9

Hey all! Sorry for the really slow update.. I have no excuses for you:P haha

Note: timing wise, so, because it is super confusing… I am going to go with rough estimations for ages - I have spent way too long on this haha. But, I am going to go with, demons when they are babies don't take 5 years to move onto a year… if that makes sense, however their development slows down at age of 3 (so develop like Earth humans until 3) then starts to slow down…. By the time they reach age 60 (they look like a 12 year old. As it is 5 x earth age – I think! Haha) they look 5 times years different (younger) than humans… but, it might be a tad confusing, I will try and keep it simple! Haha So Lucas met Wolf, at around 55/60. They all started getting into trouble around 63 to 72/73..then Wolfram got sent away… I am more saying this to get the timeline in my head haha So you can ignore it. Military training for him started at age 73/74- for 2-3 years, by the end of the 3rd year he was on the track to starting his own unit. By the age of 77, he had his own unit, so for about 3 years they had been together before Yuuri entered the kingdom. RIGHT now back to the story- I just had to write this for my own sanity. Haha

Replies to reviews:
SweetHeaven: thanks! I think I just re-read everything so many times that I worry too much and to me, I worry that it isn't interesting:P So that is why it is awesome to hear your thoughts about it, as they feel more accurate than my own because I am too caught up in writing it, if that makes sense? Haha
I really don't know what to say, but I love how everything I want to come across is reaching you! I am glad you liked those little things, like with Gwendal, because they are important to me too:) I agree! If someone close ever did something horrible to me, I don't think I could just accept it, I would have to know more. Whether it is something that I could get past or not, I guess no one ever really knows, we just have to try to move past it, and knowing why helps.
Just awesome review again, I really enjoyed it! :)

Promlemhunter: first off, your name is awesome! haha Thanks for the review, I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts! And I completely agree, I think that is why I had the need to write this story, Wolfram is always stuck between a kid and an adult, and that annoyed me! Wolf isn't being dragged to Earth just yet in this chapter, however the next few chapters he will;) I didn't mean to drag it out this much... I just, couldn't help it haha

Chapter 9: Overcast

The day was overcast, which to Wolfram and his soldiers seemed to match perfectly with the mood of their journey back to Bielefelt estate. The soldiers were not told what had happened to their third in command, but they all sensed an unmistakeable storm brewing. It wasn't often that their leader would be completely silent, but they all knew when he was, he wasn't to be trifled with.

They also knew the close relationship he had with their Second Lieutenant, Lucas Kurami, so when they were told he was under arrest they were all alarmed and confused.

No one dared to speak, they weren't sure if they really wanted to know what had transpired, more so-, because they could sense it wasn't something to be talked about. They had heard rumours of course; rumours of the young demon attacking their captain, yet this didn't make much sense to any member of their unit. To them, Lucas was a good guy, he could be serious much like the captain, was one of the best fighters in the unit, was more easy going than Lord Von Bielefelt and their First Lieutenant, and for the most part he was a kind, honest man. It just didn't make sense. And what scared them the most was, if he wasn't who they thought he was, then how was it that he so easily managed to trick all of them? Was he always deceiving them?

Their unit consisted of seven men, including the Captain, and four women. They were all young, all some of the best fighters The Great Demon Kingdom had to offer. All originally underrated before the young Lord got his hands on them. Much like many things in his life, Wolfram was determined to have the best, yet some of the older soldiers he found were not fond of the idea of following a young captain, who was rumoured to have a questionable past. Wolfram wasn't a patient man, so to him, waiting around for possibly years to get respect from his own men was not acceptable, so instead he decided to pick them young and train them to be the best in the kingdom.

Lady Von Spitzweg rode in a carriage, in-between Wolfram and his men who rode horseback in a staggered line of two. Lucas was tied up and seated behind second in command, First Lieutenant, Hunter Cromwell.

Hunter was the same age as Wolfram, and had been with the Demon Prince since their early days of Military School. He was a full head taller than the blonde, making him one of the tallest in the unit. He had dark blue eyes and long white hair reaching to the middle of his back that he liked to keep in a low pony tail, although some smaller strands of hair always made their way to drape across his face.

The unconscious demon leaning upon his back was slowly waking to the sounds of soft trotting of horses. He opened his eyes half-way, feeling as though a heavy weight was preventing them to open fully. Light danced in front of them, however no picture would form yet.

Staring at ground Lucas couldn't comprehend much of his surroundings, he knew he was on a horse, he knew that it was daytime and he had a feeling he was with his unit. However, he couldn't quite work out why he was tied up, why he struggled to talk, why he was not riding his own horse, or really how he even got to where he was. He tried to think back to his last memory, yet the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't work out if it was a dream, or perhaps he was still dreaming now. He felt his body surrendering to the heavy weight, gravity beckoning him to slide over and connect with the ground. The fact that he was semi-sitting up-right was remarkable to him; he figured it must be due to the body in front of him.

He remembers being dragged out of a cell, but he hadn't thought to wonder what he was doing there. He remembers watching lips of fellow soldiers moving angrily towards him, yet no sound formed in his mind. Slowly as the rode out of town he was beginning to gain some of his control back. His mind started forming logical thoughts, instead of random daze of swirls of colour and whispers without meaning.

Looking around he spotted familiar mountains in the distance, he knew those mountains, but from memory they were a few hours away from the castle, had they been riding for that long already? Time felt bizarre, it was as if it moved too fast, and too slow. He could have sworn he was back in the ballroom chatting with Abigail and Samuel only a short while ago, yet while he tried to think about it more, it switched to feeling as if it happened over a week ago- it was peculiar, and he couldn't quite work out what was happening. It wasn't often that he woke confused; sure, going back over twenty years ago a feeling similar to this wasn't unheard of, actually it was expected. Samuel, Abigail, Wolfram and himself often woke from nights experimenting with different drugs and alcohol. Sometimes all four of them had no clue what they got up to, yet, never had time escaped him this badly.

"Hey… what in the name of Shinou is going on…?" He spoke with slight difficulty.

Hunter stiffened with the sudden remark from the semi-conscious man leaned up against him. Unlike the rest of the unit, he was mostly aware of the situation. He was of course, one of the most trusted demons Wolfram knew. They didn't get along at first, Hunter's first impression of the blonde Prince was that he was a spoilt brat, with a terrible attitude and pampered life. However, an incident involving a pack of entitled demons having a problem with his family background changed his mind about the third Demon Prince.

Hunter had noticed; much like everyone else; the Prince around campus, he was a loner, not for any other reason than by his own choice. There were plenty of people wanting to cosy-up to him, for his looks and his status, but young Wolfram was simply just not interested. So when by some miracle the beautiful blonde Prince had appeared from nowhere and stuck up for him; an average nobody; he was confused to say the least. After that they started an unlikely friendship of sorts. Hunter respected the Demon Prince, he found him to be more than the rumours played him out to be. It was true he had to agree that his friend's attitude and temper had much to be desired, he would be lying if he said that he had never had to tactically calm down the demon before he did something unfavourable. However, he was quick to realise that Wolfram held great capability for leadership. He was compassionate (to an extent), intelligent, passionate and loyal. He couldn't really understand why himself, but soon he found himself swearing loyalty towards the third Demon Prince. And just like that, wherever Wolfram went, so did he. He wouldn't call them best friends, however, they understood each other better than most, there was a level of trust there he knew was rare. They both were suspicious people, both children of war, both distant to most, so to trust another so deeply was not something to take lightly. There was another once, someone who completed their unlikely, yet unbeatable group that started in the early days of military training; however she was long gone from their lives now; she was a painful thought that would stay hidden in the past for now.

No one responded to Lucas's remark. Perhaps if he weren't still out of it, then he would have taken that as a hint to be quiet.

His light green eyes searched for answers. He studied the white hair before him, realising that he was behind Hunter, then moved them across the horses around him until they landed on the horse not too far out in front of the unit. The familiar gold locks seemed to shine in the little sunlight peaking though the grey clouds covering their journey.

"Hey, Wolfram, what- " he was cut off by a single glance. One that held back no fury, he knew that glare, he knew that glare very well, yet it had been many years since he had received it. What had he done? What happened? He didn't speak again, not for a long time. That look was enough to tell him that he had messed up, he had messed up very bad, and that talking might sooner see him drowning at the bottom of a river before getting any answers. For the rest of the ride he did his best to make himself invisible, while focusing on staying conscious.

Chapter 10: The Truth.

It was a dream. It was a horrible, terrifying dream that had happened to someone else. It was a horrible, terrifying dream that had happened to someone, which he had played the villain of.

The villain who tried to take something that was never his to take. Something had taken control of his body, and now left unwanted, disgusting, unthinkable memories in its wake.

The brown-haired, green-eyed demon sat in the left-corner of a stone cell underneath the Bielefelt estate. Staring at his flirty hands in disbelief, he thought, these hands, were traitors. They pushed, pulled and demanded skin, love and loyalty from a friend he should have been protecting, yet instead, he had hurt. Over the last few hours his memory had mostly returned to him.

It was surreal, he thinks he can almost remember the cries, the pleas of a friend clearly too intoxicated to fight back. Too emotionally drained, perhaps, he thought, startled at the sudden attack from a long trusted friend. He hears the crack of a head hitting stone ring loud, terrifying drums in his ears. Why hadn't this body stopped at just that? That damage alone was enough to cause a healer's attention, he was sure. Yet, this body of his didn't stop. What had he been thinking?

An unfriendly, untrusting and disgusting monster of emotions lies awake in his stomach. It is restless, angry and sad. Confused and frightened. He wishes it would just disappear. He wishes he could disappear forever.

What had he done? He couldn't believe it. He didn't believe it. Yet, he thought, if it weren't true, then why was he locked away? Why hadn't any of his unit looked him in the face, or spoken to him?

Regret filled every part of his being like water filling the ocean. He had done it before, he had taken all sorts of drugs and liquors before, but why now had it turned so horribly wrong? He'd had bad trips, he had done some stupid things while intoxicated, but never in a million years did he think he could lose so much control, lose so much of himself in just one night. From just one, pink, pill.

His life was ruined, and he had only himself to thank for that.

Sound of a door opening outside of his cell pulls him out of his thoughts. The monster inside cowers in fear for the consequences lying ahead for them. His eyes slowly move to watch as two figures cross the entrance and stand before his cell. His heart thumping in his ears he forces his body to stand. His body is heavy, his head still spinning around, yet somehow he manages to stand and walk to the middle of the cell, stopping before his superiors.

He can't do it, his body demands rest, before he knows it, he caves to his body's will, finding himself sitting on his knees almost out of breath.

Sound from the figures ahead forces the man kneeling to lift his head and try his best to at least go down with some sort of dignity. He was determined to take on whatever consequences he had to bare, he wanted to atone, if that, he thought, was even possible.

"Sir Lucas Kurami, you are currently locked up under Bielefelt estate for assault towards Lord Wolfram Von Bielefelt. Do you understand?" Said Hunter. Hunter stood much like a toy soldier, both hands were resting behind his back, his feet firmly planted shoulder width apart, and his face devoid of emotion.

Next to him stood Wolfram, much like Hunter, he stood with his feet planted firmly to the ground, but unlike him, Wolfram held back no fury. His eyes bore straight into the light green ones, piecing through his as if he was noting but common scrum. Never had the young demon seen his friend give him that look, never had he experienced this type of wrath before.

"Y-Yes, Sir. I understand." Lucas said, bringing his eyes to focus on the cell bars instead of the angered face.

Wolfram had done his best since they left the castle to not go over to the brown-haired demon and demand an explanation earlier. Many times during their trip back he had imagined dragging him off the horse and kicking him until he gave up a satisfying answer, although, the more he thought about it, the more Wolfram realised there is probably no such thing as a satisfying answer. He had known Hunter would do most of the talking for him, right now he couldn't trust himself to not make things worse, however as soon as he heard the demon's lack of response, or rather, acceptance of the situation, he felt his anger get the best of him, and before he knew it, he was shouting.

"Do you really Lucas? Because I'm still considered a Demon PRINCE, you know that right? Do you know what the consequences are normally for any kind of attack towards the royal family? Let alone-what-you-just-WHAT WERE YOU THINKNG! Dammit Lucas!"

Silence stung their ears, he should be dead now. They were all thinking it. If it might have been a different Maou ruling he would have been dead the moment he had touched his lips to the blonde's unwilling ones. He had crossed a major line, whether he was intoxicated or not it didn't matter, the fact was to try that, or to do it to anyone would land you in the dungeon. To do it to a noble, depending on the circumstances, being locked away a long time or death, but to a royal no matter if the offence is considered small or major it was an insult to the country itself. It was not to be tolerated and therefore death should have been knocking on his door.

But Wolfram was sure that no one had informed the current ruler of that law. Not that Yuuri would concur with an old law like that anyway. But if he wanted, he did have the right to choose Lucas's punishment, Wolfram was just glad that he was able to get away with what he had the day before in the King's study. He felt that something was off, or maybe, it was just the fact that he had known Lucas most of his life, that it wouldn't have felt right to leave his fate up to chance. He knew he would have to punish him for what he did, but still, there was some part of him that had always felt the need to protect his friends, even when he knew they were in the wrong.

"I… I don't know. I know it is no excuse, but I…" he didn't want to say, he had promised Wolfram a long time ago that he gave up that life style, yet now he would have to admit that he hadn't given it up completely. It wasn't like he did those things often, only when he was around the others that he felt his resolve weaken and he gave into temptation.

"You-what, Lucas?" Wolfram said, he had tried to hold his anger back, but it was clear by his tone that,-that was close to impossible.

Hunter had grown tired of this ordeal, he knew most of the history between the two, after all he had known them for a long time, been friends with both of them for a very long time now, and he also knew that Lucas wasn't as committed to living a better life-style as much as Wolfram was, "you were taking drugs again, weren't you?"

"WHAT?!" Wolfram shouted.

Lucas brought his eyes to meet Hunter's, he could only nod, he should have known, Hunter could always tell when he had slipped.

Just as Wolfram was about to say something else possibly more destructive than productive, Hunter quickly asked another question, "what was it? Tell us, what happened?"

Lucas took a deep breath in, closing his eyes he tried to will his heart to slow down, but found it to be a fruitless battle, "I don't know exactly… Samuel and Abagail said they brought it back in Bielefelt lands, they said that it was new, and-"

Before he could finish, a knock as well as another solider entering the dungeon hall snatched their attention away.

"Lord Bielefelt, I am sorry to interrupt, but another letter has arrived." The solider said, while holding out a cream coloured envelope with a blue and white seal. The seal was a beautiful light-blue and white flame inside of a dark blue circle.

Wolfram tore his angry eyes from the demon kneeling in the cell before him and took the cream coloured envelope, "Thank you solider, you may leave."

The solider bowed and quickly left. Hunter moved away from the cell nearing Wolfram in interest towards the letter. "What does it say?"

The blonde's eyes briefly glanced towards his old friend in the cell before giving their attention towards the letter. He was not in the mood to worry about these letters, they were a nuisance in his opinion, right now he had better things to do, like beating the crap out of Lucas for taking unknown drugs again.

He tilted the letter so that Hunter could read it at the same time he did. Briefly his eyes wandered the washed out water mark of the blue flame symbol; a part of him couldn't stop the feeling of dejavu looking upon it; before continuing to the contents of the letter.

"Dear Prince Wolfram Von Bielefelt,

Progress has been slow, however you will be pleased to hear that our plan is slowly taking form. We have been conducting experiments to unleash oneself from the shackles of society and mislead ideals. We have created a pink pill that can free a demon's mind from society's judgment and confinement to allow a demon's natural instinct to take over. The affects are only temporary, and I am afraid it affects each demon differently depending on their level of majutgu, however it can lead to some interesting outcomes.

I believe you have the fortune of seeing the effects first hand. We apologise for unfortunate nature it ended in, we of course, never meant any ill harm towards you or your loved ones. However we could not allow you to stay in the reach of the current ruling, nor could we risk your exposure to the operation underway. As loyal as you are to your men, we knew that you would not abandon them for a trip over the seas if one fell in need of your direction.

You will have to agree that it does promise results, whether the subject is half-demon or full, it will react with whatever majutgu they hold. However, again, I am truly sorry for the crude method in which this situation was dealt with.

Time is coming to a close I am afraid, it seems we may need to take action sooner than anticipated due to the current dealings with the lower forms across the ocean. Lucky it seems as though the pill should be effective enough to show both demons and humans that the path our civilisations walk do not, and should not, cross.

On that note my young sweet Prince, prepare yourself, as the people will look to you. The time for action is now; your decision can no longer wait. But remember, there is only one true way for our people. Those who oppose us do not have a place in the new Kingdom, not even those as fair hair and pure as you, My Lord.

I look forward to a time when my eyes rest upon your soft skin once more. To a time when the people will be blessed with words of righteousness from your lips, and when together we will lead our people towards an era of true demon power.

If only tomorrow would come sooner,

Yours Sincerely,

Leader of the Demon's Order."

Panic.

All thoughts concerning Lucas and his fall into relapse now seemed trivial.

Thump. Thump. The young Prince's heart rang loud in his ears. His gut twists deeper in more knots, more uncertainty and dread leaking into every part of his being. Worry filling every corner of his body.

An annoying buzz anxiously hangs around in his mind like a mosquito, whispering the words, "young, sweet, Prince" as if a memory calling out to him, yet there was no time for that now.

It was the first time they had left a name to the group. That bold statement alone told Wolfram that they were ready, it was time for their coming out party and he was now realising that they were not prepared.

"Shit." Was all Wolfram could say. A million thoughts raced through his head, the main one being a very powerful, very naive and still too young King. He wasn't ready. They weren't ready for whatever was coming next. The distance between them he now regretted, a distance he placed there, one that used to be his control, his own selfish safety net that now would be their downfall.

Placing a reassuring hand onto Wolfram's shoulder, Hunter spoke, "okay, I think I understand now."

Withdrawing his hand, the white-haired demon moved away from Wolfram and towards the cell, "Lucas, tell us more about this drug, where you got it from and how to do you use it? Forget everything else, it seems that this might have been a plan to draw us away from His Majesty and quite possibly, this drug could be the root of their plan."

Wolfram took a big breath in, he would not lose control, he would not cloud his mind with worry just yet, he needed the facts before they could do anything else. And so he listened.

Lucas's eyes widened, he didn't quite understand, all he knew was that suddenly the guilt he was experiencing increased ten-fold. He nodded his head and did his best to recall as many details as he could, "all I know is, Sam and Abby got it from a man here in Bielefelt lands. They said it was a relatively new drug that was supposed to release oneself from their worries and receive a feeling of bliss. I believe it was called… O? Just O. I am pretty sure. I only took half, Sam had the other half, while Abby had a whole one. I dissolved it into my wine, or you could have it with food, it didn't taste like much. It just left a tingling sensation on my tongue, and didn't really do anything for the first hour or so… but then… it becomes a blur."

Tears breaking from their post, Lucas felt words catch in his throat as he struggled to continue, "I-I…don't remember… what was I thinking? How could I… I-I, don't understand. Wolf…I'm so sorry, you have to believe me. I didn't mean any of it, it's all a blurry haze, if-he wasn't there-if I wasn't stopped… I don't know-I-how did-"

Wolfram cut him off, he couldn't handle it. It was one thing going through all that, another coming to terms with it happening from a trusted friend, and now he didn't know what to think. He didn't want to hear about it, he didn't want to think about it.

"Stop. I get it."

Sobs dug deep into the silence of the dungeon. Lucas felt the weight of gravity wanting to chain him to the ground, but he managed to stay sitting in the middle of the cell.

"I know, I'm sorry. And I know you may never forgive me, I know it will never be enough, but-but, I'm so, so sorry. I will do anything you ask, give my life if you wanted, please, I'm so, sorry." Lucas hung his head low, closing his eyes off and prayed that his words would reach his friend. New pain sinks in with the realisation that perhaps, calling the demon before him 'friend', would be an honour forever forbidden to him now.

"Stop. I know. But I can't deal with this now." Wolfram said, willing his eyes to stay clear from water, and his voice to carry no opinion as he turned to face his second in command.

Hunter moved his blue eyes from Lucas to Wolfram. He was still unsure of what to think about the situation before him, still working through possible options for dealing with the new information.

Wolfram spoke, "right now I need to get to His Majesty before anything happens, so I am leaving you in charge of this situation. He is NOT to be harmed, however, whether he gets reinstated into the unit, locked away, banished, or what have you, is up to you. Consult Waltrana, and decide what you feel is best. However, if you do decide to reinstate him, he will not be allowed to keep his position as second lieutenant. We cannot have someone taking drugs to be a role model for the other soldiers, I will not tolerate it. Also, get him to a healer."

"Understood. Will you be taking any of the unit with you?"

"I will be taking Marcello and Hannah, as half-demons they will be able to tolerate human lands, the rest I leave in your care."

Hunter nodded in confirmation, before following Wolfram out of the dungeon.

The young Prince took one last glance at his friend in the cell, it was clear that Lucas was still suffering from the after effects of the pill he had consumed, considering the amount of majutgu Lucas had, Wolfram was not surprised by the alarming reaction. However what scared him the most was that Lucas only took half a pill, what would have happened if he took the whole thing? More importantly, what would happen if Yuuri, whose own power rivalled his own by far, consumed it? He gloomily prayed that they would never find out.

Please review! I love hearing your thoughts and they really encourage me to update sooner;) Even if they are negative, I don't mind as they get me thinking of how to improve my writing or story:) x