I'm shocked. I knew that His Eminence had feelings for me, but I didn't think that he was serious. He pulls me flush against his side. I stiffen and look to see that Yuuri is gaping at the spork and knife on the floor.

I glare at His Eminence. "Why are you doing this?"

He looks at me with a serious expression. "Isn't it obvious?" He asks, taking ahold of my chin. His eyes soften behind his glasses. "I love you."

I scoff. "You must be joking."

His eyebrows knit together and he tilts my head up. I grit my teeth. "On the contrary, I'm quite serious. Would you like me to show you just how serious I am?" His face comes closer to mine. I gasp once I realize that he's going to kiss me. I turn my head away, attempting to push him off me, but it's futile. He brushes his lips on my forehead and I freeze.

I feel a blast of immense power. "Murata!" Yuuri commands his attention with his enraged tone and presence. I turn to see that Yuuri's body is engulfed by a dark, blue light. His black hair has grown past his shoulders and his eyes are slits. He bends over to pick up the spork and knife and points both of them at His Eminence. "Let's take this fight outside!"

His Eminence chuckles. "Oh, Shibuya, you have changed so much, but let me ask you something," he smiles, sardonically. "If I had challenged you to a duel much sooner – say, over a year ago – would you even be taking it as seriously as you are now?"

"Of course I would!" Yuuri snaps.

"I see," His Eminence closes his eyes, as if the answer that he received is hard to swallow somehow. He squeezes my shoulder and walks forward, pushing me towards Yuuri, who reaches out to steady me, then walks past us. "I'll see you in the courtyard." He leaves the room.

"Wolfram," Yuuri holds me close and I look up to see him frowning down at me. "He didn't do anything to you, did he?"

I shake my head. "No, he didn't."

Yuuri's shoulders relax. "Good," he sighed. "That's good." He embraces me. "I'm glad that you're okay, so glad."

"Yuuri," I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist. I'm so happy that I can feel him against me, solid and warm. I can hold him. After all the time that has passed, I can finally hold him in my arms and feel him. While it's nice to be with him again, I can't fully indulge myself in this feeling. I can't ignore what His Eminence just did.

This has happened to Yuuri before. It's not quite in the same vein; however, he had trusted Saralegui and he had that trust broken. I knew how bad he took it, but I felt like that bastard made it easy for Yuuri to let that friendship go. His Eminence had earned Yuuri's trust. Sure, he's done questionable things, but it was always for Yuuri's good. This is the first time that he's challenged Yuuri's trust.

We meet His Eminence in the courtyard where he's already standing inside the perimeter of the dueling field that had been outlined in white chalk. Yuuri helps me over to the seat besides Mother's, who beams at us. Gwendal and Greta stand next to my chair while Conrart stands next to Mother's.

Yuuri kneels in front of me. I look at him, worried, and shiver at the intensity of his gaze. "Don't worry," he tells me. "I don't plan on losing."

I feel flutters in my stomach. He thinks that I'm concerned about him throwing the match, like he tried to do with Elizabeth. The thought didn't even cross my mind, but hearing him say that – it heals a wound that I've had for so long.

"Do your best, Daddy!" Greta encourages, putting her hand over mine.

Yuuri gives her a gentle smile. "I will."

I hold onto her hand as Yuuri joins His Eminence inside of the white rectangle. This fight isn't just about Yuuri and me. It's about out little girl too. I don't wat to think about it, but the chance of failure is undeniable. There's no telling what His Eminence has up his sleeve.

One of Conrart's men sets up an umbrella between us that shrouds us in shade, perfectly shielding us from the sun.

A soldier of mine hands His Eminence a sword. I'm unsettled by this deliberate move. It's as if he's making some kind of statement by doing this. Taking control of one of my men – anger builds up inside me. How dare he overstep my boundaries like that?

His Eminence fastens the sword to his side and pulls it out of its sheath with ease. "It's been a while since I held one of these," he says this with a sense of nostalgia, as if he's been reunited with an old friend. He holds it out in front of him with perfect form.

It's a surprise to see this from someone who hasn't held a sword before, but then I recalled what Yuuri told me when I was inside of his heart. He mentioned a past life of His Eminence's when he was a mage. It's safe to assume that he wielded a sword in a past life of his and he's remembering how to do so now.

"I might be a little rusty, but don't go easy on me just because of that, Shibuya."

"I'm not going to," Yuuri grounds out.

The same soldier that put up the umbrella moves to stand just outside of the perimeter with a raised hand.

The tension is thick and I could feel the electricity in the air, like a storm is about to start. I cross my arms, the hairs on my skin sticking up straight. It doesn't feel right to see them like this. His Eminence is Yuuri's friend, his guide too, thanks to the boundless wisdom that he has, but now he presents himself as a rival.

"Begin!" The soldier shouts, swinging his arm down.

Yuuri charges at His Eminence and swings his sword at him, like he would a baseball bat. His Eminence is quick to parry the attack.

"A little angry, are we?" His Eminence asks, amused. He pushes Yuuri back, who holds is ground, their battle at an immediate standstill. "What did it, huh? Is it the fact that I carried Wolfram back to his room? Or was it when I gave him that little kiss on the forehead?"

Yuuri roars and shoves His Eminence back. It thunders and lightning zips across the sky as rain comes pouring down. That's why His Eminence set up the umbrella beforehand. He planned for this to happen.

It unnerves me to see His Eminence have this much control over the duel. I lean forward and inch to the edge of my seat, ready to spring into action if Yuuri needs me.

"Ah, the kiss did it, huh?" His Eminence remarks. Yuuri slashes at him again. He ducks underneath the blade and stands up right after. "Don't lose your head now."

His Eminence moves to attack. Yuuri sidesteps it, conjuring up a pair of aqua dragons, then rushes at him with a horizontal slash. One of the dragons flies at His Eminence, who holds out a glowing green hand. The other dragon comes in at his other side and His Eminence halts it with his other hand that also casts a green light. He points both of his pointer fingers at Yuuri, turning the dragons on him. Yuuri dodges that first one, but he's knocked over by the second.

"Yuuri!" I gasp.

His Eminence walks towards the fallen Yuuri, who moves to sit up and wobbles back onto his feet.

"Is that all you could do?" His Eminence asks. "Is that how much you love Wolfram?"

Yuuri holds up his sword, but then a green light surrounds him, and he grimaces. I gap. I can't believe what I'm seeing. His Eminence is holding Yuuri in place, just like Saralegui did to me. This is the power that laid dormant inside of him. I bite my thumbnail. Yuuri's sword-wielding and magic skills have improved, but he's out of his league here.

Yuuri's body shakes, resisting against the influence. He winces as His Eminence points his sword at his throat. "I should've done this a long time ago," he says. "That way, Wolfram would be mine."

I'm appalled by this bold claim. Does he really believe that? Or is he using his words as a means to rile up Yuuri even more?

"What are you saying" Yuuri growls.

"I could've taken the chance to at least try and make him happy," His Eminence says. "I had plenty of opportunities to do so while you were still in denial. No, I think that it'd be more accurate to say that you were leading him on. I'm aware that it wasn't what you meant to do, but that means nothing because you didn't do anything about it. Instead, you ignored the situation, thinking that it'd just handle itself." He moved the sword closer to Yuuri's throat. I feel like I'm on the verge of suffocation. "You were prejudiced, the very thing that you're against."

"That doesn't matter anymore!" I snap. "Yuuri isn't…!"

"No," Yuuri interrupts. "Murata is right. I allowed prejudice to cloud my judgment. I did ignore the situation because I didn't know how to deal with it. I was a coward and a jerk. I didn't think about your feelings. For that, I can't apologize enough," he looks at me with a remorseful expression, then turns back to His Eminence with determination. "Even so, I refuse to back down. I told Wolfram that I'd make it up to him, and I'm going to keep my word!" The green aura that trapped him dissipates and he takes this chance to knock the sword out of His Eminence's hands, sending it flying outside the perimeter of the dueling field. Despite the deprivation of a weapon, he doesn't seem bothered. Yuuri sheathes Morgif. "Conrad, catch!" He calls, throwing Morgif, who Conrart catches.

Yuuri runs at His Eminence and pushes him with all of his might. His Eminence struggles against him, his feet digging into the soggy dirt, barely able to hold Yuuri off. A green aura envelops him once more, and he gains a newfound strength as he pushes Yuuri back. He snatches Yuuri's hands, who holds steady, pushing back against him.

"It's so sad," Mother says, a hand to her breast, her voice wavering. She puts that same hand to her mouth and closes her eyes, like she can't bear to watch the match any longer. "It's too sad." Conrart places a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

I don't know what she finds sad. Is it the fact that two close friends are fighting each other, now on opposite sides as opposed to being on the same side? No, it can't be that. Maybe it's because His Eminence is fighting a losing battle? Even if he wins, he won't have my affection. She must have empathy for him, having been in the same situation before. She has loved men that didn't return her feelings.

I can't help but feel bad for him too. I know how it feels to have the person in love leave me high and dry, but I can't empathize with him entirely on this matter. The man that I love returns my feelings in full, and I don't want him to get hurt, physically or emotionally. His Eminence has already hurt him emotionally by challenging him to this duel. I won't let him physically hurt him. I'll intervene before that could happen.

"Is this why you helped revive Wolfram?" Yuuri asks. "Because you love him?"

"It's not that simple," His Eminence responds, angrily. "I did it to help you. I saw how upset you were, how desperate you were to get him back." He forces Yuuri back a couple of steps. "At the same time, I wanted to save him too. I did my best to keep my feelings out of it, but I couldn't bottle them up anymore. I promised myself that once I revived him I'd let him know exactly how I feel about him."

"Why would you go about it this way?" Yuuri asks, enraged. "Why couldn't you just tell him?"

"Because I want him!" His Eminence snaps. "I want to spend more time with him, and I hate that I didn't do this sooner! I hate that I wasted so many opportunities because I was waiting for you to come around. Do you know how hard it was for me to watch him suffer in silence for all of this time? I could've been the one to comfort him and rid him of that pain! I could've let him see who I really am. I could've gotten him to fall in love with me and forget about you!"

His Eminence overpowers Yuuri and kicks at his ankle, causing him to fall back. He jumps on him, slamming him onto the ground before punching him in the face. "I will make him forget you!" He screams.

Each punch reaches my heart. I can't watch this any longer. Panicked, I launch out of my seat, a hand on the hilt of my sword. Gracelessly, I tip over, my body strained and aching, and my knees hit the ground.

"Papa!" Greta gasps, kneeling beside me.

I shoot to my feet and fall forward. A big, strong pair of arms catches me, and I look up to see Gwendal. "Don't interfere," he tells me, softly. "This is his fight."

"But still…!" I say, watching His Eminence pummel Yuuri's face in. "Yuuri!"

His Eminence stops punching him. Yuuri kicks him off. Rain forms into a stream of water that hits His Eminence in his midsection, sending him over the perimeter of the dueling field. He topples over, collapsing onto his side.

Yuuri struggles to his feet and makes an effort to stand up straight. "You…lost!" Yuuri screams a little out of breath. He makes his way over to me, hobbling a bit. Once he takes me into his arms, Gwendal releases me from his hold. I draw in a sharp breath when I look up at his face. He has a cut lip, his cheeks are swollen, and he has two black eyes; the left eye is red and bleeding. I cup his face with both of my hands and close my eyes, focusing my healing powers on him. He takes my left hand and kisses my palm. He hugs me and I hold him close, stroking his back as his body quivers.


There's a rift between Yuuri and His Eminence, who spends most of his time away from the castle, presumably at the Temple of the Great One. I could tell that it bothers Yuuri, but he doesn't say anything about it, and I don't bring it up. I can't ignore this disruption of peace between these two, who were such a solid team before all of this.

A few months pass, and I catch up with what has happened in the past year. Yuuri had issued a ceasefire on Small Cimaron. Saralegui agreed to the ceasefire, having lost many men during the conflict. Yuuri recognized the loss and created a peace treaty that Saralegui signed. They even met up to shake hands on it, which I found to be surprising, considering all of his past transgressions. Yuuri told me that Saralegui expressed guilt and remorse about what he did and that he promised that he'd redeem himself in the eyes of not only Yuuri but Shin Makoku as well. I was incredulous about this monumental promise, and I still am. Only time will tell.

I'm so proud of him. He had handled the situation in a way that he thought was right. It must've been difficult, but he achieved something grand. I won't ever forget that. The world won't forget it either.

During those few months, I gain back my strength, and Yuuri recovers from the injuries that he had gotten in his duel with His Eminence. Yuuri sees to it that I get the treatment that I need to get back on my feet again, and he's really attentive of me, helping me bathe and walk.


A maid prepares a warm bath for us and provides us with fresh linens. Yuuri gives her a kind smile and thanks her. Her face becomes red and she scampers off, muttering to herself like a lunatic. I frown at this atrocious display, having half a mind to storm off after her and scold her for looking like such a fool in front of her king, but Yuuri pulls me out of it by dragging me inside our private bathing area. This place is ours and solely ours, nobody else's. I have to tell myself this to ward off the anger and jealousy that comes along with it, constantly. I have to keep my word. I told Yuuri that I'd have more control over my envy.

I undress, feeling my body flush under Yuuri's gaze. I wrap a bathing towel around my waist. I watch Yuuri take off his clothes, and it feels like my face is about to melt when I see him free of his clothing.

A shock passes through me once I see the scar on his back. That's from the stab wound that Berias inflicted on him. I lay my hands on his back, feeling him tense for a second before he relaxes. I kiss the rough patch of skin, feeling the folds of flesh that have grown over the injury.

"Wolfram," Yuuri says, his voice soft and breathless.

"I want to wash your back," I say, gently.

"O-okay," he stutters. "L-let me just put on a towel first."

Abashed and blushing, I back off and spin around as Yuuri secures a towel about his waist. I can't stop thinking about how lean and muscled his body has gotten. He has been jogging and sparring with Conrart on a daily basis. I even sparred with him a few times when I was recuperated enough to do so. He still can't overcome me, but he's much stronger than he was before.

We step inside of the warm bath, his back to me. I take a wash cloth and soak it with water then rub it with a bar of soap. With a meticulous hand, I stroke his skin, being sure to get all of the spots that he can't reach.

"Wolfram?"

"What?"

"I think that I understand why you get so jealous now." He says, seriously, his body tensing. I pause in my ministrations. "When I was fighting Murata a few months back, I was so pissed off. He kept saying all of these things, like how he carried you back to his room and how he kissed you. I wanted to tear him apart, but then he started saying how he'd be a better match for you and telling me about how I led you on and how much he loved you…I couldn't help but get jealous about that and I keep thinking that he's right." He shakes. "He would be so much better for you."

I'm taken aback by his words and drop the wet, soapy wash cloth into the water. I round him, sloshing through the water, and take him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Who are you to decide that? I'm the one to decide that, not you, you wimp!"

"I don't get why you even stay with me after I've hurt you so much!" Yuuri's eyes become glassy with tears, which roll down his cheeks. "I don't know how you could forgive me after I've ignored you and disregarded your feelings for so long."

I use my thumbs to wipe away his tears. "Because you don't do that anymore," I soothe. "You've changed."

"But that doesn't change what I did, or rather, what I didn't do," he sobs.

"Listen, Yuuri," I sigh. "When you first met me, I couldn't stand humans. I hated them. I even insulted your mother when we first met, and you don't hold that against me."

"It's not the same," he denies, weakly.

"Yes, it is." I argue. "I was ignorant, too, but I'm not like that anymore. We were both prejudiced, but we've changed. More to the point, you have changed. You're more aware of what's going on around you. You're a great king. You handled the situation with Saralegui and Small Cimaron very well. You stayed true to your beliefs. A while back, you accepted and encouraged Arietta and Clareta's relationship. You even let them live inside of the castle. You have done so much to help others in need and bring peace to this world." I caress his face. "Why can't you see the wonderful man that I see?"

He gives a watery laugh. "How do you know just what to say to make me feel better?"

"Because I know you." I say, lovingly. "Because I love you." I connect our lips, hook my arms around his neck, and pull him close, causing him to groan into my mouth. Once I need air, I trail kisses from his jaw to his neck.

"Wolfram," he breathes.

I lean up to whisper in his ear. "Tell me what you want, Yuuri."

He tugs at my waist. I moan at the intimate contact and tilt my head back.

He kisses me. "I want you," his breath is warm against my lips.

Hot, burning desire consumes me, making my entire body throb. I unravel the towel from my waist and let it fall into the water. Yuuri does the same, leaving nothing in between us. The flames of passion grow and grow as we touch and burn out in a pinnacle of pleasure when we become one again and again.


A/N: One more chapter to go! For those that are curious, there won't be a sequel to this story. However, I'm working on another Yuuram story called Fire and Ice so please look forward to that! Thank you all for reading and supporting this story for all of this time! You're all awesome! :)