CHAPTER 1

Upon entering the Spitzweg lands, a troop of Spitzweg soldiers escorted them to the castle. When they arrived, Lord von Spitzweg himself, along with his trusted advisor, Raven, were there to greet them.

"Ahh, Your Majesty! It is my pleasure to be in your presence again," Stoffel greeted. He and Raven bowed in front of her in respect.

Yuuri, who was holding Greta with her left hand, acknowledged their greeting. "Thank you for your invitation, Lord von Spitzweg. I would also like to thank you for hosting this gathering."

"Oh, it is my pleasure, Your Majesty! The last time you were, that sand bear caused quite a spectacle, didn't it? I hope this time you will be able to enjoy your stay."

Wolfram, who was standing behind Yuuri with his brothers, rolled his eyes. "He forgot to mention how the first time she was here, it was because he kidnapped her." Wolfram probably meant for only his brothers, Gunter, Yozak, and Murata to hear it, but it was still loud enough for Stoffel to hear.

Greta held in a giggle while Yuuri forced a smile on her face.

"RAVEN!" The buxom blonde forced her way through her sons and ran towards the raven-haired man. She wrapped him in a tender embrace and he awkwardly hugged her back. "Oh, Raven, how I've missed you! How long has it been, my darling?"

Raven forced a gulp down his throat as he felt Lady Celi's hand go down his back, nearing his rear. "Ahh, Lady Celi, perhaps this is an inappropriate time for such a thing."

"Hmm… you're right, Raven," she cooed. "Perhaps we can continue this later," she winked at him as she headed inside, followed by Anissina.

Stoffel cleared his throat. "Perhaps, I can show you to your rooms now?"

Yuuri nodded. "Yes, that would be wonderful."

After freshening up in their respective rooms, Yuuri and her squad arrived in the parlor where the rest of the nobles, some of their family members, and other aristocrats were lounging in.

When Yuuri stepped into the room, everyone stood up and bowed in respect. She stood there awkwardly for a moment before Wolfram, who had her arm wrapped around his in an escort manner, nudged her to do something. "Umm… Please, stand. You don't have to bow." They all stood upright and some had already started moving forward to properly greet her and her companions when a little boy beat them to it; although, he was not exactly heading for the queen.

"Greta!" The little girl turned to the voice and saw her friend and playmate, Lindsey von Wincott, the heir to the Wincott family. The young boy tackled her in a hug, which left Wolfram clenching his fist. "I've missed you so much! How are you?"

"Lindsey! It's so nice to see you again. I've been doing well, thank you. I didn't know you were going to be here." She turned towards Yuuri, who was smiling down at her.

"I wanted to surprise you," she told her. In truth, she hadn't told her Lindsey would be coming knowing she would beg for them to rush to Spitzweg Castle instead of letting them take their time.

Lindsey took a step back from the group. "Wait a second…" he put tapped his fingers on his chin. "Where's… GUNTER!" Upon spotting the lavender-haired man, he pounced on him and he was welcomed with open arms.

"It is good to see you again, Lindsey. You've grown taller since I've last seen you."

"It's nice to see you again, Gunter! Father was telling me that you used to teach at The Academy. Perhaps you can show me a few basics with a wooden sword during our stay here?"

Gunter chuckled. "I'd be honored to, Lindsey."

"Your Majesty."

Yuuri turned to see a kind face staring back at her. "Lord von Wincott! How have you been?"

"I have been doing well, Your Majesty. Thank you," he bowed his head slightly. "I apologize for my son's outburst." Both parents turned to see the two children already running around the room to where the other children were. Lindsey was already introducing Greta to them. "You've met him before. You've seen how excitable he can be."

Yuuri chuckled. "No, it's all right. I'm glad Greta has a friend. It's very rare children come to Blood Pledge Castle, and now that she's meeting some of the children from the other houses, I hope that would change. She should be able to play with children her age as well, at least from time to time."

"Spoken like a true parent." Lord von Wincott said.

Yuuri laughed, scratching the back of her neck. "Well, I try my best. I've only been her parent for almost a year now, and I still find myself clueless on what to do."

"That's normal. Every time I think I've mastered handling my children, something happens and I find myself without a clue all over again!"

Their conversation continued, and Yuuri's group dispersed into areas all around the room. But no matter where Yuuri went, that was where Wolfram was. He didn't leave her side, except to check on Greta who was playing with the other children.

She not only spoke with Lord von Wincott, but with the other nobles and aristocrats as well. The day continued on as everyone chatted and caught up with one another. At some point, Yuuri joined the children in a game of Shinoue'd Away, where she was requested to be the seeker. Every time she found a child, she tickled them until they broke free of her clutches. The parents were glad to see their queen playing around with their children and how good she is with them. Some of them have thought it is probably because the queen is still technically a child herself. This is a fact most of them forget about.

When evening came, everyone went to the dining room for dinner and then returned to the parlor afterwards to have drinks. Once those who brought children noticed they were starting to get sleepy, they told them to get to bed. The younger ones complied and went out with their respective nursemaids, but the older ones, Greta included, refused because "they weren't tired yet".

"Please, mama! Just another hour. We aren't tired yet!" Greta begged. Similar cries were heard around the room as the children begged their parents for a little more play time.

"Greta, your eyes are starting to close, and your body is swaying so much I'm scared you could fall and hurt yourself," Yuuri tried to reason.

"Please, mama!"

Yuuri sighed. "How about this: you go to bed right now, and I'll sing you your lullaby."

"No!"

"No?" Yuuri was stunned. Greta loved being sung to.

"You have to sing it here, in front of everyone!"

'Well fuck', Yuuri thought. If there's something Yuuri has, it's stage fright, and unfortunately for her, Greta knows it.

"Yeah, Your Majesty! We want to hear your lullaby too! Greta was telling us earlier about how you have a wonderful singing voice!" One of the children said. Some of the others followed suit, saying similar things.

Yuuri was trembling, but she looked at the other parents and saw their pleading eyes. She sighed. "All right."

The children gathered around her and she started to sing:

"A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're fast asleep

In dreams you will lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling through"

As she sang, some of the children were getting droopy-eyed and were about to fall asleep. She made her voice softer as to soothe the children into sleep.

"No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing

The dream that you wish will come true~"

When she finished, some of the children were already passed out on the floor, whilst the others were just about to fall asleep. Each child's respective parent or nursemaid picked up their children and brought them to their bedrooms, saying they will return once they tuck in their child. Yuuri was one of them.

Once she left, Lord Densham von Karbelnikoff asked, "She doesn't like singing in front of a crowd?"

Wolfram nodded. "She hates singing in front of people in general, but you can hear her humming sometimes. If you're lucky, you can hear her while she's bathing, but only if you're the one on lookout during one of her adventures," He took a seat on one of the love seats. "This is the first time I've heard her sing properly, though."

"Well," Murata started. "It's not that she hates singing in front of a crowd, she's just shy."

"I would really like to hear her sing another song though," Lord von Wincott says. "She has a wonderful voice."

Murata nodded. "She does. She's just shy, that's why she doesn't sing in front of people. Though it appears Greta is the only exception. I'll ask her to sing another song when she returns."

Everyone agreed.

As they waited for Yuuri, parents started returning one by one. When Yuuri finally arrived, everyone was complete. She took her place beside Wolfram on the love seat and she let him put an arm around her and she leaned against him.

Murata headed towards the piano in the middle of the room. He took a seat and played a few chords, much to everyone's enjoyment.

"Canon."

Wolfram turned to Yuuri. "Hmm?"

"The name of the song. It's called Canon," Yuuri had smiled warmly as she listened to the song. "It's one of my favorite classic pieces."

When Murata was finished with Canon, he started playing and humming what was a familiar tune to Yuuri. She sighed, moving closer to Wolfram. "I love this song," she smiled.

Murata suddenly stopped. "Why don't we sing it, Yuuri?" He smirked as her smile faded from her face. "It's a duet between a man and a woman, and it is one of your favorites."

Yuuri frowned. "I will murder you."

"Come on, Yuuri," encouraged Wolfram. "Just one song?"

Yuuri rolled her eyes. "All right," she told Murata. "But I'll be sitting down right here, thank you very much."

"That's fine," Murata answered. He played a few chords before looking at Yuuri. "When you're ready."

Yuuri took in a deep breath before humming the familiar starting tune of the Disney Classic and then she let the song drift her away.

"So this is love, Mmmmmm

So this is love." Yuuri faced Wolfram.

"So this is what makes life divine," She smiled as she serenaded him. Once Wolfram realized what she was doing, he kissed her on the forehead as she continued to sing, this time Murata joining her now.

"I'm all aglow, Mmmmmm

And now I know (Murata: and now I know)

(Together) The key to all heaven is mine

My heart has wings, Mmmmmm

And I can fly

(Together until end) I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky

So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of

Mmmmmm

Mmmmmm

So this is love," Yuuri held tightly on to Wolfram's arm, snuggling contentedly against Wolfram's chest.

Wolfram kissed her again. "That was beautiful, Love," he told her. He couldn't help but smile at what Yuuri just did; she sang to him.

"Thank you."

"Why are you shy?" Waltorana asked. "You have a lovely voice. My nephew is lucky he has you to serenade him," he gave her a rare smile. It comforted her to know her future in-law appreciated her. At least the both of them have a better relationship now than from when they first met each other.

"It's just something about performing in front of people that makes me nervous," she shrugged. She's been that way since forever. She had no shame or restraint when speaking her mind, but when it came to singing a song, it was a whole other scenario. Murata only knew she could sing because he remembers her being in the school choir when they were in elementary school.

After that, they had a few more drinks before Yuuri and some of the others decided they wanted to turn in for the night. "I'll see you in the room," Yuuri kissed Wolfram on the cheek and went to their shared bedroom.

Wolfram stared after her until she went out the door. When he turned to the others, he found them smirking at him. He groaned as he rubbed his temples. "What is it this time?"

"You're smitten with her," Waltorana couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't seen Wolfram this happy since he was a child. "She's a good match, Wolfram. She'll make you happy," Waltorana couldn't help but smile at his nephew. With all the shit he put up with, he's glad he has finally found someone who makes him happy, and he hopes it would stay that way for a long time.

Lord Densham von Karbelnikoff sighed. "It would be nice to have someone like that in your life." He turned towards his sister. "I tried finding one for you, but you just had to run off into the sunset with Gwendal, didn't you?"

Gwendal spit out the whisky he had just sipped, and Anissina humphed. Their relationship was not romantic whatsoever, but that didn't stop Densham from teasing his sister about it.

"You were going to force me into an arranged marriage. As a strong, independent woman, I could not allow that."

Densham sighed. "Oh well… on another note, it would be nice to learn more about Her Majesty. You think she would be an easy person to read, but it seems she's a young woman of many secrets."

"You know…" Heads turned to look at Lady von Rochefort, who was sipping her wine. "Her Majesty travels back and forth between here and Earth so many times, I wonder sometimes just how different Earth is and how different she is in both worlds."

"You know, if you want, we can arrange it with Ulrike to have a sort of a spying session on Yuuri when she's on Earth," Murata suggested. A shiver immediately went down Gwendal's spine, knowing The Sage's mischievous personality when it came to Yuuri. "We can also invite some of our allies from the human lands to make things more interesting?"

"And what good would that do?" Lord von Radford asked.

"Think about it, Lord von Radford," Murata grinned. "If we somehow show Yuuri's true colors, which we all know is pure - but for them to actually see it without her knowing, might just let us gain their trust a little more. Besides," He turned to Wolfram, his lips upturned slightly. "Wouldn't you want to see how your fiancée behaves when you aren't around, Lord von Bielefeld?"

Wolfram stared into space for a moment. It was a good opportunity, but he knew he had to learn to trust Yuuri. He had already stopped calling her a "cheater" and anything else along those lines, but still… it was tempting. "I… I don't know. I trust her - I really do! But I must admit, I am quite curious…"

"Well, for one thing, I agree with His Eminence," Lady von Rochefort states. "It would make good relations with our allies, and perhaps create a stronger bond. That is what Queen Yuuri wants, isn't it?"

Murata smirks. "Good. I'll schedule it during a time when Yuuri is incredibly busy, so she would have to stay on Earth for a longer period of time than usual. Also, it would give me time to arrange things with Ulrike and we can discuss who amongst our allies we want to invite if not all of them."

"Hang on," Conrart interrupted. "Don't you think this is a breach of Her Majesty's privacy?"

Murata shook his head. "Lord Weller, do you know that game Yuuri sometimes we suggest we play when we're having a few drinks back in Blood Pledge Castle?"

"Umm… Twenty Questions, was it?"

Murata nodded. "Yes. That is a game about getting to know a person's personality, and into their privacy. When we play that game, what does Yuuri always say?"

Conrart stopped and thought for a while, but Wolfram beat him to the answer. "'I'm an open book…'"

"Precisely," Murata answered. "Since Yuuri always claims so, we might as well take advantage of it and put it to the test."

The next morning after breakfast, people were hanging around in the courtyard area. Unfortunately for Yuuri, she is scheduled to have a meeting after lunch with the Ten Nobles, and so she has decided to play a few games of Shinoue'd Away againwith the children. Wolfram, Lord von Wincott, Gunter, and a few parents were forced into playing by their children (for Wolfram, his future daughter; and for Gunter, Lindsey).

After playing a few rounds, everyone was tired. The children, with Greta at the helm, all gathered around Yuuri who was having tea with Wolfram, Murata, Anissina, Lord von Radford, and a few other aristocrats. Yuuri put down her tea and gave the children a smile. "Hello. Can I help you with something?"

The children behind Greta pushed her forward. She put her arms behind her back and started playing with her feet, which she does when she wants to ask something but is too shy to do so. "Umm…"

Yuuri squatted in front of her. It was one of the things that became a habit when Greta had something to say. She saw a video on Earth about how doing this with your child helps them grow more confident in themselves. She could already see it working when she watched Greta interact with other people sometimes. "What is it, Greta?"

"So, along with your singing, I told these guys how you always tell me a story - either from a book or one that you know by heart."

"And you all want me to tell you one?" Yuuri smiled. She loved it when children asked for stories. She'll be damned if she doesn't help children let their imagination grow.

She brought the children to the tree in the middle of the courtyard and they all sat under the shade. The others still sitting at the table she was at earlier could hear her from where they were. A servant brought Yuuri a chair to sit on so that the children can hear and see her better.

Some of the parents stood behind the group of children, wanting to be told a story from the queen as well.

"All right. What kind of story do you want to read?"

"A love story!" A child called out.

Yuuri nodded. "I know a lot. Can you help me narrow down which one?"

The children thought for a moment. "A handsome prince has to save her!"

"No, they have to work together to be saved!"

"What about the princess saves the prince?"

The children started yelling at each other. Yuuri tried to calm them down but to no avail. One of the parents at the back shushed them and they immediately behaved. The parent nodded at Yuuri to continue and Yuuri nodded back in thanks.

"Hmm…" Yuuri cupped her chin between her thumb and pointer finger. "A prince saves the princess; A princess saves the prince; or they both save each other? Well, I have an option for each of those... do you have anything else you would want to add to help narrow it down? If not, I'll just pick my favorite from out of the three," Yuuri eyed each of them, waiting for their reply.

"Ooh! Your favorite! I'd like to know what your favorite story is, Your Majesty!" One of the little girls cried. The other children agreed and Yuuri sighed in thanks.

"All right, then. I will now tell you my favorite story since childhood, The Beauty and the Beast."

"And Belle and the Beast lived happily ever after," Yuuri finished. The story telling took almost an hour, and not once did she not have the attention of the children and their parents. Some of the other adults gathered around as well. They were captivated by Yuuri's story telling; how she changed her voice when changing into different voices when imitating a character, and how she knew this story so well, one would've thought she was the one who made it up herself.

"That was an amazing story, Queen Yuuri!"

"Yes, thank you so much for taking the time to tell us a story — and it was even your favorite!"

Yuuri chuckled. "It was my pleasure." She stood up from the chair and stretched. As she did, her stomach rumbled loud enough for the children and some of their parents to hear. The sound caused them to laugh and Yuuri couldn't help but join them. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm definitely starving! I'm going to have some lunch now."

"Will you play with us after you eat?" Another child asked. Yuuri recognized him as Lord Von Rochefort's nephew.

Yuuri shook her head. "Probably not. I still have a meeting to attend with your uncle today." Yuuri gave him a sad smile. What made her heart wrench even more was the sad look he gave her. "But if the meeting doesn't end too late, maybe we all can play another game? And if you guys are good to your parents by eating and going to bed when they tell you to, I might teach you how to play a game from Earth."

That really made the children excited. The parents took advantage of the situation and ushered their children to places where they were going to have lunch, mouthing "thank you" to Yuuri as they left.

Then only one child remained. Yuuri smiled and took her hand. "Well, Greta? You ready for lunch?" The little girl nodded and she and Yuuri walked back to the table where Yuuri was earlier having tea.

"That was a good story, Your Majesty," Lady Celi cried. "It was so romantic!"

"Not only that," Anissina started. "Belle was a strong female character! She was intelligent and didn't obey society's norms, and she — a female — was the one who taught the Beast how to read and be a better person."

"If that's how you feel about Belle," Murata smiled. "Then I can't wait for Yuuri to tell you about the legend of Mulan."

"Oh my god yes! Anissina, you would love the story of Mulan for sure. She's one of the strongest female characters and unlike Belle who is not a fighter, Mulan is a warrior."

"Can you tell me the story, Your Majesty!" Anissina was jumping up and down in her seat. Her grin was the widest Yuuri has ever seen it, and she was just glad she wasn't asking her to help out with another one of her experiments.

"How about tonight with the children? I'm sure they would enjoy it too," Yuuri suggested and Anissina agreed.

They all continued with their lunch until Yuuri was called for the meeting. Wolfram was busy looking after Greta, so he kissed her goodbye and Conrart walked her and Murata to the meeting room of Spitzberg Castle.

Something Yuuri was grateful about was there was no round table with a spinning chair in the middle, so she personally did not mind having another meeting. Also, with the help of Gwendal and Gunter, Yuuri has been more comfortable around the Ten Nobles. Finalizing her engagement with Wolfram also made Waltorana more soft with her, and ever since the fiascos with the Wincott poison and Greta befriending Lindsey von Wincott, she and Lord von Wincott have been hosting play dates in each others' castles, and whilst the children played, the both of them and Wolfram would have tea together and Lord von Wincott even gave the couple a few tips on parenting.

Upon reaching the room, Yuuri let out a breath she was holding when she saw a normal rectangular table with five chairs on either side, one chair on one end, and a chair behind that. The Nobles took their seats on either side of the table, whilst Yuuri sat on the chair at the end, and Murata sat on the one behind her.

The meeting ended a few hours later. What was mostly discussed were the problems in some of the villages - demon and human - and also how to improve relations with the other nations, especially with the ones they were already allied with.

"Well, we can always have a ball - but for what reason other than meeting with representatives from other countries, I do not know," Gunter suggested. Yuuri found it sometimes scary when Gunter was surrounded by his peers other than Gwendal and Anissina. He suddenly becomes serious, and there was barely a moment wherein he bear-hugged Yuuri and cried out her name.

"Other than that, Blood Pledge Castle is still not done with the repairs and cleaning the leftover mess from that whole fiasco with King Saralegui and Alazon," Gwendal grunted.

Even though the Nobles were spewing out different ideas on how to improve relations with the other nations, one idea was constantly begging to be said from the back of their minds. The glare of The Sage, however, had them biting their tongues.

The meeting ended in both a success and a failure. Yuuri couldn't have been more stressed out. Relations with Small Cimaron has improved, but they still need to meet with their other allies. Not only that, but having good relations more human countries might increase the chance of whoever the new king of Big Cimaron is into not being against the Demon Kingdom. Lanzhil was stripped of power — to everyone's relief — and not much is known about the temporary king. Lanzhil had Janus kill most of the other candidates for kingship and the country is struggling to find other heirs. One of the shocking things Yozak has heard was that there are rumors of the human council even looking into bastard children.

Once the meeting was over, Yuuri, Murata, and Conrart returned to see the children and some of the parents still in the courtyard. When the children noticed Yuuri was back, they stampeded towards her, begging her to teach them an Earth game like she promised.

Yuuri giggled as the children gathered around her. "All right, all right! So this game is called Soldiers and Thieves." The children stared at her in excitement. Yuuri proceeded to explain the rules and divided the children into two teams. She made them play Rock, Paper, Scissors so the winning team could decide if they wanted to be the Soldiers or the Thieves.

Murata glanced at Yuuri. "Is Soldiers and Thieves your version of Cops and Robbers?"

"They're the same thing. I just thought using 'soldiers' and 'thieves' would be more relatable to them."

Greta was on the same team as Lindsey, who was assigned as their team leader. Lindsey went up against one of the aristocratic children. Lindsey lost. The winning team decided to be soldiers, and so the losing team ended up being the thieves.

Yuuri ended up being the referee for the game, with Murata being her assistant. He was the only other person who knew how to play so she thought he could help her out.

All the adults gathered around the courtyard to watch the children play and to watch Yuuri and Murata deal with them. It was very entertaining for them to see Yuuri chase after the children who were breaking the rules, from either team, and to see Murata having to break up fights when the children got a tad too violent with each other.

Wolfram was busy imagining he was in Murata's position, and that the many children were his and Yuuri's. He was brought out of his daydream when he heard the children cheering. Apparently the soldiers had won, and the thieves were a bit disappointed. Yuuri and the parents approached their children and assured them they could try again next time.

They played another round, but Yuuri and Murata were exhausted. Having watched the game and listening to Yuuri's explanation of the rules, Lord von Radford and Conrart took over being the referee and assistant referee respectively. The children switched teams, so now Greta and Lindsey's team were the soldiers.

Watching Conrart running around after children was not an abnormal sight, especially for Yuuri and Wolfram who have witnessed just how well he was able to care for children what with El and the children they rescued in Big Shimaron. What was a hilarious sight for all of them was watching a stern man such as Lord von Radford chase after them when they either broke a rule and committed a foul, or were becoming violent.

The ones who enjoyed watching Lord von Radford the most, though, would be the rest of the Ten Nobles. Lord von Wincott, Lord von Karbelnikoff and a few others were in hysterics! The more sterner ones such as Gwendal and Waltorana simply turned around to hide their smiles, but their shaking shoulders clearly showed they could have been on the floor by now if it weren't for their pride.

In the end, the new batch of soldiers won this round.

"Huh… back when I played this as a child, it was a lot easier to win as a thief than a soldier."

Murata shrugged. "Maybe it's because being a soldier is in their blood," Murata pointed out.

Yuuri agreed. It made sense. Majority of these children have commanders, generals, and such for parents. Somehow that got into a factor in how they played the game, which made Yuuri wonder just how scary her children would be if she married Wolfram.

After the third round, where the children switched back and the thieves won, it was time for dinner. Everyone gathered in the dining room and had their meals.

Dinner did not end that late, so everyone went to the parlor for some drinks and planned to make Yuuri sing again, whether she wanted to or not.

"Come on, Your Majesty! Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase!" The children begged.

Yuuri planned on staying strong. "Come on, you guys! I just spent my morning and afternoon chasing you guys around; I'm exhausted!" Yuuri was half hiding behind Wolfram on the love seat they were sitting on. Yuuri also used all her might to not look at Greta, who was also begging Yuuri to sing them.

"Well, how about this…" Murata suddenly appeared behind the children. "Shibuya, what if I can make you sing?"

Yuuri raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?" Yuuri knew she was not safe whenever Murata got involved. Sure he saved her ass during her little expeditions, but when it came to moments such as this, he was the devil.

Murata grinned as his glasses glared in the light. "You'll see." He walked over to the piano and sat down.

He started playing a familiar tune that made Yuuri's eyes widen. She leaned forward, nearly standing up from her chair. "STOP. STOP RIGHT NOW, KEN MURATA!"

He ignored her and kept playing. When the tune changed and she realized what exactly he was playing, all she could do was sit back down and cover her eyes as she chanted, "I'm not gonna cry; I'm not gonna cry; I'm not gonna cry!"

Then Murata started to sing.

"Live in my house.

I'll be your shelter,

just pay me back with one thousand kisses…"

Murata's voice filled the room, children and adults alike stared at him in wonder at his tenor voice.

Wolfram glanced at Yuuri who was furiously rubbing furiously at her eyes. "Are you crying?" His eyes widened a bit. A smirk would've broke free had it not been for the somber song that was being performed.

"No," Yuuri sniffled.

"Be my lover,

And I'll cover you…"

Everyone watched in silence, feeling pain and despair and hurt in Murata's voice. They did not know how to react to his delicate piano playing, or to his pain. Yuuri buried her face in Wolfram's neck, and stiffened herself, not willing for anyone to see her tear-stained face.

Wolfram and Greta both glanced at Yuuri before turning to each other, wondering why she was so emotional.

"I will long to discover

Something as true as they seem, yeah!"

At that moment, Yuuri removed herself from the safety of Wolfram's neck and held on tightly to his hand as she sang the second voice.

"So with a thousand sweet kisses,

I'll cover you!"

Yuuri and Murata continued like that until the end of the song. Their audience was could only stare, some of them already crying once they realized just what exactly the song was conveying. Some of them understanding why Yuuri was crying, what with her newfound love with Wolfram and all.

When they finished, even Murata's face was full of tears. Murata took his handkerchief, and Yuuri took Wolfram's and they both cleaned their faces.

"Why? Out of all the songs — why did it have to be that one?" Yuuri yelled. Well, sort of. No one could tell if she was yelling or hiccuping.

"What? I thought you loved that song!" Murata defended himself, his tone slightly sarcastic.

"Of course I love that song, but why the funeral version? We couldn't have done the happy duet when Collins and Angel first sang that song together? It had to be the sad version that Collins sang at Angel's funeral?"

"It was the only way to get you to actually sing with emotion! Besides, you've been singing such happy songs, I thought we might as well shake it up a bit."

"I hate you."

"I love you too."

"Oh, Your Majesty! That was splendid! I have been reduced to tears!" Gunter came over, running. He was in tears, but he was also having a nosebleed.

"Gunter, for Shinou's sake, clean your nose!" Wolfram yelled, blocking Greta from the spray of Gunter's nose blood.

"AHHHHHHHHH! HOW SHAMEFUL OF MEEEEEEEEEE!" Gunter ran off screaming, hopefully to clean himself up.

When he was gone, Yuuri and Murata were approached by a group of people led by Celi.

"That was beautiful, Your Eminence; Your Majesty. Us women who have lost a husband or lover during the war thank you for your marvelous performance that easily showed the despair we went through during such hardship." Lady Celi gripped each of their hands, her sad smile radiant.

Murata smiled at her. "You are most welcome, Lady Celi."

After that, the children continued playing their games until one of the adults pointed out how late it was getting.

Like the night before, the children offered a bargain with Yuuri, but instead of a lullaby, they asked for a story.

Yuuri gave a worried glance to the other parents within her sights. "Umm, I don't know. We don't know how long the story will take."

"I don't think there's a problem with it, Your Majesty." Lady Ammendorf, who's family is under the von Grantz's (Lord von Grantz started attending meetings again when he received a pigeon from Adalbert, saying he does not resent the Demon Kingdom anymore and would hope to return one day), said. "As long as the children head to bed right after, I don't think there would be an issue." She eyed the children, hers in particular, warily.

The other parents agreed with her and Yuuri sighed. "All right, what story?"

"You choose, Your Majesty!"

"Hmm… let's see, let's see, what will you like?"

"How about Snow White?" Murata suggested.

Yuuri glared at him. "Absolutely not! There is nothing special at all about Princess Snow White! She may be one of the few Disney princesses who is an actual princess, but she's the most useless one of the lot! The only good quality about her is the fact she likes to cook and clean! Even the prince barely did a thing! All he did was ride around in a forest until he unexpectedly finds an unconscious girl in a glass coffin in the middle of a forest, thought of how beautiful she was, and then kissed her, and he thought she was a corpse! Although, that kiss ended up being a kiss that cured the poison she previously consumed, both the prince and princess were good for nothing characters! That story should've been called, The Seven Dwarves and Snow White, not Snow White and the Seven Dwarves! At least the dwarves kicked ass when they chased after the evil queen!" Yuuri was huffing at the end of that. She was hugging Greta tightly. "If I find a way to tell that story with more of the dwarves rather than Snow White, then maybe I'll tell that version of the story, but until then, no."

"I agree," Anissina chimed in. "From what I heard, it shows a very weak female character. You should tell a story where both the female and the male are equal," she suggested.

"Yes, but what story? I told the story of The Beauty and the Beast earlier today, what other could be equal?"

"Mulan? You did promise Anissina you would tell her the story" Murata suggested.

"Yes, but it'll take time to explain the Chinese culture… I apologize Anissina, but maybe I can tell this story once I find a way to summarize this specific culture and basic history a person would need to know to understand this story."

Anissina nodded with a smile. "It is all right, Your Majesty. I understand."

"Hmm… Tangled? The Little Mermaid?"

"The Little Mermaid…" Yuuri thought for a moment. She looked at the children and said, "Looks like I'm going to tell you the story of Princess Ariel, otherwise known as, The Little Mermaid."

She then proceeded to tell the story, changing her voice and acting out some of the scenes, dragging Murata with her. Parents and children enjoyed the storytelling and by the end of it, the children were exhausted. They obviously enjoyed the story, but they were droopy-eyed. Parents scooped up their children and proceeded to their rooms.

Yuuri went to carry a half awake Greta to their room when Wolfram stopped her. "You took her last night; let me this time." Yuuri nodded and once Wolfram had the little brunette in his arms, Yuuri whispered a good night and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

After Wolfram left, Yuuri sat back down, taking a big sip from her wine. "I'm exhausted." She put her wine down on the table and leaned against the pillows, watching as her companions continued chatting around her.

Damn, I should've brought Greta to our room and just went to sleep with her, she thought. The events of the day, plus the alcohol she'd been drinking, had completely drained her.

She managed to stay awake long enough for Wolfram to come back, and when he had, he couldn't help but be amused. He lifted her head from the pillows, sat down, and lifted her body up from beside him, up to his lap. "Tired?" He grinned.

Yuuri leaned against him, throwing a glare. "Shut up." Wolfram chuckled.

Wolfram picked up his scotch glass and continued sipping on it. He was pacing himself, knowing he was most likely going to have to carry his fiancée back to their room.

He joined the conversation everyone else was having. Yuuri may have been exhausted, but she responded and gave an input from time to time to indicate she was paying attention. They were talking about some of their experiences in some of the villages surrounding the Demon Kingdom, both human and demon villages. A famous topic in particular was the one with the two villages building a bridge to connect their villages together. They had received word that it was almost done with construction, and Yuuri said something about how she was excited to visit.

They carried on with their conversation. By how slack Yuuri's body had become, he had a suspicion she had already fallen asleep. His suspicions were confirmed when he heard some soft snoring from the double black. He finished the last of his scotch, which was thankfully just enough for a sip, in one gulp. He took proper hold of her and stood up. He stumbled slightly, but he was able to hide it.

"Wolfram, will you be all right?" Conrart asked. He knew his brother wasn't a lightweight, and that he was strong enough to carry a teenage girl, but being his older brother and her godfather, he couldn't help but ask.

Wolfram nodded. "Don't worry, Lord Weller, She's in good hands. I'm done for the night as well, so good night to all of you." Everyone bid him good night and he left the room.

Murata sighed. "It's sad how tomorrow's the last day."

"Yes that is true," Lord von Gyllenhaal replied. "But at least this means you can start preparation with the Lady Ulrike soon."

An exchange of grins went around the room, and Murata couldn't help but be smug. This is going to be fun.

When Wolfram got back to their room, he tried to be as quiet and gentle with Yuuri as possible. He didn't want to either drop her or wake up Greta… or both. As he closed the door however, Yuuri suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, catching him by surprise. "Yuuri?"

"Don't ever leave me."

Wolfram's eyes widened. "Yuuri?"

This time, she looked straight into his eyes and repeated herself. "Don't ever leave me, Wolf."

He carried her to the couch and sat down. He moved her bangs away from her face and caressed her cheek. "Is something wrong? What's gotten into you?"

"That song…"

"The one you and His Eminence just sang?" Yuuri nodded. "What about it?"

"I could've sang that for you, Wolf."

Wolfram could only stare at her. "What do you mean?"

"You almost died, Wolf." At that, Wolfram's eyes widened when he realized what got Yuuri so upset. "You nearly died before, Wolf, and then I would've lived the rest of my life in regret because I wouldn't have gotten the chance to tell you how I feel about you, and we wouldn't have had the chance to try being together, and-"

Wolfram hurriedly kissed her. To make sure she wouldn't pull away, he placed a hand at the back of her neck and only stopped when he felt her calm down a bit. "Don't think that way, Yuuri. What we have is now, and I promise you, we will live a very long life. We'll get married, have children, grandchildren, and I'm sure we'll live long enough to see our great grandchildren." He stroked her hair and gave her continuous kisses on her head and forehead.

"I love you, Wolf."

"I love you too, Yuuri."

They stayed that way until Wolfram felt Yuuri go to sleep again. He stripped her of her clothing and changed her into her nightwear before laying her down beside Greta. He did the same to himself and he laid down on Greta's other side. He pulled the both of them into a tight embrace, not wanting to let go even as daylight arrived.

Their morning went by quickly. Everyone had breakfast together before going back to their respective rooms to continue packing their things. When they were all done, they said their goodbyes and went off to their respective lands.

The ride back to Blood Pledge Castle wasn't any different from the trip going to Spitzberg Castle. Greta, bless her soul, was a hyper little thing. Yuuri was just thankful that Greta didn't push her to play games such as tag, or hide and seek. Greta got the hint that Yuuri was exhausted, and so she turned to Wolfram. He happily played with her, and Yozak and Murata even joined in.

She would watch them for a while under a tree until she fell asleep. When she would wake up, food was being served. After eating, she'd continue reading The Magician's Nephew to Greta, and of course the rest of their company would find their own space and listen in as well.

Whenever they were in the carriage, she'd be dead asleep. Greta had to switch places with Murata so that Yuuri could lean on Murata and they wouldn't have to fear about Yuuri falling on top of little Greta.

When they finally got back to the castle, Yuuri refused to wake up and so Wolfram had no other choice but to carry her to their room even though he threatened to leave her there in the carriage if she didn't wake up.

A week has passed, and Yuuri was making preparations to go back to Earth. Whilst Yuuri was busy packing clothes and gifts for her family, Murata was busy making last minute preparations for the scheme he and basically everyone with noble blood had agreed on. Gwendal and Gunter had already sent out letters to their allies and most had returned with replies saying they would come.

Ulrike was hard at work in the temple, and for once, Shinou wasn't bothering her. He knew something like this would require the utmost focus to complete, and since he really wanted to, just like everyone else who agreed on this plan, see Yuuri in what some people were calling her, natural habitat.

Yuuri had to go to school soon as it was the end of her summer break, whereas Murata's school is giving them another week of vacation. They both agreed they would be coming back separately. Yuuri announced she wouldn't be coming back for a week in Earth time, which might be about two and a half weeks in Demon time. The reason for that is because one: Yuuri would need to adjust to her school schedule first before adding in her alternate dimension schedule; and two: even though Yuuri knew how to transport herself between the two worlds by herself, it would still be a bit dangerous to travel without Murata to guide her.

Once everyone was in the temple, Yuuri started saying her goodbyes.

"Come back soon, Your Majesty!" Yozak called out.

"Oh, Your Highness, going back to Earth to complete her studies - how admirable! Study hard, Your Majesty!" Gunter cried, bear hugging the poor queen.

"Come back soon, you brat. You still have a lot of paperwork to do, and I'm not going to do all that for you," Gwendal reminded her. He ruffled her hair as Yuuri laughed. He gave a warm smile and stepped back.

"We will be waiting for you, Your Majesty." Conrart bowed to her, which of course annoyed her to no end.

"Call me 'Yuuri', damn it! You gave me my name, so you use it!"

"Yes, yes, Yuuri." Conrart smiled.

Greta came running towards Yuuri, who enveloped her in her arms. "You be good to Wolfram, okay? You listen to him, and to everyone else while I'm gone, all right?" The little girl nodded, and Yuuri held her even tighter. She gave her a kiss on the forehead before putting her down, and the little girl ran off to stand in front of Anissina, who rested her hands on the girl's shoulders.

Last but not least, Wolfram walked forward tentatively. When he was finally in front of her, Yuuri crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?" She grinned.

Wolfram took her in his arms and kissed her. She responded to him by taking a hold of his shirt collar and holding him to her. One of Wolfram's hands held firmly onto the back of her neck, tangling itself in her hair, whilst the other was wrapped tightly around her waist, almost lifting her from the ground. They stayed that way for a while until someone interrupted them with a cough. They pulled their faces away from each other and saw some people giving them knowing smirks, and others were bashfully looking away. Greta on the other hand, had her eyes covered by Anissina's hands.

"I knew this was coming." Anissina commented.

Wolfram turned back to Yuuri. "Stay safe, okay?"

"Yeah, I will. You too."

"Be smart. Don't overwork yourself. Make sure you be careful. Listen to your mother - she makes good food. If anyone tries to hurt you, I swear I'll-"

"Wolfram."

He stopped rambling and gazed at her. She was looking up at him, and he silently thanked Shinou for the slight growth spurt he had and hoped there would be another one. He stared at her until he noticed she was smiling.

"I love you."

Wolfram smiled back and pulled her even closer. "I love you too." He kissed her again, and, reluctantly, they both let each other go.

Yuuri moved towards the spot marked for her to stand, whilst Wolfram walked almost backwards, not taking his eyes off her. When he reached the place where everyone was watching, Gwendal and Conrart immediately took hold of both his arms just in case he made a bolt for it.

Yuuri stepped out of her cloak and let it fall to the ground, knowing the mist was going to hide her body anyway. Wolfram on the other hand had to resist the urge to run to her and block her from everyone's view.

Yuuri turned her head around slightly to look at them. "Goodbye!" And with that, she was gone.

Wolfram felt almost empty now that she wasn't here anymore. Albeit it was temporary, he still couldn't shake the feeling off.

After a moment, Murata took a step forward and stared everyone in the eye. "Well folks," his glasses glinted in the light. "The real fun now begins."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

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