A big special thank you to Hitomi65, Guest (1), TheAdelaide9, Love Love Love KXZ, Anaidreh, KOCHIKO, Sawyer Fan, Guest (2) XZanyu, Nickesha, WestKitsune, Guest (3), AuRi and Yay Wolfe. for reading and commenting. I'm so please that you all like my story so much!
Remember this, the story is pure YuuRam-Yuuri/Wolfram. Yoai/Slash/Shounen ai.
Other couples include - YozRad-Yozak/Conrad and GweTer-Gwendal/Gunter
Warnings: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Gruesome, Blood-Spill, Alpha/Omega/Beta, Suggested Sexual themes, AU, Maybe-MPreg
Please thank my wonderful beta: StephyYuki for all her hard work.
Chapter 6
Sleeping Stable
The bed was squishy. Wolfram disliked the bed incredibly. He had even taken to sleeping in the stables, not that anybody noticed; he had a very good idea of the guard's swap schedule and the young male would be back before anybody woke up. Besides, he felt much better in the stables than in the castle. The horses did much to help ease his loneliness.
It had been..? Well honestly, Wolfram wasn't so sure. He couldn't exactly tell time yet, but he was working on it... kind of. Wolfram wouldn't say he hadn't adapted to the wonderful ability named eavesdropping. He had overheard a few maids, chatting about how it had been a week since he had been rescued from that terrible Inn.
Whatever a 'week' meant, Wolfram wasn't completely sure. His supposed 'mother' who he had taken to calling her Lady Cecile, not that she knows of it though. The surprisingly not-so-young beauty had spent almost all hours of the day with him, trying to get him to speak and other things. Wolfram wanted the woman to hurry up and give up, but she wouldn't and not only that, Lady Cecile was able to tire him out more so then his Mistress. Oh…he probably shouldn't be calling her that anymore, huh?
Shifting on the spot, Wolfram tilted his head. It was a beautiful day; the sky was a clear blue with no cloud in sight. The sun glowed brightly above him, gently caressing his slowly healing skin, all thanks to Gisela. She was such a nice and kind young woman with lime green hair that framed her face, she had it kept off her face with a white ribbon.
Gisela was beautiful, not Lady Cecile beautiful, but gorgeous nonetheless. At first he had been against having the woman see him naked, seeing all the wounds he had been painfully decorated in, he felt she was peeling back the layers and letting all the darkness ooze out of his body. She eventually broke through his shields, and Wolfram found himself allowing her to see his bruised and battered body.
Secretly, Wolfram was surprised that he found her pleasant to be around. He couldn't say the same for some other people he had met, like Yozak for example. The bright orange-haired man who had saved his life. For some reason, the man knows exactly what to say to make Wolfram turn a new shade of red. Wolfram didn't exactly like to be around the man for that reason.
Right now, the young golden-haired man sat underneath a lovely tree that had bright white blossoms dancing gently through the air. Wolfram inhaled deeply, resting his sore back against the tree and watched the much older man. Conrad, Wolfram had once heard him be called Weller before, the male had cringed at the word. He couldn't bear being called by his second name, not that he has one though. Recently, Gwendal had allowed him to watch Conrad train his team, the same team that had called out to Conrad the day he had been brought to the castle.
Unfortunately, today Conrad wasn't training his team. Wolfram had even gotten out early to watch the horses being fed while waiting for the brunette, he had been expecting Conrad and his team to appear, but instead, Conrad and the young Alpha King appeared. Apparently, Yuuri had to be taught sword fighting every day.
Something about not having good skills, whatever that meant. Ever since the King had discovered him out after hours, Wolfram had been avoiding the double black King. Hiding in cupboards, locking himself in the bathroom and such, all to hide from the King, especially whenever he saw the man coming around, Wolfram would drop and roll. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Was that the saying? He had overheard the phrase from a few soldiers around the castle.
The goofy strange King sent Wolfram a grin, waving over at him. Wolfram, unsure of how to act, could only mimic the King's action with a blank face. He jolted on the spot as he caught the odd expression that overcame Conrad's face, Wolfram flushed and ducked his head, looking down at his lap and squeezing his knees tightly together and clenched his knees with his hands. His throat felt dry and he couldn't prevent the embarrassment rolling up his chin, which only made him clench his eyes shut even tighter. This was exactly why he had been avoiding the King; the double black was able to strike such things within him. His gut shuddered and Wolfram bit his bottom lip, his shoulders becoming tense.
Black eyes swirled as they took in the blonde. Yuuri wasn't stupid; he knew the small blonde had been avoiding him. An amused smile still on his face, Yuuri turned his head away and chuckled, shaking his head low.
"Okay Conrad, let's dance," he smirked, pulling out his sword that made a strange wail underneath his hand. Swishing the sword around, making a bright silver swoosh through the air impressively.
Conrad's amber eyes sparkled and his lips stretched into a wide smile. He chuckled in amusement and nodded his head, pulling out his own sword and flicking it up into a defense position, "Yes Heika. Let's, as you say, dance," he said, winking teasingly at the young King.
With a low grunt under his breath, Yuuri spun forward and brought down his sword and frowned as his god-father blocked the incoming attack. The double black could feel his sword vibrate as it made contact with Conrad's. His fingers gently massaged the handle of his sword, apologizing for the harsh slap.
"How's recovering coming along?" Yuuri whispered low to the brunette, his dark eyes glancing at the blonde resigning underneath the fruit tree. The blonde was watching the two with wide eyes, amazed with how they moved. Yuuri couldn't prevent the slight smugness seep into his heart at the stunned expression on the blonde, Wolfram looked a lot better than he had last week.
"Wolfram, he's still afraid to be around us. I think he's starting to trust me," Conrad sighed quietly, his eyes bouncing at his baby brother and taking in his form. He pulled backward and swung his sword, smirking as he caught Yuuri off guard.
He winked teasingly again at the King and quickly ducked underneath the embarrassed man's counterattack, "It's a slow process, it'll take time before he'd become comfortable around us probably. Gisela advised us to take it slow and easy with him, as not overwhelm him. It's going to take a while for him to fully heal. Mentally and physically."
Yuuri nodded his head, chewing his bottom lip as he arched backward and held his sword up when Conrad delivered a row of powerful strikes, "I see, so we can't be too hasty," Yuuri murmured more to himself then his god-father, "And Gwendal?"
Conrad shook his head, "Gwendal…he isn't taking it too well. He's thrown himself into his paperwork rather than deal with the situation. He doesn't like to admit it, but it's Gwendal's way of coping with it all," he breathed out, rolling his left shoulder and twitching his sword along, spinning around and blocking another incoming attack.
"Günter's been taking care of him."
Yuuri snorted to himself, his lips twitched in amusement. It was not a secret that their overdramatic lavender haired friend had a crush on Gwendal, it wasn't too hard to notice, to everyone but Gwendal himself that is. It was a wonder how a man like Gwendal was able to run a country but was blind to something as small as this.
"That's good. I was beginning to worry about him," Yuuri admitted, grinding his teeth briefly as he tried to block another attack. He mentally huffed about Conrad being the best sword-fighter in his kingdom, it had been so long since the two had spared together that Yuuri had forgotten how strong and fast Conrad is.
"I heard Lady Cäcilie has been trying to teach him words," he added in thoughtfully, tilting his head and looking at Wolfram from the corner of his eye before looking at Conrad and saw the slight sag of the shoulders, "Not a word, huh?"
"Mother hasn't lost hope. She spends the most time with Wolfram, after myself of course," Conrad closed his eyes briefly and nodded his head.
"Mother believes that Wolfram needs compassion."
"Compassion? He's weary about all of this," Yuuri groaned, turning to look at his castle. He had read the report on the blonde, his life and how he lived it.
He knows most of it and he couldn't believe somebody, anybody could go through all that, "Maybe I even scare him. Wolfram's been avoiding me."
Conrad chuckled, "Yes, I've noticed. And yet, so have you," he smiled brightly, eyes dropping to Yuuri's stance.
He moved forward and kicked lightly to his left leg, almost sending the young King down, "Your left leg is off."
Yuuri grumbled and arched himself, drawing his leg in and twisting on the spot, "I was giving him space, I didn't want to intimidate him," he frowned, pulling his sword back and stepping away. His eyes dropped to the pouting face of his sword and smiled, gently stroking the white masked face to apologize for the rough fight.
Conrad gave his godson an understanding nod, his eyes became soft and warm, "After all…meeting the King and finding themselves living with said King, must be scary…"
Conrad inhaled deeply; he looked at his baby brother. Wolfram looked like he was beginning to doze off, his soft green orbs beginning to close. It was the first time he had seen Wolfram so relaxed and at ease since he had come to the castle.
Conrad still couldn't help the bubble of unusual anger that filled his stomach at the blisters and cuts that ruined the perfect pale skin. A nasty bruise was still present on his lower chin, curling up and covering the side of Wolfram's bottom lip. Gisela had tried to heal the bruise, but every morning it would return. She had commented on how damaged Wolfram's soft skin had become over the years, "Wolfram still has to meet the rest of the castle. He hasn't met either Günter or Anissina yet; mother still scares him at times. Don't take it to heart, after all, that was the life he knew."
Yuuri nodded and ran his hand smoothly through his dark locks. His lips curled into a tight line and he nodded his head, "Wolfram still has yet to meet Greta. I'm sure Wolfram would feel much more at ease with Greta than anybody else. Maybe I should invite him to our picnic later today," he hummed thoughtfully, he couldn't help but smile.
The young Princess had been eager to meet the small blonde; she had a heart of gold and was the kindest person he knew. If anybody could make somebody like Wolfram, who had been hurt and stained, feel at ease and comfortable it would have to be somebody like Greta. The young princess could melt any heart, could get through any barrier. And it would have some perks. Perks such as himself becoming closer to the blonde.
Conrad smiled warmly and brightly, he nodded his head eagerly, "Yes, Heika. I believe Greta would take to Wolfram quickly, and the other way around too. Wolfram needs somebody as pure as Greta in his life," he murmured, putting his sword back into its sheath and held the handle.
Wolfram made a gentle sneeze and felt his head dip, his eyes flashed open and he glanced around with his heart beating loudly against his chest. He had forgotten where he was, he thought it was all dream and that he was back at the Inn. Locked up. Lifting one hand, he rubbed his sore eyes, rubbing the sleep from them. His face felt itchy as it always did, it was because of his blisters and sores. Blinking a couple of times, he felt an odd shudder against the top of his knee; it sent a chill down his spine.
Making a small yawn, he lowered his eyes to look at his knee and felt a small smile spread across his face at the glowing sparkling crimson butterfly which had settled quite pleasantly across his bare knee. He slowly curls a single finger out and gently hovers it above the butterfly and watched quietly as the butterfly fluttered from his knee and surprisingly perched itself on the tip of his finger. Wolfram tilted his head to the side, gazing at the gorgeous wings before he tilted his head backward as the butterfly began to flutter away. He never had the chance to ever be this close to nature before.
"Wolfe! Oh Wolfe," a familiar voice bellowed out.
A female voice shrieked, gaining Wolfram's attention along with the other two young men. Wolfram puffed out his damaged cheek and carefully rocked himself onto his feet, carefully stretching his legs out and turning his head around to look at the figure excitedly coming down the steps.
"There you are, I've been looking for you everywhere!" She threw her arms around Wolfram's shoulders. She pulled him towards her, shoving his face into her bust.
Conrad shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his hand still on the hilt of his sword. He walked towards his two family members and tilted his head to the side, "Mother, Wolfram's face is beginning to turn blue," he pointed out in amusement, watching as Cäcilie's emerald eyes popped open and she grabbed hold of Wolfram's tiny shoulders and pushed him away slightly with a bright cherry smile on her face. Wolfram sucked in a large puff of air, his shoulders shaking slightly.
"Lady Cäcilie," Yuuri greeted, bowing his head in greeting. He carefully held his sword and brought out a roll of the finest white silk Wolfram had ever seen.
Lady Cäcilie's eyes widened and her smile transformed into something much flirtier, "Oh, Heika! I didn't see you there. Ah! It's actually great that you're here. I was going to look for you afterwards," she spoke excitedly, clapping her hands together.
"Mother?" Conrad questioned thoughtfully, eyebrows raising in wonder. Just what had his mother been doing, what's going through her head this time?
Bright green eyes glowed gleefully, "Let's throw a ball. A party!" she squealed out, her long black dress swishing around her body as she moved.
"Let's introduce Wolfe to the world!" she smiled, twirling around and waving a hand out and wiggling her hips side to side.
Wolfram felt his heart skip a beat. A ball, a party? He couldn't believe it. He had heard so many stories of parties and balls, of the finest silks and the dances everyone partook in. Were they really going to throw one of those? Was he really going to be allowed to attend one? His heart beat harshly in his chest at the possibility of seeing something so great. A rush of brief excitement fluttered through his veins before he bit his bottom lip and lowered his head in shame. He wasn't sure if he could attend or not, he might not be allowed too.
"Mother. Wolfram might not be ready," Conrad suddenly said, turning to look at the blonde and placing his hand firmly onto the boy's shoulder. Wolfram lifted his head and looked up at Conrad. Did that mean the party would be for him?
Lady Cäcilie rolled her green eyes, making a soft grunt under her breath, "Con-rad, you're no fun! I'm certain this is what Wolfe needs! Right Wolfe?" she smiled brightly over at her younger son.
She swayed her hips side to side again while rubbing her hands together, "Right Wolfe, dancing and talking! Lots of good food!" she hummed, almost dancing on the spot.
"Mother," Conrad groaned to himself, shaking his head almost pleasantly, "May I ask who would be attending this ball?"
Rolling her eyes at her middle child looking like the picture of innocence, Lady Cäcilie's lips pulled into a wide grin, baring her pearly whites at him, "Well of course everyone," she squealed and upon seeing Conrad raise a perfectly groomed eyebrow, she scoffed.
"I mean the Nobles Conrad. We have to show off our dear Wolfe, and besides, my dear brother has been asking about meeting him," she spoke, her eyes darkening as she thought of her older brother.
She held a great dislike towards him, as he was one of the few who had advised her on giving Wolfram up before he went missing suddenly. Very strange, if you asked her; she wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the few who tried to get rid of her baby, "I'm sure everyone will be happy to finally meet him."
Yuuri, who had been standing idly by listening quietly, and also been not-so-subtly sneaking glances at a certain blonde, had finally decided to cut in. He arched his back and looked at Lady Cäcilie, "Perhaps we should consider Wolfram in this. After all this party is for him, right?" he pressed, looking at the woman and knowing about her love to throw parties, any ball for that matter. But also knowing as a woman and a mother, she would want to get back at all the nobles that had advised her to give up on young Wolfram, who had belittled the blonde for being an Omega.
"Of course," Lady Cäcilie gasped out, spinning around to face her youngest son and gently brushed a few of his golden locks out of his face, "Well Wolfe?" she hummed, tilting her head to the side and allowing her own golden hair to roll down her face like a golden waterfall.
Wolfram blinked slowly, he looked up at his supposed mother, Lady Cäcilie with a blank expression. His eyes drifted to the side almost immediately, staring at the ground. He had always wanted to see a ball; it was something that was always spoken of at the Inn. The King's and former Queen's balls were always grand, beautiful. The talk of the kingdom and when a ball is thrown, it was also a time when commoners had the pleasure of seeing the ten noble families come to town.
Slowly, he found himself bobbing his head in answer which only made Lady Cäcilie squeal gleefully and pulled him into a tight hug, "Oh Wolfe!" she shrieked out, "I have to start the preparations!"
"M-Mother," Conrad sighed and quickly followed after, fearing his dear old mother might end up doing something she'll regret. Like the last time. She was so adamant on having this unique ice statue, only it ended up melting halfway through the ball. Seriously, it just fell apart into a puddle of water during Yuuri's speech. It sure was a sight to see; in fact Conrad was sure it was still on the tongues of many people.
Wolfram watched both of them go with unblinking wide eyes, his lips spread and he lightly scratched the back of his head. He couldn't help but wonder if his-Lady Cäcilie was like this a lot. He pitied his supposed brothers for having to put up with it all, he wasn't sure if he could and he's been at the castle for barely a week and the woman was tiring him out so much with her burst of energy.
"Well, that was eventful…" Wolfram felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
His heart quickly began to speed up and his face turned pink. He hadn't noticed he had been left with the King. Wolfram tilted his head and shyly looked up at the King through his golden hair and when Yuuri gave him a bright kind smile, he found himself looking back at the ground. He was sure, if it was possible, steam would erupt from his ears.
Yuuri chuckled to himself and turned his own head, looking down at his sword, "Ah. Sorry Morgif, I got a bit distracted," he apologized again, shifting the now loudly wailing sword in his hands.
Wolfram snapped his head up and stared at the sword, looking at the gapping mouth on the handle, "Oh. Wolfram, this is Morgif. He's my…sword," he joked, holding the sword to Wolfram.
Wolfram placed a finger on his chin and slightly bent over, looking at the moaning face with wide eyes filled with wonder. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He had heard about the sword from rumors; he couldn't believe it was right in front of him. Wolfram let out a breathless gasp as the sword made another wail and he reached out, poking the face on its cheek which made Morgif groan and shake in Yuuri's hands. Morgif turned his black pools onto Wolfram and pouted after Wolfram poked him.
His eyes grew wide at seeing Wolfram before he let out an even louder moan that sounded very sexual causing both men to turn red, "M-Morgif! Yuuri gasped, pulling the shaking sword back from Wolfram when it tried to get closer to the blonde.
"Ah, be nice," he huffed at the wailing face before looking at Wolfram in embarrassment, "Sorry about that. Morgif likes pretty faces," he admitted, face growing redder when Morgif made a sound of agreement.
A tiny smile appeared across Wolfram's face, he let out a tiny breathless laugh. Finding Morgif amusing. When he realized what he had just done, he felt a shudder run up his spine and he turned redder, looking to the side when Yuuri stared at him with large round black eyes. Surprised at what Wolfram had just done, as far as he knew, Wolfram hadn't really shown any emotion since he arrived at the castle. Smiling even wider, Yuuri snorted at Morgif.
"Don't embarrass me like that," he playfully slapped the tip of the sword's hilt; "He's very…head-strong," Yuuri chuckled. Wolfram tried to stop the smile, but it came anyway. He smiled at the sword openly.
"He doesn't really like the sun, it burns his face," Yuuri explained when the sword whines loudly suddenly.
"I have to wrap him back up now," he says, shifting the roll of silk in his hand.
His dark eyes flickered between the sword and Wolfram, "Ah, can you hold him up straight?"
Wolfram's eyes widen in surprise that the King would ask him to hold the legendary sword. Feeling determined, he nodded his head and reached for the sword that made a row of gasps upon noticing the pretty boy was going to hold him. Breathing a sharp breath as his fingers brushed against Yuuri's, Wolfram felt a row of goose bumps quickly lick their way across his skin, but Wolfram ignored it and carefully twisted Morgif around smiling at the gooey face the sword made.
Morgif made moaning noises at Wolfram before turning his attention to his owner and groaned in displeasure when he saw the silk, "Sorry Morgif," Yuuri chuckled and began to wrap the sword up.
Tying a bow at the tip of the handle, Yuuri smiled and nodded, "There. Thank you Wolfram,"
Blushing even deeper, Wolfram ducked his head and nodded in return to the double black. Feeling disappointed that he wasn't graced with the blonde voice; Yuuri rubbed the back of his neck, "Oh. I was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch. You see my daughter, Princess Greta really wants to meet you," he says. He knows it's a lame excuse to spend time with the Omega, but how else will he make a start?
Wolfram blinks slowly, letting the words sink in. Did the King just invite him for lunch? With his young daughter? Wolfram had heard about the princess, about how kind and innocent she is, how gentle she is. That Princess Greta is the best princess the kingdom had ever had, straight after King Yuuri. That she, just like her adopted father, is made of pure light and warmth. At first Wolfram did not believe that Greta was real, she had to be made up as nobody was that pure and just so, well light itself. It was impossible. And yet here he was, being given the opportunity to meet the young gentle princess.
His mouth opened and shut, unsure of how to answer, "Oh, you don't have to if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel like I'm pressuring you into this!" Yuuri quickly added nervously, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.
Awkwardly looking off to the side and running his hand through his hair. Wolfram searched around himself to find something that would let the kind King know he'd actually would like to meet the Princess of light. He couldn't exactly speak his mind. Puffing out his cheeks, he reached out and tugged lightly on the edge of dark sleeve. Gaining Yuuri's attention, Yuuri's dark pools widened in surprise and he tilted his head, he watched as Wolfram shyly nodded his head.
"You'd like to attend?" Yuuri slowly spoke and grinned so widely that his cheeks began to sting when Wolfram timidly nodded in reply.
"Greta will be so pleased! She's been on my case about meeting you since the day you arrived," he chuckled, closing his eyes in an 'eye smile'.
Wolfram breathed in a sharp breath as he felt his face turn redder and his heart beat louder, so loud that he could hear the beating organ in his ears, "Well, just allow me to return Morgif to the treasure room and I'll meet you in the gardens. Oh, the jasmine garden, it's one of Greta's favourite places,"
Wolfram nods his head in understanding, his heart swelled as he watched the King rush off into the castle. He reached up and rubbed his face, feeling the heat vibrating underneath his palms and it made his chest throb. Lunch in the jasmine garden; where could that be? Wheezing deeply, he turned around and began to walk towards the castle. He had to find the garden, he couldn't remember seeing the garden around before, and he had explored most of the castle. Scanning his wide eyes around the yard his gaze drifted to the stairs.
Entering the castle, Wolfram paused mid-step and glanced around shyly. His eyes trailing over all the doors attached to hallways, he couldn't quite decide on which corridor to take, which pathway to take, which one would take him to the jasmine garden. Spotting a maid in a deep red and white dress coming scattering towards him, Wolfram nervously waved her over. She was beautiful with long curl of lushes green, a reasonable size bust with long slender legs. Her wide orange eyes notices the young blonde and she quickly rushed towards him, holding the front of her short dress down.
"S-Sir?" she stuttered, stopping in front of him and bowing in respect.
Wolfram pressed a finger against his bottom lip and tilted his head to the side in thought. How was he supposed to ask her where the jasmine garden was? His voice box didn't work; he'd have to show her. Forcing a strained smile, he swallowed a lump in his throat and shifted his hand about.
The maid blinked her orange eyes and tilted her head to the side in confusion, seeing this Wolfram covered his mouth and shook his head, "You can't talk…" she trailed off slowly and smiled kindly at the blonde when he nodded his head.
"I see, what is it you'd like. My lord?"
Hearing himself being called 'My lord' made Wolfram frown; he'd never get use to that, never. Sucking his bottom lip as he thought of how to approach the situation, his eyes widened and he cupped his hands together, pressing all his fingers together to make a bud like shape. He then processed to curl his fingers to make a blooming like shape; he repeated the action to the maid.
She stared at it before gasping, "Oh. Flower, flower," she repeated and Wolfram nodded. He arches his back and points to the yard. The maid turns her head to look through the wide door-frame.
"Flower yard? Yard…oh garden. You want to know where the flower gardens are. Right?" she questioned and Wolfram let out a gasp of relief, nodding his head furiously.
The maid smiled herself and rocked on the balls of her feet, "The flower gardens are just down that corridor and to the left,"
Wolfram turned his head and looked down the corridor the maid had been pointing towards. He scratches the back of his head and returned his attention to the maid, bowing his head in thanks. Wolfram watched as the maid returned to her duties. Tapping his fingers together, Wolfram turned to face the hallway he had been directed to go down, sighing to himself and shaking his head, he began to slowly walk down the corridor. Every footstep he took, made him feel more nervous, causing his heart to beat harshly within his chest.
Poking his head out, the small blonde peered around the corner to find another archway leading outside. Pressing his lips tightly together, he scratched at the back of his head and wondered why he hadn't explored this way before? He hadn't ever been down this hallway. Frowning, he dragged his feet along, moving towards the archway. A breathless gasp escaped Wolfram's lips as he could see the beginning of a wonderland outside the doorframe, pressing his hand firmly against his chest, he carefully stepped out and was greeted with the most beautiful and gorgeous sight he had ever seen before.
Daisies fluttered around the stone steps he stood upon, gently curling against the cool stone with their pure white and pink dusted petals gently creasing the air. On both sides of the staircase were trees, both were filled with healthy dark or light green leaves. One tree had pure purple apples hanging within the branches, while the other tree had baby blue oranges, as ironic as it was.
Slowly he moved further into the garden. Pearly white stone archways made pretty patterns around the garden, making the archways split into different parts of the garden. As Wolfram walked towards one, he discovered that every archway had words carved at the top. 'Cäcilie's Red Sigh' was the first archway he came across and peering through the frame, he found a beautiful garden with bright golden flowers; their petals spread wide open with a red dusting at the tips. Wolfram shyly approached one of the flowers and crouched down; noticing the way the red dusting looked like tiny little flames had been imprinted upon the softness. Reaching out, he gently stroked one of the petals and smiled. They withered underneath his fingertips, but they were beautiful, very beautiful.
Stretching out his legs, Wolfram sniffed the Cäcilie's Red sigh and sighed, they smelled wonderful too. A smell he had never smelt before. Still smiling Wolfram quickly exited Cäcilie's Red sigh garden, eager to see what other gardens were here. A garden was filled with deep purple flowers that resembled roses in a way; they looked fully bloomed with greyish spots at the bottom of the flower.
They were named 'Secret Gwendal'. This flower had an odd smell, and yet he still liked the smell a lot. Another garden he had found possessed thin flowers that reminded him of Lucas's gladiola's, they were a warm brown colour with white specks in the middle, their petals curled up and outward with a glowing yellowish tint.
'Conrad Stands upon the Earth' was written on the stone above the archway. The flower had a honey-like scent, they also tingled his skin when he touched them.
Right at the moment, however, Wolfram was standing in the garden filled with tiger lily-like flowers. They looked odd, he hadn't ever seen a tiger lily like that, at first he thought maybe they weren't tiger lilies, but they looked so similar that Wolfram decided they must belong to the lily family. They were midnight with blue and white speckles, it looked absolutely beautiful. Sniffing one of the flowers, Wolfram sighed to himself. They smelled the best so far, like running fresh water; he suddenly had the image of a waterfall fill his mind, like an image out of a textbook he had stolen once.
Turning his head, he noticed the garden even had a small fountain in the middle with the midnight flowers growing along the stone. By chance he turned his head around; noticing another archway garden across from this one, he smiled and slowly began to walk towards it. Pausing, he glanced up at the archway and found his mouth open in shock.
'Beautiful Wolfram'.
Blinking furiously before glancing back at the garden he had just left, he looked at the gorgeously written stone writing. Filled with 'Yuuri's Naiveté'. Wolfram ran a hand smoothly through his hair.
Cäcilie, Gwendal, Conrad, Wolfram and Yuuri. The names were them. Wolfram twisted his lips together and tilted his head to the side, rubbing his eyes. All the names are connected to one another. It was odd that they're flowers though. Turning his attention to the 'Beautiful Wolfram's' he glanced shyly through the frame and bit his bottom lip. Tulips… Or what looked like Tulips. They were a soft golden colour with a green dusting at the top, just as he was about to step into the garden, he heard a voice behind him.
Making a breathless gasp, Wolfram spun around to look behind him. He blinked furiously and flushed brightly as the young Alpha King slowed to stop in front of him, leaning over panting.
"Sorry. I got a little caught up," Yuuri sighed, looking up at the blonde who nervously nodded his head in understanding as honestly, Wolfram hadn't noticed so much time had passed.
Smiling warmly, Yuuri stretched his back, "Greta's waiting in her garden."
Wolfram followed after Yuuri shyly, tapping his fingers together. Soon they came across another archway garden; Wolfram tilted his head back and looked up at the stone writing above the doorway. 'Greta's Warm Smile'. Wolfram blinked once before smiling, that sounded beautiful, warming his heart. The name of the flower matched with the young princess greatly, Greta's flower.
"Lady Cäcilie created the flower on Greta's 7th birthday; it was her gift. Greta has worked hard to look after it. I've never seen her so happy before," Yuuri smiled brightly entering the garden with Wolfram trailing after. Pausing briefly and gazing around the garden. The flowers looked beautiful, like a cross between jasmine and antrum flowers, a mixture of blue, pale pink and lavender flowers spread out across the garden, stretching out and growing along the trees.
"Greta."
Standing near the middle, next to a polished white table set was a young girl of roughly 8 years old. Her chocolate curls framed her face, making her large amber eyes stand out when the sun caught them. She wore a silky pale pink dress that ended at her knees, with two sets of bows on her shoulders.
Hearing her name, she turned her head and smiled brightly at the young King, "Daddy!" she smiled brightly, waving her hand wildly and running towards him, throwing her arms tightly around his waist.
Yuuri caught her with a laugh and hugged her just as tightly, "I'm sorry Greta. I know I've been busy with Gwendal," he said, looking at his daughter who smiled even brighter if it was possible.
"But now I have time to spend with you," the King spoke with a wide grin.
"Daddy," Greta laughed, rolling her eyes and shook her head.
"You know I understand all the responsibilities. I know you've got to look after the country too," she sounded so grown up that it surprised Wolfram how a young child could be so mature. She was most definitely a princess who understood that she had to share her Daddy with the country. However, as much as Wolfram liked being on the side's lines, Greta decided it was the perfect moment to turn her head and lock their eyes.
Automatically another smile graced her face, the smile growing wider on her tan face and she gave the blonde a cute wave, "Hello, you must be Wolfram," she said, stretching her arm out to shake.
Wolfram's gorgeous emerald eyes dropped to the small petite hand slowly reaching out to his own hand. Greta glanced at the hand and her caramel eyebrows rose to her hair line and a sadden glint appeared within her large eyes. She couldn't believe somebody had to withstand such things with scorn skin, Wolfram's hand had small cuts up his fingers and on the top he had a pale yellow bruise that looked like it had finally started to heal.
Rotating her head backward, she looked up at the blonde with large puppy-like eyes, "Are you joining us for lunch? Please?" Wolfram made a breathless laugh and found himself nodding nervously.
It looked as if Greta had suddenly glowed with sparkles around her as she clapped her hands together, "Yay, I've wanted to meet you for a while now,"
"Now Greta, don't overwhelm him," Yuuri chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck and winking at the blonde who flushed embarrassingly and played with a loose string of his white and blue long sleeved shirt.
"Maybe we should start feasting?" he suggested, struggling to control his own bubbling excitement of spending time with the blonde.
Greta blinked slowly, looking at her Daddy with confusion but none the less, she smiled warmly and nodded, "The food looks good, really delicious," she giggled gleefully, turning to look at the glamorous foods spread across the garden table.
Wolfram slowly and timidly walked behind the other male, rubbing his thumps together before sliding into the white flower-like chair next to the young Princess opposite the Alpha King. Turning his eyes on the small princess, he observed her, the way she sat like a princess before relaxing and slacking much like a normal child.
Her tight brown curls hung across her shoulder gracefully and she began to kick her legs. He could tell she was growing closer to the breed-age, the age where they'll find out which breed they are; she was a human, which meant—unlike demons who knew what breed they are as soon as they're born—it takes them a little longer. Greta was going to begin to show signs soon. As an Omega, Wolfram was able to notice these things.
He is, after all, the mother breed, no matter how much Omega's were looked down upon and brushed to the side or spoken badly of, the features of an Omega were still there. Wolfram could only hope Greta doesn't become an Omega like him; he didn't want her to go through what he goes through every day.
"Wolfram," Greta called, pulling the quiet Omega from his thoughts. Blinking furiously, he tilted his head to the young female and smiled shyly.
"What do you like? Ham or cheese? Or maybe you're like Daddy who likes them both?" she questioned, pulling a face at that while Yuuri laughed dryly.
"I like ham, cheese just makes me wince. It tastes too strong and smells funny as well. Daddy says cheese is one of his favourites, but I think it just tastes like dried up sponge." she snorted, shaking her head and sticking her tongue out as she spoke. Wolfram made a low breathless laugh as he listened to the 8-year-old rant on about how evil cheese is and how strange it is for a King like Yuuri to like it.
"Greta," Yuuri sighed, but still smiled none the less, "Cheese isn't that bad."
Sticking her tongue at her Daddy, Greta giggled and returned her large curious eyes onto Wolfram, "So, which one is it?" she asked, rocking forward on the chair and holding the plate of the beautifully made sandwiches. All of the neatly triangle cut sandwiches had their crusts cut off and all had bright tomatoes and lettuce, half of the plate was filled with what Wolfram assumed was ham while the other half was filled with what he assumed was cheese.
One was bright golden and the other was pale pink. Greta slowly blinked her eyes, her lips curled into a light line and she made a soft gasp upon seeing Wolfram's confused expression, "Wolfram, haven't you ever had ham or cheese sandwiches before?"
Wolfram's eyes widened and he arched his back, sitting up straight and shyly shrugged his shoulders, "Wolfram, you haven't tried…any…thing have…you…" Yuuri slowly spoke, staring at the small blonde. Looking between Wolfram and Greta, he couldn't believe how similar they are in size wise. It wasn't right, Wolfram should be at least a bit bigger than Greta; they weren't the same size, but close. Anybody could still tell Wolfram was almost a grown up. His midnight eyebrows pulled together when Wolfram guiltily bit his bottom lip and shook his head. Just what had those people done to him?
"Don't be guilty about this Wolfram," he smiled warmly, kindly towards the blonde.
"Daddy's right, now that you're a part of our family, you can try all sorts of treats! Especially my favourite strawberry sponge cake! It's soooooo good," Greta giggled, rubbing her rosy cheeks as she thought of her favourite sweet, unaware of the small frown that appeared across Wolfram's face when Greta mentioned 'family'. He felt bad, but this wasn't his family. His family was back at the Inn, with Thorn and Lucas. Oh, how he missed those two. He had been receiving letters from the two, and he also been sending his own off to them.
Yuuri smiled as he listened to the young brunette, his dark eyes glanced towards Wolfram and met with Wolfram's eyes. He flashed a bright and warm smile at the blonde before looking down at the goodies, "Here, you should try cheese sandwiches. They're good, despite what Greta says,"
"Ew, no Daddy. He has to try the ham!"
Meanwhile slowly approaching the castle's gates was a young man with black hair. He shifted his long staff and pushed himself further through the gates, greeting the soldiers that had stopped to welcome him. The Great Sage. His body was encased in a deep black long sleeved shirt and pants with long dark and light blue material hanging off his body in a robe like fashion.
"Ah. Lord von Voltaire," he smirked, pushing the round glasses up his nose as he came to stop in front of the tall dark grey haired man, "What may I owe the pleasure for?"
Gwendal glared down at the cheeky Sage and tightens his arms across his chest, "Great Sage," he nods in greeting, his voice silk and deep as always. His stormy eyes glowing darkly at the man.
Murata Ken, the legendary Great Sage made a soft amused snort under his breath and turned his attention to the much shorter man standing next to Gwendal, "Lord von Christ," he adds, his lips pulling into an even wider smirk than before. They couldn't see his eyes as his large glasses covered them, but he looked between the two men with a knowing look. Being a Beta such as himself, who had lived many lives and seen many things, he could smell when a Beta wanted another Beta and right now, he could smell how much Günter desired the uptight man.
It amused him, such an odd couple. He wondered if the two would ever get together. Bouncing his eyebrows, Murata returned his attention to the taller man, "How is our young Bambi?"
"He is fine," Gwendal grunted out and turned his head to the side, his eyes closing briefly, "But I didn't request you here for nothing, come with us," and with that Murata sighed quietly and followed after the other taller men.
Murata quietly crossed his arms over his chest and following them. He smiled cunningly and flirty at a passing maid in a pale blue dress with a white apron. She turned bright red in embarrassment and awkwardly stumbled along the hallway, almost dropping the laundry.
Murata lowered his head and pushed the glasses up his nose, chuckling under his breath and followed the two men towards a familiar staircase leading down, "The dungeons?" he thought out loud, before pouting, sticking his bottom lip out. He sighed quietly under his breath when neither man answered him, smiled lightly before sighing again, and climbed down the steps.
"This is where we moved the prisoners," Günter explained as Gwendal pushed the heavy doors open, revealing a large dark room that stank of sweat and frustration. Tiny shuttered windows lined across the top of the large grey stones. The three men walked further into the room and gazed around.
Murata felt his stomach coil almost painfully as he looked into the very thick, dirty metal bars lining up both sides of the huge hall. It looked like a corridor with metal cages on both sides; then near the end of the corridor it split into two more corridors going both directions, left and right. Chains hung from the walls and the cages all had large heavy metal locks with empty chain coves within them.
"We haven't really needed it since Yuuri became the king, not many people feel the need to go against him. Everyone loves the King, but unfortunately, there are always a few that don't agree with Yuuri's ways."
Murata turned his attention away from an empty cell and nodded his head slowly, "I see," he murmured out, silently agreeing with the men. So many people did love the country a lot more now that Yuuri had taken hold of the kingdom, but there will always be the few who disagree with it.
"Did you find out their real names?"
"Yozak spent a lot of time at the Inn," Günter explained softly, tilting his head and brushing off the long lavender hair from his shoulder.
"He's been working with the two who had been looking after Wolfram all these years. According to young Thorn, they were forced to call them Master and Mistress, so neither of them knew their true names,"
Gwendal lead the men down another hallway to a single cell at the end, "Meet Madam Morgan, the mate of Sir Gracesen," he grunted out, crossing his arms tightly over his chest once again, glaring darkly at the green haired woman behind bars, sitting clammily with her hands on her lap.
"Miss Morgan, then?" Murata spoke, turning to look at the woman and raised an eyebrow at her as she stared dead at them.
"I've already told you!" Morgan hissed out, grinding her teeth together and clenching her dirty skirt. Her green hair was all over the place and stuck to her face.
Her eyes slid into snake-like slits and she growled lowly, clenching her teeth together. "I don't know anything else,"
Murata looked at Gwendal with slight confusion on his face. Gwendal glanced at the shorter dark haired male out of the corner of his eye, "According to Madam Morgan, Wolfram ended up in her care from a mystery woman," he snorted, obviously not believing what Morgan had apparently told them.
"I see," Murata said thoughtfully, turning his blank glassed eyes onto the woman.
Murata's lips curling into a wide smile, his skin stretching, "Well my lady, how about you explain it again but to me?"
Morgan eyed the Great Sage with half-lidded eyes. She shifts on the wooden chair, it squeaked underneath her weight. She sighed and ran her fingers smoothly through the damp hair, pushing it off her neck, "Fine," she grunted out, rolling her eyes.
"It started roughly 20 or so years ago. Gracesen was beginning to worry as we were short on…servers. They kept running away or just plain out ending their lives," Morgan shrugged uncaringly, she shook her head and then rolled her eyes.
"But then one night, we got a note. A note that told us to meet them at the bridge, you know the one outside the kingdom.
"The note said about meeting somebody there who had a very…desirable item that they were willing to part with for a very healthy price," Morgan explained slowly, choosing her words carefully. Her eyes closed briefly and she wheezed softly.
"Gracesen thought it was some prank or something, but his curiosity got the best of him and as they say, curiosity killed the cat. Well anyway, he told me to go while he ran the place; I did as I was told. He was my mate. I went to the bridge with the cash and there he was," Morgan trailed off, her eyes gaining a far off gaze.
"A child that was roughly 29 years old. He had just grown out of his toddler years; he was confused as to what was going on. The woman with him said he would come in handy one day.
"If I knew I'd be stuck with the kid, I wouldn't have ever taken him,"
Murata's eyes flashed as he took in the words. He snorted softly to himself, "What did the woman look like?"
"I don't know, her face was covered with this brown cloak. She had a nice voice and smelt of mint. That's all I know," Morgan shrugged, casting her hand through her hair. She looked at the men with an uncaring hum and tilts her head, "That's it. Really! Can I go now?"
Eventually sun touched the land, bathing the stone in brief stokes of orange and golden before the moon slowly rose into the sky. Unlike Wolfram's first night, the black blanket of night sky held a half a dozen twinkling stars. All glowing brightly and beautifully, one of the most gorgeous sights in the whole of Shin Makoku. A small stroke of purple in the middle of the sky, it just looked heart-warming.
It's been hours since dinner. A dinner that Wolfram still didn't have the courage to attend. Wolfram had upgraded from a sandwich for dinner to a baked potato, this night however, he decided to add cheese. What Greta doesn't know won't hurt her; that he chose cheese over ham. It wasn't so much 'dry sponge' than it was slimy. Anyway, Wolfram laid in the bed that he had been expected to use. His bed was a cot, the cot back at the Inn, this was definitely not it. He laid stiff across the cushions with his back arched and his arms crossed over his stomach.
The bed was squishy. Wolfram disliked the bed incredibly. He preferred his stiff and harden cot to this odd softness. He couldn't relax on the bed, it felt too, abnormal. Rolling his head across the pillow, feeling the pillow sink underneath his head, he glanced at the strange contraption sitting on the bed-counter. Conrad had explained that it tells the time, Yuuri had brought him one the day before and it still confused the blonde. Right at this moment, it had bright red letters that read 12.30 pm. He wasn't sure what that meant, as using the small thing was different to how he was taught to read time, using the sun.
Running his hand smoothly down his face, Wolfram rolled over to the edge of the bed and slowly eased the blankets off his body. He edged himself off the bed and peered around the dark room; he shrugged to himself and carefully walked across the room to the door and gripped the handle. Wolfram pulled it open and peered out, seeing the two sets of guards.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he looked to the small machine and smiled as the numbers turned 35, quickly swinging his head back around and hummed softly under his breath as the guards began to walk away, preparing to change shifts with another set of guards.
Moving quickly, he slid out the room, double checking to make sure the door was closed. Wolfram kept his head down and stalked down the corridor, quickly sliding into the staircase leading back out the castle. It didn't take him long to come across the fountain. His smile grew just a tiny bit bigger while running his hand smoothly across the stones and half-running towards a familiar stable.
Pressing his hands along the rough wooden doors, he shuddered and pushed it open, smiling as the familiar sounds hit his ears. Horses, they made him feel so much more relaxed than the castle. He thought maybe it was because the Inn had horses and sometimes he would attend to them. His personal favourite thing to do with horses was feeding them, especially carrots. It was wonderful feeding and taking care of them. Wolfram simply adored them! He smiled as the wooden doors slid closed behind him; he looked around the stable, seeing the beautiful coloured horses. From white to brown, amber and golden. All so gorgeous.
However, a pair of horses always gained his attention. A black horse at the end of the stable always stood out. He was a gorgeous horse, shorter and stouter than racehorses, but with thicker legs and the disposition of a warhorse. Slowly, Wolfram moved down the stable towards the horse pen and peered through the small opening, smiling shyly at the two horses curled up together at the end of their pen.
The other horse nuzzled under the beautiful black horse was the purest of horses Wolfram had ever seen, pure white with a single golden patch around its left eye and slightly smaller than the black horse. The white horse was a stallion too, a male horse couple.
The pure black horse lifted its head and snorted at Wolfram as he carefully lifted the hatch of the door and slid in. He watched the blonde with half-lidded eyes before lowering his head once again, resting on the neck of the white horse. Neither horse seemed to mind Wolfram that much, as long as he doesn't adventure too close to them, they'll tolerate him.
Wolfram smiled timidly and laid down in the hay across from them, automatically relaxing. His head quickly began to grow heavy and his eyes shut tiredly, quickly dozing off into a deep sleep.
Wolfram felt a hand suddenly touch his shoulder, gently shaking him. A breathless moan escaped the blonde and he wheezed softly, snuggling into the hay and pulling his knees. The hand on him slowly stopped shaking him and began to gently rub the spot, "Wolfram?" a soft voice whispered. Wolfram shuddered as he felt little tingles of breath brush against his ear.
Whimpering unsoundly, Wolfram's eyes slowly fluttered open and he gazed around. Looking but not seeing, he felt his fingers tingle. His mouth opened and he yawned loudly. Slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, he stretched his arms out, his golden hair sticking up in almost every direction. Wolfram reached up and gently rubbed the back of his wrists against his still sleepy eyes. At first he thought Lucas or Thorn was leaning over him, calling for his attention and then he turned his face towards the person waking him up.
"Wolfram?" making a low hiccup that sounded odd as no noise came with it, Wolfram turned his head and stared blankly sleepily at the person kneeling next to him.
Slowly the blurriness began to clear and he was beginning to make out a very familiar being with black features, "Wolfram? Why are you sleeping out here?" Yuuri asked worriedly, his black eyebrows pulling together as he leaned closer to the young blonde.
Wolfram's eyes grew wide and his heart quickly began to pick up the pace. The tiny golden hairs stood up on end, he glanced around it was still dark which meant it was still night time. He quickly spun his head back around to look at the young King, noticing he was in those deep blue button-up pajamas again.
"Are you okay? Is there something wrong with your room?" Yuuri questioned, lightly touching Wolfram's shoulder again only to quickly withdraw it when he noticed Wolfram wince slightly. He bit his bottom lip and tilted his head to the side. Wolfram inhaled deeply, slowly relaxing and rubbing his left eyes much like a cat, he slowly nods to Yuuri's question.
"So something is wrong with your room? What if I request moving you to another room, will that be better? I thought you'd like to be near your Mum," the young Alpha King hummed thoughtfully, twisting around to sit next the blonde, looking across at the two horses. He couldn't help but smile at the two of them, so much in love.
Still half asleep, Wolfram hummed lowly with no voice. Another room? That wouldn't work, he just didn't like beds. The brief thought of letting the King know this passed through his mind before it faded away, "Maybe it isn't the room…you did sleep in a cot back…" Yuuri trailed off, slowly his mind reeling in thought, allowing his mind to quickly come up with reasonable reasons.
He jumped suddenly in surprise when he felt warmth spread across his shoulder. Yuuri tilted his head to the side and gazed down at Wolfram, his lips twitched before forming into a warm smile at seeing that Wolfram had dozed off again, his head resting against his shoulder with his arms wrapped around Yuuri's left arm. Using his right, Yuuri slowly lifted his hand and ran it through Wolfram's soft golden curls; he hesitated before gently running his fingers through it. The locks felt incredibly soft underneath his fingers.
"I wonder…is it the bed you don't like?" Yuuri whispers, sliding his hand around Wolfram head gently stroking the edge of Wolfram blistered, yet rosy cheek. He gently placed the side of his head against the top of Wolfram's head, feeling the gentle curls brushing against his cheek.
"Ao seems to like you, and he normally never lets anybody other than me near Mi. You're lucky, Wolfram," he whispered, letting out his own yawn and shifting in the hay.
He smiled even more when Wolfram snuggled up against him, looking for more warmth, "At least I'm making more process," Yuuri whispered to himself, his eyes flickering before closing themselves tiredly. He decided he would too sleep in the stable.
Maybe one day, they'd even share a bed.
Okay, just one thing to clear up :) Wolfram isn't mute. I know it may seem that way, but he isn't. Wolfram, from a young child, was told he couldn't talk, so he never tried. He won't try, he thinks his voice-box doesn't work. It does, but he doesn't know that. So every now and then, small words will leave his mouth, which he doesn't realize. He also doesn't know HOW to talk.
One more chapter and then the big guns will begin to fire. Poor Wolfe. But everyone has to remember "No everything is as it seems" so read carefully. There are many hints in all my chapters, the puzzle will come together soon...I think
Find out soon
Please review, favourite and follow :P