Crown of Flowers

Chapter Two

By Dejiko Mew Mew

Yuuri stood in his pajamas before two large doors, pillow and blanket in hand, staring straight forward as if it would open itself. He had done this two times already, but it hadn't gotten any easier. Hesitantly, he sighed and knocked lightly upon the door. Not long after, it opened and Gwendal appeared. He glared down at Yuuri, waiting for the explanation as he eyed the boy's attire and possessions.

"Eh... Um..." Yuuri stammered, face red with embarrassment. He squinted his eyes tight. "C-Can I... sleep with you tonight??"

Gwendal did not respond with words, but a definite grunt indicating surprise or otherwise escaped him.

"Ahhh That is... I—I had a bad dream, and I can't sleep... and... and I thought... I'll sleep on the floor! I just..." Yuuri went on.

"Why don't you ask Konrad... or Günter...?" Gwendal interrogated. Yuuri's eyes widened.

"Um..."

He couldn't say it. He couldn't tell Gwendal that he had already gone to them the past two nights, especially since he had used the same excuse three times now. Yuuri wasn't even sure how long he could continue like this. All he knew was Wolfram was still sleeping in his bed, and he couldn't deal with that right now. Not after...

"All right then," Gwendal agreed, allowing Yuuri to enter his room. Yuuri was utterly relieved and bowed and thanked Gwendal several times. He also apologized.

"Gwendal, your room is so..." Yuuri began to comment. He looked around. Stuffed animals filled the shelves, as well as a good portion of the bed; paw print wallpaper adorned the walls, and he was pretty sure that was a kitty-ear headband on the desk. "Cute..."

Gwendal, perhaps unable to, didn't answer. He simply grabbed a handful of animals from the bed and placed them on his desk. He unfolded the blanket and patted a spot for Yuuri, who didn't move. He only stood there with his still-wide eyes.

"You're going to sleep, right?" Gwendal asked sternly.

"Ah H-Hai!!" Yuuri squeaked. He did not wish to anger Gwendal, especially after asking such a favor. He quickly jumped into bed and pulled the covers up. It was awkward enough, but as he closed his eyes, he felt a definite warmth against his body and an arm outstretched across him. "G-G-Gwendal...!!?"

"Hm?" Gwendal responded as if it were nothing. Yuuri met his icy cold eyes once again and shook his head, deciding not to say anything. After all, Gwendal didn't have any stuffed animals in his bed because of him... He might as well return the favor; perhaps Gwendal needed something to cuddle with in order to fall asleep.

Still, it was awkward... Yuuri now found it difficult to even close his eyes, much less fall asleep. Gwendal was out of it and Yuuri was jealous. He wished that he could enjoy an easy sleep like that, but it was the darkness of night that seemed to leave Yuuri with his thoughts and worries. It was at this time when he could not focus on anything else.

"How long am I going to run from Wolfram...?" he asked himself. "I bet he's still mad... And it probably wouldn't help if he knew I've been going to his brothers' rooms..."

He tried his best to not think about it. However, the night was long and he wasn't sure what time he had drifted into slumber. He knew it was late, for the darkness had grown increasingly brighter.

And so, he had woken up feeling not very rejuvenated. Gwendal had already left the room, and his half of the bed was neatly made. Yuuri did his best to make his side look the same, although it was a little off... Actually, it was very off. Who knew making a bed could be so difficult?

Yuuri decided that he would check his room, and hopefully, Wolfram would have left by now. He did not intend to walk around all day in his pajamas.

He arrived and was relieved greatly to find his room empty. He took a moment to wonder where Wolfram might have gone and another moment to worry if he might come back. Not wanting to take any chances, he quickly changed and quickly left. The moment he shut the door behind him, however, he stood face to face with his current fear.

"Yuuri..." Wolfram said quietly. There was no particular expression on his face, and this worried Yuuri immensely.

"W-Wolfram!" he choked out, his back hard against the door. He wasn't ready for this. He didn't know what Wolfram would say or what he would do or if he would say or do anything at all, but he wasn't about to wait around and find out. "I... um, there's someplace I have to be!"

Yuuri dashed off, and Wolfram extended a hand to try to grab him, but he was too late and missed. He slowly lowered his arm and sighed. He wasn't about to chase after Yuuri who was obviously so desperate to get away from him. In anger, he kicked the door and walked away.

Yuuri slowly came to a halt and leaned against a rail for support. His heart was racing and his breathing was heavy. He moaned a bit to himself and fell to his knees.

"That was... That was close..." he sighed aloud.

"What was close?" a voice quickly questioned from behind. Yuuri screamed and jumped to his feet.

"G-Gwendal!" he cried. "You scared me... Don't do that!"

Gwendal did not apologize, but somehow, his face seemed to show it a bit.

"Sorry," Yuuri laughed. "Um... I wanted to thank you again... for last night..."

"My brother tells me you've been avoiding him," Gwendal said, as if completely ignoring Yuuri's comment. Yuuri felt dizzy and his eyes widened.

"Uh... Um... That is...!!" he stammered.

"I'm not going to ask for your reasons," Gwendal continued. "I'm not even going to tell him I mentioned it to you. I simply... wanted to know."

"Oh... Um..." Yuuri mumbled, twiddling his fingers. "It's not really... avoiding..." He trailed off as Gwendal's fierce eyes laid their gaze upon him again. It always made Yuuri uncomfortable. He could never begin to imagine what Gwendal might be thinking of him. He realized that trying to converse with Gwendal was perhaps just as difficult as dealing with Wolfram.

"At any rate, I should get going..." Yuuri said suddenly. "See you a—"

He wasn't able to finish, for as he turned, he tripped on a loose tile and started to fall. Before he hit the ground, Gwendal extended an arm across his back and gently caught him. Yuuri's cheeks turned red and he felt lightheaded.

"I—I'm sorry..." he apologized quickly. It was a few moments before Gwendal stood him upright once more.

"Be more careful," he said. Yuuri slowly nodded and continued on his way. He put a hand to his chest and felt his beating heart.

"Why... Why is my heart beating so fast...?" he asked himself. He shook his head out and decided it must have been the surprise of almost falling so suddenly.

Yuuri slowly, steadily wandered about the castle. Things sure were boring lately. He wondered if it was because Wolfram wasn't around. Could it be possible that the arrogant young boy actually made the days more exciting? Well, he did have a very interesting personality...

He shook his head out as if it would clear his mind of such thoughts. "Bad Yuuri, bad!" he scolded himself. He had to stop thinking about Wolfram.

He passed by the bath, and his eyes lit up. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it sooner!?

He ran inside and jumped in, not bothering to take off his clothes. He waited to be transported back to his land, but after several moments, he was becoming aware that that wouldn't be happening.

"Why does it never work when I need it to...?" he sighed heavily. He climbed out and sulked a bit for now having drenched clothes. He'd have to go back to his room and change.

He continued along the walkways, leaving a nice wet trail behind him. At last, he had arrived back at his room. He walked forward to open the door, but stopped quite suddenly when he felt the tile beneath him lower significantly.

"What the...!!??" he choked out as two long mechanical arms rose from the ground and grabbed him by the waist, leaving him to dangle in midair. "What is this!!??"

A woman's laugh was heard, subtly at first, and then increasingly louder as the figure approached.

"I'm glad you asked," Anissina beamed. "That is very brand-new special invention, Capturing-His-Majesty-kun!!"

"Capturing... What!?" Yuuri squeaked. His eyes slowly widened as another figure appeared beside her, arms folded.

"Actually, this one was a request," she smiled, giving a hand to the boy.

"Wolfram..." Yuuri whispered in shock.

"Yuuri, this time you can't run away," he assured him. Yuuri's heart sank. He attempted to struggle a bit, but found it to be in vain. It was just as Wolfram had said; this time he couldn't run away. At this point, Yuuri shut his eyes and gave in. He wished it had been a dream. He wished he would wake up right now.

At the same time, he knew that wasn't going to happen. His breath grew shorter with each step that Wolfram took towards him. He had never felt his heart beat so fast. He had never been so afraid in his life. He really had no idea what was going to happen.

"Thank you, Anissina," Wolfram called back to her then. "Could you please leave us for a moment? I'd like to speak with his Majesty."

TO BE CONTINUED (for sure, this time)