The Day With Wolfram, Chapter Six
Keys
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Daybreak found a concerned Conrad on horseback, searching the area surrounding New Makoku with a few men from his personal guard. Murata kept him company as he searched for the absent Maou.
Conrad was afraid that Yuuri's and Wolfram's disappearance was due to an error on his part. /I should have advised him to take a few soldiers with him./ He thought. /Yozak, at least, could have followed them in disguise…/
The Great Sage was quiet, for the most part, occasionally breaking the silence during those long periods when Conrad was not talking to one of his soldiers. "I'm sure that Wolfram would have fought very hard to protect him," he offered at one point when Conrad started to show weary. They had been on the road for a few hours by then.
"I don't doubt that, either," Conrad said. It was difficult to imagine Wolfram dying easily…or, if he had died, he would probably have done his best to take the country down with him. "At this point, though, we don't know if they were separated."
Murata nodded. "Well, Shibuya IS the Maou, after all, so he probably found a way out of whatever trouble came his way."
Conrad knew that his parental worrying was apparent to the Great Sage, and so he offered his usual smile. "Yes, you're probably right." He grinned a little wider, adding a little bit of actual happiness to his painful smile. "I don't know if I can say the same for my brother, though."
"Yes, I guess that's true."
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Yuuri was alone when he awoke. The warm body that had been next to him during the night, the young man who was so troubled and afraid and defensive, had disappeared and Yuuri wasn't entirely surprised.
He himself wasn't sure of how his next meeting with Wolfram would be. Wolfram had confessed to him, and that would probably lead to a lot of morning-after defensiveness on the demon prince's part.
Yuuri was full of questions, too. Would Wolfram be pushier now? Would he expect Yuuri to return his feelings? And what about the kissing and touching—would he expect that now, too? When he had kissed Wolfram the night before, he had nothing but the blonde's concerns and fears and worries on his mind. Wolfram had needed him, had actually needed him for a long time, and he had started to realize it a while before the latest abduction.
Guilt caught up to Yuuri. If he had been the first to awaken, he knew that he would have considered running away, too.
/Maybe he just needs to collect himself./ Yuuri thought. He knew that he needed to do the same, to sort out his feelings. He had kissed a guy, and he had promised to give Wolfram a chance. He had HELD Wolfram while they slept. He knew that those actions may not have meant to Wolfram, what they meant to him. Wolfram, after all, had thought very little about the two of them sharing a bed when they became engaged.
Yuuri pulled himself together, stood up, and stretched. He was dirty, sweaty, wet from the morning dew and in a sad physical state altogether. He brushed grass and loose dirt from his clothing and decided to look for a nearby stream to wash his face and hands.
Careful to not walk far from his sleeping place, Yuuri climbed a nearby bank, following the sound of rushing water. He quickly saw a spot of bright white on a tree branch near a small stream, which turned out to be Wolfram's shirt.
Curious as to the location of its owner, Yuuri pulled the shirt down and immediately regretted the action. The shirt had been partially blocking the sight of Wolfram, shirtless and kneeling at the edge of the stream. He looked lost in thought as he scrubbed his arms, face, and neck.
Not meaning to be indecent, Yuuri looked away for a moment and calmed himself. Still holding the shirt, he walked towards Wolfram.
If Wolfram had been surprised to see Yuuri walking towards him, he didn't show it. Judging from his reaction, he had seen Yuuri as soon as he had climbed over the bank and had simply ignored him. He continued to wash himself (repeatedly, Yuuri realized) and Yuuri stopped about a meter short of him.
Yuuri watched him as one would watch a friend who was doing something stupid, unable to talk to Wolfram at the moment. He realized that he was trying to keep a little bit of distance between himself and his fiancé, and so he dropped the defenses he hadn't realized he had up and closed the distance between the two of them. He knelt down next to Wolfram, holding the white shirt tightly, and watched and waited.
Wolfram washed his face one last time, and then rinsed his mouth with the stream water and stared into the distance for a moment. He wasn't sure of what to say to Yuuri, so he lowered his hand from his mouth and just turned towards Yuuri slowly.
His green eyes met a concerned face, and he just watched Yuuri's expression. Although Wolfram would usually have been a little flattered if his fiancé had looked at his body, he was glad that Yuuri's eyes stayed on his face and did not wander. His eyes caught the white shirt in Yuuri's hand and he blushed and looked away.
"I didn't want to get it wet," was all that he said.
"Oh."
They were both silent as they looked away from each other. Yuuri started to grow impatient with himself. /Say something to make him feel better!(!)/ One part of his mind screamed. The other part said//I didn't do anything, so…/
Yuuri could tell that Wolfram did not want to be held or comforted right then—that kind of action would probably have completely re-raised his defenses. He had never known anyone who had gone through what Wolfram had gone through, though, so he had no idea of what to say to Wolfram.
The prince suddenly sighed and took his shirt from Yuuri. He turned around to put it on, and Yuuri kept his eyes averted as a tribute to Wolfram's 'modesty'. Wolfram then turned around and held out his hand for Yuuri to take.
Yuuri took his hand and let Wolfram help him up. Something passes between them right then, with the touching of their hands, and Yuuri saw a semblance of real happiness in Wolfram's eyes. His cheeks had flushed a little, too, and Yuuri had the urge to tell him something good, something that would keep that look on his face.
Instead, Wolfram folded his arms once he had helped his king to his feet, and looked away. "So, do you have any idea at all as to where the kingdom is?"
/Translation: defenses up./
Yuuri sighed. "Well, I don't know this place at all so our best bet is probably to ask around for he--"
"Have you forgotten who you are already?" Wolfram gave him a small, irritated glare. "If we just go knocking around on doors, then God knows who might decided to make some money by kidnapping the Maou and selling him to one of our enemies."
"Well, you have a point, but if we just—" as he argued with Wolfram, he felt something in his head click. /Why are we fighting? What the HELL happened last night?(?)/
"If we just what?"
Wolfram's face was plastered with his usual look—pretty, yes, but irritable, bratty, angry, and in-control. It broke Yuuri's heart to see him like that, especially after the events of the previous day.
"If we just look around, we might get even more lost, or we might wander back into Balint's territory."
A worried look flashed over Wolfram's face for a moment, and then he said, "Hmph. If we find him, then all the better. I would really like to get my hands on him, that prick." He began to walk off in search of something, Yuuri didn't know what. He was probably just tired of waiting.
"Come on," he said, not looking over his shoulder.
Yuuri started to follow him. /He's acting like nothing happened. He's just going to try to let this pass over, isn't he? Even after what I said…/
The prince's silence aggravated Yuuri to no small degree. He caught up with Wolfram and watched his face. Wolfram simply looked away, lost in thought.
"Wolfram."
No response.
Yuuri grabbed the prince's shoulders and held him in place. "Why aren't you talking to me?"
Wolfram scoffed. "What are you talking about?" He glared at Yuuri, suddenly ready for a fight. Yuuri felt ready, too, but he was much calmer than Wolfram by nature and so he held himself back.
"Why are you acting like this?"
"Acting like what?"
"Like a child!" Yuuri found himself biting his lip. He knew that he shouldn't have insulted him like that, but Wolfram's behavior was pissing him off. He would usually have brushed it off, but he thought that something had changed between them the night before.
Wolfram pushed his hands off and spat, "Children TRUST people, Yuuri. Children don't wonder why they're being lead into some weird part of town. Children think that there's nothing wrong with asking around for help." He crossed his arms. "What great idea do you have now? Should we go find some other person getting paid off by one of our enemies and go wherever the hell they ask us to go? Well?"
"There is NOTHING wrong with seeing the good in people. Besides," Yuuri said angrily, "there was no way that we could have known that that kid had some other motive. And why would you assume that he was getting paid by Balint?"
"Oh, so a little CHILD would have some other reason to lead us off like that? Was it just for fun, then?"
"Well, maybe his parents were kidnapped or something!"
"TYPICAL! Just TYPICAL!" Wolfram threw his hands up in the air. "Everyone's a good guy! No one actually wants to hurt or use you! How couldn't I see how great the world really was?" His emotions started to flare up.
"I mean, when my brother kept the fact that he was half-human from me, well, why didn't I see how great of a person he was? When my personal guard member tried to force himself on me and INSULTED me by acting like I actually wanted that kind of attention, well, why couldn't I see how great he was? When my childhood friend accused you of seducing me and tried to take me from you, why didn't I see how great she was and HOW WONDERFUL it was that she would do that?" He was riled up and Yuuri knew that the end was not near. "When the king of Shimaron tried to have you killed, how about then? Oh, his great personality was JUST BELOW THE SURFACE, I'm SURE OF IT! When Maxinne tried to kill you, like, three times, when that hero tried to kill you, when Conrad switched sides…" He had started to lose steam, and the tears had returned.
"Oh, I know you're a great person, Yuuri, I really do. But, unlike you, I live in the real world and do NOT have the ability to turn every jackass in this world into a decent human being." He stared at Yuuri for a moment, panting, and waiting for a reaction. Yuuri stared back, his face sad and full of concern.
"And what about Balint, for God's sake? What, if I had stayed there with him like he wanted, and been nice to him and spouted all that crap that you love so much, would he have become a good person then? Would I just have to have let him to have his way with me a few times? Should I have been a good prisoner? WHAT ABOUT THAT?
Not everyone in this world is nice, and it's just fine for you to assume they all are, but other people have to live through the rest of life, the parts you don't see because you're the damn Maou and you're so damn naïve and…and you've never had to suffer like the rest of us." He sobbed for a moment, and then wiped his face on his sleeve.
The two of them just regarded each other for a moment, and then Yuuri said, softly, "I don't know why, but when I believe in other people, they show me what's good about them. That's how my life has always been, and I just never had to see anything else." He thought of apologizing, but Wolfram did not want that.
Wolfram wanted him to understand his pain.
"Everytime you go off and do something STUPID," the prince began again, "there's always a chance that someone else will get hurt. If I can fight, then I can try to keep that from happening. But…" he lowered his eyes. "I don't think you understand your full responsibility."
Yuuri swallowed. He had found out two days earlier that many of Wolfram's personal guards had been injured due to his actions. He had always known that other people may have been in harm's way because of his actions. He still felt that he had gained in the aggregate, that he had improved the world on the whole, but those sacrifices were still inexcusable.
He looked at his fiancé, defeated, and said softly, "You're right. Other people have been hurt. I still think that everyone is good on the inside but…if you feel that strongly, then we'll do it your way."
Wolfram stared at him in shock.
"You're just giving me a chance, and waiting for me to mess up and prove to you that I wasn't right."
"No, I believe in you."
Wolfram rolled his eyes. "Not more of that crap. Don't treat me like all those other people."
Yuuri bit his tongue to keep from saying, 'You are like all those other people.' Last night, he had decided that Wolfram would be different, or rather that he would treat Wolfram differently.
"I'm not trying to treat you the same as everyone else." Yuuri's face burned. "You're Wolfram, my fiancé, and you're often right about things like this. I can get out of bad situations, but only after I've gotten into them. I don't want to put you into another bad situation again, so I'll follow you." His heart started to beat harder in his chest and his throat tightened.
"You'll really follow me?" Wolfram asked. He looked just as torn apart as he had been the night before, emotionally vulnerable and honest.
"Yes. And what I said last night still stands."
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Murata had left Conrad's guard to search on his own. It was midday by then, and he had decided to rely on intuition to find his friend and Wolfram.
/I wonder what Shibuya is up to right now/ he thought. Maybe he was punishing evil-doers as usual, or maybe he was in pain and alone in some far corner of the world.
/Well, I don't think he'd let that happen./ Murata thought. /After all, he has Wolfram and--/
His thoughts were interrupted as he saw a group of horses coming down the road. The men riding them were not dressed in Conrad's officers' tan uniforms, so Murata quickly led his horse away from the road and watched as the men came and went.
Many of them were injured and unconscious, and nearly all were wet. That made him wonder—the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, without a cloud in sight—so Murata strained to hear them.
"That guy—wow! I didn't know that these demons were THAT strong!"
"Yeah! And that guy wasn't even the Demon King!"
"Once we get into New Makoku, we'll return the damage they dealt! They destroyed the damn castle!"
"Sir Balint sure is mad about the Maou getting away."
/The Maou? They said the MAOU didn't do damage, that someone else did./ Murata was confused, but he thought little of it. /It looks and sounds like they're humans. What are humans doing so far into Mazoku territory(?)/
He couldn't pick out the leader, and the group passed by without noticing him. As soon as he was able, Murata led his horse back to the road and searched for Conrad.
He needed to warn the kingdom about the attack.
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Conrad's search had lead him to a wooded area, and he had his men fan out. When night came, they regrouped and he spoke to them quickly.
"We were not able to find the Maou today, so I'll need all of you to participate in the search tomorrow."
Some groaned. Others nodded. None looked happy.
Conrad raced ahead of his men to get back to the castle, and, once there, he met a very grim-looking Gunther.
"Did you find his majesty yet?"
Conrad shook his head. "Not only that, the Great Sage disappeared today as well."
The silver-haired advisor covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh dear, oh dear…."
"I plan on searching tonight, too."
Gunther turned serious and nodded. "I'll help you."
"It's not necessary."
"You shouldn't have to look for him all by yourself." Gunther folded his arms. "I never like sitting in any one place when his Majestry disappears like this anyway."
"Thank you," he said. "Yozak agreed to accompany me as well."
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Wolfram had lead Yuuri to a small town (which Wolfram was greatful for, because he had actually been walking aimlessly). They soon found an inn in the town which had a few vacancies.
Yuuri had money, so he had agreed to pay for their room for the night. There was a silent agreement that the two of them couldn't sleep outside again, even if that meant that they would be away from Covenant Castle for a longer period of time.
The hotel manager was a woman whom Yuuri would have thought to be in her forties or fifties. As soon as he had walked in the door, here eyes lit up.
"Why, it's the Maou!" she had said enthusiastically. Yuuri jumped, afraid that she was one of those people Wolfram had told him existed in the world, and Wolfram nudged him.
"Calm down." he said firmly into Yuuri's ear. The woman didn't leave her post or run to pinch his face, so he sighed in relief.
"What may I do for you, your Majesty?" She asked.
"Well, for tonight, I-"
"Oh! I'm so glad that his Majesty would grace my humble hotel! So, you need a room for the night?"
Yuuri found the woman's personality a little overpowering, which he assumed she'd needed for a life of running her own business and managing her own affairs. "Y-yes."
She smiled. "Well, then, don't worry about me over-charging you just because you're royalty. You see, I'm a big fan." She took a key down from the wall behind her, and then looked quickly at Wolfram. "He with you?" she asked, her voice intentionally void of insinuations.
"Yes, I am," the prince responded.
The woman placed the key back on the wall, and took down another one instead. She motioned for them to follow her down the hallway to her right.
"Well, I'll give you the five-gold tour. This hotel was built during the last Maou's reign, and has been updated with…" Yuuri tuned her out. The woman had not asked if he would share a bed with Wolfram, and he was a little curious about her assumption.
Curious? Afraid? Excited? He wondered if things would be different at night, since his conversation with Wolfram.
"…and there are bathing facilities in every room, I might add. Dinner is not served here, but there are many restaurants nearby…" she stopped and unlocked a room. "I assumed you'd like this room. It's usually reserved for unwed fiancés."
Yuuri saw two beds.
Wolfram pushed him into the room and then turned to the inn keeper. "If it's for fiancés, then why are there two beds?"
"Ah." The woman smiled. "In this little corner of the world, men and women sleep in different beds until they're married. That's why this room is also suitable for, say, two men who are traveling together."
"Oh." Wolfram suddenly dropped the topic. It was painfully obvious to Yuuri that he didn't want to force their sleeping conditions…
Ah, to hell with it.
Yuuri smiled. "Well, actually, I was hoping that we could get a room with one large bed."
The woman's eyes opened. "Oh, I see. You two are intended?" Yuuri nodded weakly, having realized that that kind of thing may not have been accepted in 'this little corner of the world'. Wolfram simply stared at him.
"Well, if that's the way it is, then I'll go get another key," she said. The inn keeper locked the door and turned on her heel, leaving Yuuri with his fiancé.
Wolfram stole a look at Yuuri's reddened face and said softly, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Their eyes met, and Yuuri couldn't help but smile. Wolfram smiled back every so slightly, and then turned his attention back to the woman who was returning.
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Elsewhere, the Great Sage had lost his way and was slowly wandering back to New Makoku while watching the stars. He felt badly for his horse, who must have been just as thirsty and hungry as he was.
Murata heard the sound of horses' hooves, and when he looked back at the road he was on he saw Sir Weller and Sir Fornchrist approaching.
/I hope that Shibuya and Wolfram are well./
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Author's note: the ("five gold tour") is the Makoku take of "fifty-cent tour". I don't know what Makoku currency is so I made somethin' up.
Thank you for all the reviews. Also, who wants the fic to get bumped up to M? I'm serious.