but he didn't complain. Having the door shut plunged the stairwell into total darkness and Yuuri had to feel his way down slowly with his feet one step at a time, and later by running his hands along the bottom of the stairs above his head. As unnerving as the decent was, Yuuri managed not to trip except for once when Wolfram stepped on the back of his dress.
The stairs ended, and Yuuri paused when he stepped onto a new surface, letting out a small squeak of surprise when Wolfram stepped down on to him.
"No more stairs," Yuuri whispered. He took a few, shuffled, steps forward, one hand stretched out in front of him with the other trailing along the stone wall. Wolfram put a warm hand on his shoulder and followed. The floor beneath them felt like dirt, worn hard and smooth from use. He could hear Wolfram's steps behind him, his breath. The sound of his own heart pounding in his ears.
There was so much anxious energy built up inside him that Yuuri had to force himself to go slowly. There was no way of knowing which direction would go, if the floor would stop, or if there was someone or something waiting for them in the dark.
And yet, as Yuuri felt his way along the darkness, the dangers of the tunnel were not what what worried him most.
This was it. The actions they were about to take could lead to war. Lead him to having to hurt his friend, or worse, if it turned out that Sara really was behind all of the things that had been done to Wolfram. Yuuri had wanted so badly to believe that Sara was innocent. Innocent of everything but...
But whether he was being bullied by Reyes or anyone else, Sara was still king of this country. Yuuri had given Sara more than one opportunity to talk to him alone back when they were engaged and he hadn't taken any of them. Even if it meant that Reyes would try to hurt him, Sara had to know how much his people were suffering. If anything remotely similar was going on in Shin Makoku Yuuri would have done anything to put a stop to it, regardless of any personal consequence.
Seeing Shou Shimeron for himself had made it all so much more real. Yuuri thought he had gotten better at suppressing the Maou's urge for Justice over time, but this... Every moment tested his will. It had almost been too much, staying inside of Fernan's barn while Wolfram and the others went out to explore the town. Every time Yuuri heard their stories- thought about it- the power threatened to rise up and drown him.
It was why he hadn't had the strength to be upset at Wolfram for what he had done. For killing Fernan. Wolfram had only had Ethne inside of him for a short time... Yuuri knew that people had died because of the Maou's Justice. He didn't let himself think about it much but... he knew. He did everything he could to make up for it but he knew.
Yuuri swallowed thickly to rid himself of the sour taste rising in his throat.
Everything about this journey was making him sick. He remembered asking Gwendal if he could write a letter to Sara, back when they had told him that Sara had returned to Shou Shimeron. He remembered how frustrated he had felt when they didn't trust his judgment. How he had wanted to write Sara a letter anyway, but hadn't. Maybe they wouldn't be here if he had just been a better king? If he had taken the time to figure out politics before he had rushed off to see Wolfram. To propose again. And then there had been so much. Lesser Gael and the wedding. And by then Wolfram already had his heart set on... this.
Seeing Shou Shimeron without giving them the chance to hide their secrets. Seeing what Sara had let happen to his people. Knowing that human and half-blood troops were already in position to use force to overtake the city if he couldn't convince Sara to give up peacefully.
Yuuri would do all he could to keep it from coming to violence. He had promised Sara that he would protect him...
There was no way out of this without hurting someone and it was all his fault.
Somewhere up ahead, there was a light so dim that Yuuri had to blink a few times to make sure it was really there. Soon, he was close enough to see that the light was coming from the cracks between a door.
Wolfram must have seen it too because his grip on Yuuri's shoulder tightened. "Wait here while I take a look," he whispered.
Yuuri frowned, but allowed Wolfram to maneuver his way around him. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Wolfram had much more training at handling these sorts of things than he did, as annoying as it sometimes was, and that they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Yuuri watched in silence as Wolfram knelt to peek beneath the door, and then up along the edge before he carefully turned the knob. They both waited anxiously, but when nothing happened Wolfram slowly pulled the door open.
Just like in Astor's room, the door to the tunnel seemed to be hidden behind a large tapestry. Faint moonlight was creeping in through the thick fabric and Yuuri let out a shaking breath. Wolfram went through the whole process of peeking again, this time around the edges of the tapestry, before motioning Yuuri forward.
The room beyond the fabric was huge and completely still. After spending so much time in the darkness of the tunnel, Yuuri could see everything easily. Large stained-glass windows covered the walls, and the elaborately cut stone covering the ceiling made Yuuri feel like he had walked into a Gothic-style medieval church. Instead of pews, however, the room was filled with large wooden tables covered with stacks of books and parchments.
Wolfram walked into the room a bit and picked up one of the scrolls. The look on his face made Yuuri come closer so he could peer over his shoulder.
"What is it?" Yuuri whispered.
"Numbers." Wolfram frowned. "No words, only numbers."
Yuuri worried his lip. "But we already knew that, right? That Shou Shimeron's code was in numbers?"
"Coded letters are one thing," Wolfram answered, picking up a book and flipping through the pages. "Everything is in code. Why do they need to put everything in code?"
"Well it would limit literacy," Yuuri pondered aloud, his history lessons coming back to him. "In Japan the language had to be simplified... or really changed from being mostly Chinese letters before the average person was able to read."
Wolfram snorted. "I think we've seen enough to understand how these 'pure' see themselves in comparison with everyone else."
Yuuri sighed. "What now?"
Wolfram replaced the book and looked around. "Well, the only thing to do is move forward. Who knows how long we have until whoever frequents this place wakes up?"
"Right." Yuuri nodded, feeling uneasy. Wolfram had started walking toward the room's only door and so Yuuri followed. Even though wherever they were seemed empty, there was always the possibility that they were wrong.
The room's only door led to a hallway occupied by even more doors. Everything was lavishly decorated, and the air was fresh, though scented with the same type of perfume that was faint in the air of all the other castles Yuuri had been in. It was eerie, how silent and different everything here was from what he had seen of the other parts of Shou Shimeron.
Instead of opening any of the other doors, Wolfram led them down the hall until it ended at a larger version of the spiral stairs they had taken down into the tunnel. This time, however, the stairs went up. Wolfram looked back at him and Yuuri nodded in approval. Neither one of them knew what they were doing now, they just had to reassure each other and hope for the best.
The spiral stairs went up and up, punctuated by windows that gave them an even more complete view of the rings of Shou Shimeron's cities. The tower they were climing was one of two, separated by a large, empty, courtyard. It was at one of these windows that Wolfram paused, ducked, and pulled Yuuri down with him.
"There are guards on the other tower," he explained in a whisper.
Yuuri was so nervous that he laughed quietly. "Well, at least it's not a ghost town."
Wolfram gave him an odd look and they continued climbing, this time ducking whenever they came to a window rather than enjoying the view.
By the time they reached the top, both of them were breathing hard and Yuuri was sweating, though he couldn't tell if it was from nerves or exertion. After a short hallway, they came upon three doors, the middle one larger than the others. Again, Wolfram looked back at him.
Yuuri made an exasperated noise. "What are we even looking for?" he whispered. "I almost want someone to capture us so we can stop picking doors!"
"Wimp," Wolfram whispered back at him, before reaching out to grab his hand. "We need to know all we can before confronting... Sara. The longer we can keep things on our terms, the better."
Yuuri had to nod. "Fine. I guess we'll take the middle one, then."
Wolfram kept a hold of his hand as he pushed the door open, revealing a room even more piled with books than the one they had first discovered. They took a few steps in before-
"You're losing your touch," came a tired voice. "I heard you coming this time."
Yuuri didn't see the source of the voice right away, but finally he caught sight of a man bent over a pile of books in one of the corners. His back was to them.
They could just go. Walk back out the door and try another. Wolfram seemed to be in favor of that idea because he was slowly backing in that direction. Yuuri swallowed hard and hoped he was about to make the right decision.
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"Hello?"
Camilio jerked himself out of his chair and into reality at the unfamiliar voice. Two girls were standing by the door, but the voice he had heard had definitely been male. Camilio tried unsuccessfully to look at the girls while at the same time scan the room for whoever had spoken.
The blonde girl was trying to pull the one with dark hair out of the door, but the dark haired one wouldn't budge, eyes locked on Camilio.
"Hello?" Camilio stammered, answering the voice but looking at the girls. "Can I help you?"
"I hope so," the dark haired girl said. It was the same voice that Camilio had heard before. "Is it alright if we ask you some questions?"
Camilio laughed. The situation was just so absurd! "I must be dreaming..." he muttered and sat back down at his desk. The anxiety of trying to fix... well, what felt like anything and everything at once really must be getting to him. He must have fallen asleep, though what his subconscious intended by sending him a blonde girl and a boy in a dress he would be happy never to know. When was the last time he had had a proper sleep? Days? Camilio shook his head. It must have been the cheese he'd had with supper. Fingers was running out of-
"Are you alright?" the boy wearing a dress asked, stepping toward him.
"Oh." Camilio blinked. "You're still here."
The strangers looked at one another. "Um, yes, we're still here," the boy answered. "And you're not dreaming."
Camilio pressed his fingers against his temples and closed his eyes. When he opened them the two strangers were still there. "How did you even get in here? The God Tower is restricted... What do you want?"
"I was hoping you could explain a few things." The boy crossed the room and leaned against a nearby table, facing him. The girl followed close behind, arms crossed and looking like she would rather be anywhere else.
Really, the whole situation couldn't be any more absurd. "Alright," he managed. "What would you like me to explain?"
"Well..." The boy paused, then chuckled to himself. "I suppose I don't want to say 'take me to your leader' but, well, I was wondering if you could tell me who is in charge around here."
Camilio looked between the boy and girl. Were they really serious?
"Not who's supposed to be in charge," the boy continued. "You don't have to say Sara, the king, if it's not true, that is-"
The blond girl interrupted with a loud sigh. "Let's start simply. Who are you?"
Another boy in a dress? Camilio did his best not to appear as shocked as he felt. "I'm, uh, Camilio."
The blonde boy nodded. "Nice to meet you, Camilio. What is your position here?"
"Cleric." Camilio licked his lips. "I suppose you could say Head Cleric now."
"Why now?" The blond asked, coming to sit on a nearby chair.
"Well..." Camilio stopped. Pictured the blood on the polished tile floor. The faces of the men who had taught him, learned with him. "There is no one else," he breathed. He didn't realize how afraid he had been to say the words aloud. To bury the dead. Amidst all of his worries it was easier to pretend that outside these walls, things were as they once had been: good.
Camilio shook his head in shame. No, never good. Just a pretty dream forged from his own ignorance. "The others were... executed for treason."
The dark haired boy gasped. "But why?"
Camilio shook his head again, closed his eyes. Maybe this really was a dream. His mind finding new ways to replay the same information over and over in a new way. Maybe one that this time would help him make sense of it. Help him find a way out. "They wanted to send His Majesty's head to Shin Makoku. A desperate attempt to appease the mazoku. To prevent war."
Silence. So suddenly still that Camilio had to open his eyes. He was shocked to see so much pain reflected in dark eyes.
"But why," the dark haired boy whispered. "Why would anyone think that sending... sending something like that would prevent... We were never- I never would have allowed it to come to that. Sara must have known that!"
"Even if Saralegui knew it, given the circumstances he might have had a hard time of convincing anyone else," the blond spat.
Camilio had never heard the king's name spoken with such... lack of title. "Who are you?"
Neither of them answered his question, instead they continued speaking as if they hadn't heard him.
"But why would anyone think that sending me Sara's head would stop a war! What kind of a person sends someone a head?" The brunet was short of breath.
The blond moved closer to his companion and placed a hand on his shoulder. "In terms of a peace offering, it's not unheard of. Especially if the ones who proposed it knew that Saralegui was the one responsible-"
"-But what if they just wanted everyone to think Sara was responsible? What if they only wanted to put all the blame on him? If Sara was killed, there would be no one to tell us his side of it!"
A realization was slowly creeping in through the shock clouding Camilio's mind. One that made him slowly stand. Back away and scan the room for any possibility of escape.
The blond noticed his movement at once, freezing him in place with cold green eyes.
Camilio swallowed thickly. His knees began to shake. It couldn't be. It had to be a mistake. Mazoku couldn't possibly have gotten past the gates. The God Tower had Houseki built into the very walls. There was no way mazoku could have reached him here.
But this was no ordinary mazoku.
This was their king. The Maou who had single handedly opened up the ground and swallowed half of Shou Shimeron's army- three of his own brothers.
"Please." Camilio slid down the wall and onto his knees. "Don't kill me. Don't kill me I'll-"
"Stop that!" The Maou snapped, eyes wide.
Camilio covered his face with his arms and curled into himself. They were going to kill him. He would never see his wife and children again. They knew that he had recognized them and now they were going to kill him.
There was only the sound of his heart, of too quick breaths as Camilio waited for the blow to come. But instead he heard someone kneel beside him and gently place a hand on his back.
"I'm not going to hurt you. No one is. Please don't be scared." The Maou's voice was soft. Deceptivly earnest.
Or was it?
His Highness had said that the Maou would not bring war to them. The Maou was not the one that His Majesty feared.
Camilio dared to uncover his face, but he could not bring himself to look anywhere other than the floor before him. "What do you want?"
"Not to hurt anyone. Just to make things right." The Maou sighed. "So many people died because of the plague- because of the bread that Shou Shimeron was selling. So many other things... terrible things happened that led us here. We can't change what happened, no one can change the past but... We want to stop the bad things from happening. Stop the people from dying in your city. The people on the outskirts who are sick and confused... It's important that we know what happened here. Who made the decisions that led to all of this and why."
Camilio licked his lips and nodded. Maybe it was all some sort of mazoku magic, but the Maou's voice was seductively sincere. Camilio took a few deep breaths and tried to remind himself that he had wanted to do something to stop the horrors that he had witnessed long before this. To remind himself that he had known that things were wrong but that he had been too much of a coward to do anything about it before. It was possible that the Maou would kill him, yes, but even if he did... it was also possible that his children would someday live in a better world than Camilio had ever seen. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know." His own voice was soft in his ears. "Where would you like me to begin?"
The blond- the one that Camilio believed to be the Maou's husband- wasted no time in speaking. "Why did your fellows believe that sending us your king's head would stop a war? Was it because they believed his decisions had been wrong, or was it an attempt to shift the blame from their own misdeeds?"
"I can't be sure," Camilio managed. "The others didn't include me in their plans- which is why His Majesty chose to spare me."
The Maou's husband didn't seem to be pleased with his answer, but he accepted it. "Then let's start from the beginning. Why did you begin selling infected bread outside your borders?"
"Well... The Blessing was in particular abundance that harvest, it's true, but... His Majesty wished to accelerate the natural process of selection by the gods..." Camilio took a shaking breath. He was already guilty of treachery, there was no point in holding anything back. "Our army had just been destroyed... It was only a matter of time before our nation was overthrown. His Majesty believed that Shin Makoku was sure to attack and so the only way to rebuild our population of soldiers- of second class- was to accelerate the selection. To further ensure our country's protection His Majesty went to Shin Makoku himself to attempt an alliance through marriage..."
"But," the Maou started, "that doesn't really make sense. For one thing we would never have just invaded Shou Shimeron for no reason, but more importantly, why worry about raising an army of second class if Sara thought that I would marry him and create an alliance?"
"Well there was always a chance that you would refuse him," said the Maou's husband. "Or, given the human's apparent ignorance of your wimpy nature they could have also considered the possibility that you would simply kill him."
"But that's stupid!" the Maou growled, "I've done so much to stop that kind of thinking... Caloria is one of our best allies and Frankshire-"
"Two human nations is far from all. Subaralia has always been apprehensive and if we hadn't adopted Greta they might not even be that. Shimeron still tells its people we serve you human children for meals. It isn't so unthinkable that Shou Shimeron decided to have a back up plan. What is, however, is their timing. Why initiate the more provocative tactic first? There were reports of the plague before Saralegui turned up."
"You're right. I haven't been able to find the logic in it myself." Camilio shook his head. "At the time, the Council of Clerics was so convinced of the threat that they agreed to anything His Majesty ordered without much protest."
"So everything really was Sara's orders..." The Maou's voice was so soft. So sad. "Sara really was behind the plague. All those people dying."
Camilio worried his lip. "You musn't be too hard on His Majesty." His Majesty is very sick. His Guard refused to see it but the truth was there. "We all knew..." he whispered. Camilio buried his face in his palms.
Everything.
Everything he had believed for his entire life was falling apart around him.
What a fool he had been.
Looking back, Camilio could see so many times where he could have- should have questioned. The times that he had witnessed the suffering of the third class with his own eyes. The times that he had preached to those who suffered most. The clerics were supposed to help them, and yet- what help were mere words in the face of such horrors? Through his readings, Camilio had learned that it had not always been like this. That before "the blessing", the god's gift was called "black sorrow". The black sorrow that was wept from the grieving soil through the eyes of rye. In the days of old, the Heroes had come to the aide of the people. Helped those who were not chosen to live in some manner of comfort.
But all of that was before the walls had gone up. Before the Pure had forgotten the face of suffering and the second class had learned to look away.
The gods had offered them such gifts; the potential for unrivaled mathematical talent and pure eyes through which to see the world, but the people of Shou Shimeron had proven themselves unworthy.
It was only fitting that fate would send the Maou here to wreak his Justice on them all.
The Maou was here to seek their king and put an end to them and yet... Camilio could not help but see himself as more to blame than their boy king.
"That boy was broken long ago..."
In Camilio's mind, Fingers spoke with the voice of one of his teachers. A man's voice, but one that was aged and wise.
It was one of the first things that she had told him once she knew that Camilio had finally deciphered her code, her tapping, for what it really was. Words. Letters like numbers that spoke for her.
Camilio had asked her what had happened to her, who had taken her tongue and fingers, and she had looked at him with hard eyes for many minutes before she told him.
Years ago Fingers had worked as the Queen's maidservant. She had been favored among the royal family and privy to many a conversation that required great secrecy. Of course, Camilio had suspected it had been something like that. What he hadn't expected, was to hear of the late Queen's decent into madness. That the Queen had killed her husband in front of their young son and bathed in his blood in a misguided attempt to salvage her youth. Old magic. Old superstition that never would have succeeded. The Queen had brought his Majesty into the tub with her and must have tried to drain his blood as well given the cuts he had sustained, but even at such a young age, the boy must have struggled for his own life. Or at least, that was what Fingers had deduced when she found him. From the few words the young king had managed through his tears as they had pulled him from the tub of his parent's blood.
It was hardly a wonder that the boy king had succumbed to the traumas of his youth. To madness.
Camilio had no such excuse for allowing things to become as the were.
A hand touched his shoulder and Camilio gave a startled shout, blinking as he removed his hands from his face and was swept up again in the reality of his current predicament.
"Will you take us to him? To Sara?" The Maou's eyes were sad, but fierce with the kind of determination that only the young possess.
"Yes," Camilio answered, feeling numb. "I will."
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Even as Camilio led them down the tower's winding steps, Yuuri knew that some small part of him still refused to believe that everything that had happened here was Sara's fault. Even though Camilio spoke and acted with so much guilt, his obvious remorse made it difficult to place any blame on him either. Camilio was willing to help them despite the dangers of doing so. Camilio wasn't the one who had come to him in Shin Makou- claimed to seek his help.
The power inside him boiled. Rippled beneath his skin and cried for Justice. Swirled in eager rage to deliver the punishment that was deserved.
But not yet.
They didn't know everything yet. Yuuri was able to still the need inside him with that knowledge for now, but he feared it wouldn't last.
Yuuri reached out to take his husband's hand, seeking comfort in the solid presence beside him. Wolfram seemed more determined than angry, looking back at him with protective, almost pitying, eyes. Yuuri wondered if he really was as stupid as everyone thought he was. Wolfram has come to terms with the idea of Sara's guilt long before, and so it was no wonder he didn't seem shocked, but at the same time there had been so many instances where it had been everyone else who had been wrong. Hubert, Greta, and even Conrad when Shinou had ordered him to defect to Shou Shimeron. Was it really so wrong to see the best in everyone? The potential for good before the bad?
Still, he couldn't allow himself to forget how many innocent people had died from Shou Shimeron's "plague". Was it right to let whoever was responsible go unpunished for their suffering? Was it right to punish Sara, like the Justice inside him wanted, when punishing wouldn't change the past- would only hurt another person, or worse.
Yuuri squeezed Wolfram's hand tighter. The plague was only one thing, as terrible as it was. As angry as it made him, Yuuri was still able to think clearly- To hold back the rage and think of all the ways that Sara could help his people. Be put to good use.
He wasn't so reasonable when Yuuri remembered what had been done to Wolfram. If Sara was truly behind that...
Wolfram had been so hurt. So hurt. Wolfram had almost died in a way so terrible Yuuri could never have imagined it. Yuuri had to close his eyes to block out the image of Wolfram, jaw broken, everything so broken in his brother's arms.
If Sara was behind that- admitted it- Yuuri didn't know if he would be able to keep himself from killing him. Didn't know if he would want to.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs Camilio led them out of the tower and across the courtyard in the direction of the second tower. Any guards they passed gave them curious looks, but made no move to hinder them once Camilio ordered them aside. From the corner of his eyes, Yuuri could see Wolfram sneaking glances in his direction between his wary looks at everything else. Yuuri gave the hand he still held what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
The farther they journeyed into the second tower the stranger it was that no one seemed to stop them- or even question the actions of their guide. Yuuri was sure that if Ulrike or even Murata turned up with complete stranger the guards in Shin Makoku would have done something more than nod them on their way. Wolfram must have thought so too because as soon as they entered a deserted corridor he questioned their guide.
Camilio stammered his answer in a soft voice. "I've been helping the head of His Majesty's guard. His Majesty is- has- not been well and it would not do for the people to know as he has yet to name a successor... Things are delicate at the moment and we had hoped to avoid an uproar."
"What's wrong with him?" Yuuri asked.
"His Majesty had been... consuming too much of the blessing. A common ailment among the pure but not for such a prolonged period... These last few days, he has been much better, thanks to the efforts of Reyes and myself. In order to frequent the tower as much as became necessary in recent weeks, Reyes raised my status." Camilio licked his lips before continuing. "His Majesty does not know the extent of my privileges. Paranoia is one of the side effects of overuse and we feared how he might react to any changes made without his approval."
Wolfram frowned. "Why would Saralegui be using so much of the stuff when the situation was so 'delicate' to begin with?"
"There is some difference of opinion as to whether overuse is even possible. It is the god's gift to us, after all, and the Pure are the most worthy of the gift." Camilio shook his head. "The visions it brings are thought by some to be prophetic, and the ways it changes the mind are thought to bring the pure closer to the heightened awareness only known to the gods. His Majesty was distraught... and it is likely His Majesty hoped to see some solution to his woes that had thus far alluded him."
"That's no excuse," Wolfram huffed.
Yuuri worried his lip. Why hadn't Sara just written to him? Tried to talk to him? Asked for help? Murata had said that the "plague" was caused by chemicals very close to the Earth drug LSD... He couldn't imagine someone being under the effects of a drug like that for weeks.
They followed Camilio for a while longer in silence before they reached a new set of spiral stairs.
"His Majesty's chambers are at the top of the tower," Camilio explained, before leading them up.
Yuuri knew that he should be paying more attention to his surroundings, but he was too occupied with his thoughts. With wondering what he would say to Sara when he finally saw him again. He was short of breath and slightly dizzy by the time they reached the top, and Yuuri was suddenly thankful that Shinou had decided to limit the amount of spiral staircases in Blood Pledge Castle to a more reasonable number. Even though this tower was much thicker than the one where they had found Camilio the circle of the climb had seemed even tighter. Camilio led them down a lavishly decorated hall before knocking on a pair of ornate doors.
After an uncomfortable pause, Reyes swung the door open, hair loose and wild and decidedly on edge about such a late-night visit. He took them in with hard eyes, unmoving and silent before inclining his head in greeting.
"Your Majesties, forgive us for not preparing for your arrival in a more befitting manner. Had we known you were coming-"
"You would have greeted us with more swords," Wolfram finished for him, voice clipped.
"Wolf," Yuuri warned, then looked up at Reyes. "I need to talk to Sara. I need him to explain what happened... And talk about what we can do to make things better here. For everyone."
The guard's knuckles were white where he griped the edge of the door, covering the opening into the darkness beyond as much as he could with his body. "Of course. But I am sure His Majesty would greatly appreciate some time to prepare for a meeting with such esteemed guests."
Wolfram opened his mouth to refuse but this time Yuuri spoke first. "Five minutes," he licked his lips, tried to sound as intimidating and kingly as he could. "Five minutes and know we'll find you if you try to run."
"You are too kind," Reyes inclined his head a second time. "The cleric will bring you to the meeting hall where His Majesty and I will meet your shortly." No one made a move to stop him as he shut the door.
Yuuri turned his kingly-look on Camilio and nodded. Wolfram looked less than thrilled about his decision but seemed to accept it, falling in step beside him as they followed Camilio back down the hall toward the meeting hall.
The meeting hall was similar to the one at Blood Pledge Castle, though somewhat smaller. Large windows, this time filled with clear glass instead of stained, covered both sides of the hall. There was an ornate throne against the wall farthest from them, but other than that, there were no seats to be found.
Wolfram crossed his arms as he studied the room, obviously using great restraint to hold his tongue. Yuuri did his best to send him comforting glances, but it was difficult with all the thoughts spinning around his mind. Surely Sara would feel more comfortable talking to them about possible solutions here than if they had stormed his bedroom in the middle of the night. Pajamas really weren't the best clothes for confidence building after all and-
"Yuuri," Wolfram whispered, making Yuuri step closer to him to hear. "Don't... don't let me destroy the world, alright?"
Yuuri gripped his hand again. "I won't." The idea of Wolfram destroying the world seemed so outrageous sometimes that it was hard to take it seriously. But Yuuri supposed that everything about their current situation was a little bit outrageous. At least reassuring Wolfram-being reassured himself- was something he could take comfort in. "But you have to keep me from... killing anyone."
Wolfram nodded, worry still clear on chiseled features. It was so hard not to kiss him. "I can't believe we're doing this... dressed like this," he muttered.
Yuuri laughed, voice echoing uncomfortably in the large hall. "Maybe it will make us seem less threatening?"
Wolfram raised an eyebrow at him before shaking his head.
After that, some of the tension and dread went out of his mood and Yuuri was content to watch the doors in silence, eager for Sara to arrive so that they could put all of this behind them. He wasn't expecting the sound that came from the opposite end of the hall.
He and Wolfram both spun to face the unexpected sound. Sara and Reyes had entered the hall, but through a hidden door somewhere behind the room's solitary throne. Sara was wearing white robes that trailed the ground behind him and his hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail making him look more androgynous than ever. Reyes was as dark as his king was light and he had taken the time to rearrange his hair into the familiar braid. Both of them looked different. Older than they had been during their time in Shin Makoku. Worn.
Yuuri swallowed the urge to apologize for bothering them in the middle of the night. Instead he stood up straighter and walked closer to them, pausing only when he was a few dozen paces before the throne where Sara now sat. Until he was close enough that he wouldn't have to yell to be heard.
Wolfram followed at his side and even though they were no longer holding hands Yuuri could feel the heat radiating from him all down the left side of his body. Camilio followed them, too, but he held back several paces behind.
Reyes looked uncomfortable at their approach and made no attempt to hide the contempt twisting his features. Yuuri focused on Sara instead, pale eyes that almost looked through him, rather than at him. "Have you come to punish me?" Sara's voice was soft, he leaned forward in his chair and licked his lips. "I do so love a good punishment this time of night."
Wolfram growled.
"Stop it, Sara," Yuuri snapped before Wolfram had a chance to. "It's time to be serious!"
Pale eyes went cold. "It is, indeed." Then he stood, keeping one delicate hand on the high back of his throne. "It is time to be quite serious, dear Yuuri." A soft, small, smile spread across thin lips. "If you take my kingdom away I'll take your daughter. It's as simple as that."
"What?" Yuuri blinked, incredulous, at the same time Wolfram ground out the same word.
"It's simple really," Sara continued, seemingly oblivious to the obvious threat in Wolfram's voice. "I've given my man very detailed instructions, you see. If any word comes that Shou Shimeron has fallen he is to kill Greta. Something that should be easy for him to do given how obviously taken the little beast is by his son-"
"No." Wolfram's voice was terrible. Dark and hot and Yuuri could feel his power swelling in the room.
Sara only smiled, shaking his finger at Wolfram as if he was merely a naughty pet. "Kill me and you kill her. We wouldn't want that, would we, Sir Belefield? I'm sure any orders you send would arrive quite after the news of Shou Shimeron's fall. Gossip flies on the fastest wings, I've found-"
"Stop this!" Yuuri had somehow managed to find his voice. "You don't want to do this! Sara, why- We came here to talk-"
"Talk?" Sara mimicked in a shrill voice, eyes wild. "You came here without notice! You never would have come alone- The Lion of Ruttenburg is here somewhere and more I'm sure of it! Don't lie to me, Yuuri."
"I'm not lying!" Yuuri insisted. "I've never lied to you! We didn't come alone, that's true, but we're not here to hurt you! We're here to help you! Help everyone here that's suffering! You have to know that what you're doing to everyone is wrong! That it's hurting people- your people- But you can change all of that! We can stop the infection from spreading in the crops- take care of people who are sick! You can help us with all of that!"
"Help you?" Sara seethed. "Help you destroy everything the gods have given us- You may have power, Yuuri, but you are not god. It is not for you to decide who lives and who dies-"
Yuuri could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Of course I'm not! I'm not and neither are you-"
"The gods sent the blessing! The gods choose who lives and who dies, who is sick and who is blessed! It is not for you to come and save those that the gods have damned!"
"Madness," Wolfram hissed, voice low and deadly. "We came here to offer you peace and instead you threaten us. Threaten Greta?"
Yuuri tore his eyes from Sara to look at Wolfram, the heat shimmering the air around him. The gold creeping into his eyes.
"Wolfram stop it. We'll find a way to settle this. Don't do anything you don't want to do." Golden eyes focused on him, flickering into green. The silence rang in his ears as Yuuri watched the power collapse back in on itself, leaving Wolfram shaking and out of breath.
"Your Majesty they truly did come to help," Camilio spoke, soft yet sure. "If you cooperate with them-"
"Silence the traitor!" Sara raged, and before Yuuri could blink the same flash of sharp- the same whistle to the air before the little girl from Lesser Gael had fallen during her dance- Camilio cried out- gripping his face as blood slid between his fingers- dripping onto his robes. The cleric stumbled to his knees, curling into himself to nurse his wounded face.
The room had gone still. Reyes could hit either of them- possibly before even magic could react- but instead of ordering his guard further, Sara was looking at him in shock. Pale face gone white. "Take them to the holding room. All of them. Take them and give them time to think about 'cooperating'. To think about saving their princess. Now!" He backed away from them- sat in his chair curled up like a scared child. "Now!" He shouted again, eyes darting rapidly between them.
Yuuri took Wolfram's hand, even though it was almost hot enough to burn. "We'll take time to think. To calm down." He looked at Wolfram's face until angry eyes met his and softened. "Okay?"
Wolfram nodded. Muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching with restraint. He gave Sara one long, deadly, look before turning away.
Yuuri couldn't believe it. Everything had happened so fast... Why had Sara said all those things? What did he mean by them...
Greta.
They were trapped. There was nothing they could do... He had to think of a way to make Sara see reason. He had to.
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Wolfram seethed in silence as Reyes led them toward the holding room. Yuuri was in step beside him though both of them were too lost in their own dark thoughts to be much comfort to the other. The cleric shuffled along behind them, sniffling and dripping blood onto the mosaic tile floor.
"If you take my kingdom away I'll take your daughter. It's as simple as that."
How could he have let this happen? Why hadn't he seen it before? The stable boy and his father both wore fucking braids. If anything happened to Greta he would torture them until they begged for death.
Like he had...
Yuuri's hand was on his shoulder. Shaking him. Eyes full of worry and just a hint of fear. They had reached the holding room. Wolfram ground his teeth and glared at Reyes before he stepped beyond the threshold, knowing full well that "holding room" was merely the royal version of a dungeon. At least they hadn't had to climb any more stairs.
The holding room was small and had clearly fallen into disuse. White cloth covered most of the furniture and the air was stale and thick with dust. Yuuri and the cleric followed him inside and Reyes gave them a parting nod before the door closed firmly behind them, followed by the heavy sound of a lock sliding into place.
Wolfram was so angry he could barely see or hear or think.
Greta.
That bastard had threatened Greta.
Worse... The fool could have already killed her.
Wolfram kicked what must have been a table hard enough to send it screeching across the floor. The wood hit the stone wall with a loud CRACK and the table-shape beneath the cloth collapsed as it burst into flame. Such a satisfying crackle of sound. The perfume of smoke- Destruction-
Yuuri's shout was somehow enough to bring him back to the moment and he jumped into action, helping the wimp smother the small fire with some excess fabric that was covering a nearby chair. They were both coughing by the time the fire was out and the cleric looked more terrified of him than ever, huddled and bleeding as he was in the far corner of the room.
Once he stopped coughing, Wolfram managed a muffled apology and busied himself with opening the room's single small window to let out the excess smoke. He could hear Yuuri murmuring behind him, doing his best to deal with the traumatized cleric. Once the window was open, Wolfram made his way over to where Yuuri was examining the cut on the cleric's face.
"It doesn't look so bad," Yuuri was saying, "It's really not deep."
Upon closer inspection, Wolfram could see that Yuuri wasn't just trying to reassure the man. It really was just a superficial cut, though it traveled diagonally across his face from his temple down over his nose and cheek. "You'll be fine," Wolfram did his best to sound like he cared. "It will be a trophy of a scar."
"My wife will love it..." The cleric's face was so pale next to the blood clotting on his skin and his eyes were wide and unfocused. Poor fool was in shock.
Wolfram growled and gave the man a shake. "Stop that! Focus! It's just a cut. You're not dying."
Yuuri gave him an accusatory look. "There's no reason to be mean!"
"Well he needs to calm down and breathe," Wolfram snapped. "It will take him longer to recover if he doesn't!"
"Fine." Yuuri sighed. "I just wish we had some water. A damp cloth would be better at getting the blood off.."
Wolfram stood. Almost stopped breathing.
Could it really be that simple?
"Water," he breathed, looking around the room, "We need some water!" He was shouting now, rushing around like a fool.
Yuuri stood, watching with confusion as Wolfram searched the room. "What? Wolfram, what-"
"Water!" Wolfram said again, he didn't have time to explain more now he just had to find water. Water meant that there was still hope! A few more seconds and there it was, a pool on the ledge- just some collected rain water but it should be enough- "Water, Yuuri!" He rushed over, grinning madly as he put both his hands on the wimp's shoulders. "We can save Greta! It's our best shot-"
"Explain! Wolfram, I still don't know what you're talking about!"
Wolfram shook his husband. They didn't have time for this! They had to leave now! "Don't you see! Greta is already in danger- There could already be rumors at the palace about what we're up to- Whether Shou Shimeron actually falls or not if rumor travels to that stable keep- She plays in the stables all the time! It's too dangerous! But you- You can travel though the water! You've been better at controlling it- taking your family back and fourth- you can hold time here and go to Earth before going back to Shinou's Temple!"
"What?" Yuuri sputtered. "But- But what if I make a mistake-"
"-I trust you- I know you can do it!"
Yuuri shook his head. "I won't leave you here."
Wolfram could have screamed. "I can take care of myself! But Greta... she's still just a little girl! She can't-"
"I know! You think I don't want to protect her as much as you?"
"Then go!" Wolfram pulled the wimp into a hug. "Go and take care of Greta. Make sure she's alright." He pressed his lips against dark hair. "I can take care of Saralegui and all of this. You're the only one who can make sure that nothing happens to Greta."
Yuuri was silent for long seconds. "No," His voice was hard. Firm. "I'm not leaving without you. If I- If we go, we go together. Conrad and ... and the others can deal with... If Sara wouldn't listen to me... He won't listen to anyone. We have to do what we have to do to take care of his kingdom. To save all the people we possibly can, but you and I don't need to be there for that. What we need to do is take care of Greta."
Wolfram pulled away, cupped his husband's- his king's- cheeks with both hands. "Can you do it though? It takes more power to take other people. I don't want to be the reason we don't get there in time-"
"I don't have a choice. I have to." Yuuri kissed him. Unexpected and fierce and desperate. "I want to be here... but... You're right. It's the only way to make sure we get back to Shin Makoku in time to save Greta. We have to trust the others to take care of Shou Shimeron."
Wolfram rested his forehead against Yuuri's. An hour ago, he couldn't think about anything other than punishing Saralegui for all that he had done but now- Now nothing mattered except saving their daughter.
"What about Conrad? I don't want them to kill Sara if it can be avoided but if we're missing- If Conrad or Yozak or anyone thinks Saralegui killed us they'll-"
"You're right," Wolfram interrupted. Then he turned to face the Cleric who was looking at them with wide eyes. "You'll tell them where we went."
"But where are you going?" The cleric asked. "There's no way out."
"He can't tell them!" Yuuri said suddenly. "If we leave him... If we escape and leave him, what will happen to Camilio?"
The cleric stood slowly, and when he spoke his voice was oddly calm. "Don't worry about me. Whether you escape or not I doubt my fate will change. I'd prefer to help- If I can."
Wolfram nodded, and after a moment Yuuri nodded too.
"I'm sure you'll be alright," Yuuri said. "When Conrad comes- He'll be the angry one with brown hair and a sword- Tell him... Tell him we went to Earth, and we'll see him when he gets home. Tell him that we went because we had to save Greta. Oh! And tell him... 'Red Socks' so that he knows we're friends."
"Red socks?" The cleric repeated and Wolfram couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the last request.
Yuuri nodded and thanked the cleric again before he walked with Wolfram over to the window.
"I almost forgot," Wolfram murmured, looking out over the sleeping city, the moonlight shining on stone walls and distant fields. He raised a hand to focus his power- the rush and relief. "I promised I'd set the signal."
The fire was small. A distant firefly on the horizon. Wolfram regretted that he wouldn't be here to see the whole wretched, contaminated, fields burn to the ground.
"Ready?" he asked, looked at Yuuri with all the hope he could feel. This had to work. It had to.
Yuuri answered with a nod. "Ready."
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