AN:

Finally a new chapter! I know that it's been a really looong time since I have updated GSQ. I do apologize for that but I promised myself that I will finish this long fanfic. Please bear with me as it might take awhile. I already half forgotten about this and how I wanted the story to progress. I'm slowly getting it back on track.

As I reviewed my past additions to this fic, I started editing some of its contents. (primarily spelling and misuse of certain words and scenarios) I hope you like it. I will also insert image links for imagination purposes along the way. Since FF doesn't support placing images mid chapters.

Please use this link to view image references since FF doesn't allow mid chapter images. Please also be reminded that all the photos in the pinterest link are NOT mine. All the credits goes to their original owners because they made really amazing photos that I can use for inspiration.

The board contains images of how I imagine Branwen's looks, Her Clothes etc. I will be continuously updating this together with the fic.

/leiiiriuuki/god-save-our-queen-story-board/

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou and any of its characters. This story is made solely because I can't get enough of Conrart and Yuuri.

Normal POV

An impossible impact jolts the deck and everyone upon it.

Rumble rumble.

A subterranean tremor? But they're floating on gentle undulating waves, not on land. Yuuri, gaze fixed downward, ignores Conrad's proffered hand and walks forward on unsteady feet as everyone looks around for the source. She lifts her eyes when she reaches the approximate center of the deck and stares sharply at the man right in front of her with the one black eye not obscured by contacts.

"...Yuuri?" Wolfram calls, forgetting her alias, but Yuuri doesn't seem to hear.

Taken aback, he grabs Yuuri's hand. With the exception of her index finger, it's icy cold.

"Conrart, she..."

"Yes. But it is out of our hands now." Perhaps not even Yuuri can control it. Conrart thought to himself.

"...You attack a helpless ship, destroying and plundering everything. You insist on following the path of evil."

Both her voice and tone have changed. Her hair flew around.

"Rather than engaging in honorable combat, you take prisoners with cowardly tricks. You even dare turn your blades upon the weak and claim them as your possessions." Her voice changed into a deeper more authoritative tone.

Rumble rumble rumble.

The noise accompanying the tremors seems to be approaching rather than getting louder.

Taken aback by the transformation in their young prisoner, the pirates gather around their chief looking for direction. Yuuri's burning index finger snaps to point right at the bearded old man in the sailor uniform.

"You will pay for your impudence!"

Those forceful words, coming from someone who is usually agog at everything, seem to belong to someone else altogether. In fact, they could even rival Gwendal's manner for kingliness. She's posed exactly like a model.

"O fools who have no pride as seamen! I have no desire for the taking of lives, but you leave me no other choice: I will cut you down!"

Wolfram scowls. This is a humiliating memory for him.

"She got me with that, too." Wolfram said while conversing with Conrart.

"It was pretty harsh, huh?"

"But this is different from then. We are in the territory of the Humans, the Elements should be limited here."

"That concerns me too, but..."

Magical power is intrinsic to the soul. Only those born with it are able to form a covenant with the Elements of the natural world, to command and manipulate them in order to perform sorcery. But this is the territory of the god-worshipping humans, and the Particles that obey the Mazoku are extremely sparse. Though if she's really planning to cut them down, using a sword would work just as well.

"Judgment!"

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble.

The pirates near the entrance to the cabin scream, their voices shrill with fear. The source of the rumbling is now revealed. They advance onto the deck at top speed and begin crawling up the bodies of their chosen pirates.

Crawl?! Screams fill the area.

Rattling bits of animal bones, the scattered leftovers from the passengers' meals and discarded remains from the kitchen, swarm the entire surface of the deck floor like insects or mice or hermit crabs. From tiny bird- and fish-bones to the ribs and enormous craniums of cows, every single bone has come seeking its revenge.

"Woah...th-that is the first time I've seen sorcery in such bad taste..." Conrart said

"Gyaaah, they're coming! Weller, they're heading in this direction! Do something! Do something! I feel like I'm becoming sea sick again" Wolfram jumps about like a lobster on a hotplate at the grotesque scene. Bones break apart into sharp fragments beneath his frantic feet.

"Don't move, keep still. Think of it as letting a scorpion or poisonous spider pass." Conrart coaxed his younger brother.

"Agh! They're they're they're climbing!"

"Keep your composure." Rather difficult for anyone who doesn't have nerves of steel.

The only reason the passengers and crew are quiet is because most of them have already fainted. The pirates are blubbering and howling in agony under the attack. They're being scratched and chewed and stuck through, their mouths filled with other people's half-eaten discards.

The pirate chief has tumbled down from the box platform with chicken bones thrust up his nose and into his ears. He's fallen to his knees in his terror and is trying to crawl away from Yuuri.

"S-he's the devil, the devil—!"

"Devil?! Do you still fail to recognize my face?" Yuuri muttered.

In front of him is the word "justice," formed not from people standing in marching band formation, but from bones. She is not the devil, but the Demon Queen. The women watching from the deck of the pirate ship cheer in the light of the torches.

"It's a ship, it's the Cimarron patrol ship!" Yuuri's fiery, glittering right eye picks out the light over the waves.

Scattered dry ruptures come from the bone army as his will leaves it. The bones stop moving. The Maou turns to the pirates with all appropriate dignity. "Repent of your actions, and be prepared to atone with the ultimate punishment!" He sways and starts to pitch forward.

"...Which sentence I will pass at a later date."

At the sight of her falling unconscious, Conrart eased his way to her and caught her. All present are certain that they will have nightmares that night.

Yuuri's POV

The Poljushko Polje has been running nonstop through my head. Not the version from my kindergarten athletic meet, but the one the tough old Russian guys sing with vodka in one hand: the Gorky Park Chorus edition. Though there probably isn't a chorus by that name. My body floats in pleasant warmth at the boundary between dream and consciousness. The stream of sunlight pouring down on my face turns the darkness beneath my eyelids pure white.

I finally wake up when my face is shaded by night descending again. I looked up and adjusted my eyes. I saw Conrart looking at me with worried eyes. "Good evening Heika. How are you feeling?" A soft smile plastered on my face. It's a good thing you're alive.

I stirred myself up realizing that My head was resting on his lap. A jacket wrapped around me served as a blanket shielding me from the cold. How long have I been unconscious? Ahh my dream.

"...Russian folk song..."

"What, are you pondering the problem of the Cold War?"

"No no, that's already over."

The second son, who left the United States of America fifteen years ago, murmurs admiringly, "Oh, really?" The third son is standing in the doorway. His beautiful eyebrows are knit in an exaggerated frown.

"This is a nightmare."

"Who's having a nightmare? Me?"

"No, I am." said the little lord brat annoyed.

"Wolfram, what are you so mad about?...oh, have I done something again? Something amazing or awful?"

"Done something? You mean you don't remember?! Any of that?!"

Wolfram slides from his reclining position against the door to the floor, head tilted back in defeat.

"What a lucky fellow you are."

"Wha...?! I-I've done something so terrible that I'm lucky for not remembering it?! Wait, where is this again?! What happened? "

There's a rather significant difference between this tiny, dim little 6ft by 9ft room and the deluxe suite. The rhythmic swaying hasn't stopped, so we must still be on the ocean. I'm pretty sure even the third-class cabins have bunk beds, but this room has no furniture at all. The window is barred, and the wooden floor and walls are discolored and peeling.

"Why're we in a prison?...What did I do? How long have I been asleep? I was preaching to the sailor uniforms, and someone was about to fall into the ocean...Beatrice, it was Beatrice! What happened?!"

Gripping Conrad's jacket that is hanging loosely over my shoulders, I suddenly realize that he's still in his evening wear. It's stained with spots of rusty brown, testimony to the ferocity of that battle. And I am still in my tron evening gown.

"Let me answer your questions one at a time. First, Beatrice is fine and with her parents. You rescued her, then punished the pirates with magic of unearthly power. Actually, if you think about it, this ship is of Hildyard origin, which means most of its meat would have come from animals fed on fodder exported from our kingdom, which would probably have been absorbed into the calcium. That's why it worked so well." Conrart said.

...What the heck is he talking about?

"Anyway, it was thanks to Your Majesty that they were crushed. After that a Cimarron patrol ship arrived in a hurry and bound up all the pirates. You've been sound asleep for almost two days now. When that violet outside the window changes to blue, we will welcome another new night, and people will begin to turn their dreadful experiences into conversation pieces to go with their drinks at one of those parties. I do have one request, however." He cups my cheek and pulls down gently. He looked so worried. I probably have bruises on my face. It stings a bit.

"Take your contact out before you go back to sleep. And please Yuuri. Do not do anything dangerous again. I almost had a heart attack when you just went straight ahead giving lectures to the pirates. In addition to that you ran straight at him and pointed a cutlass on his neck. And your hair.. Wolfram already told me everything that you guys went through after I left you in the closet. " He smiled.

Nurse smile: zero dollars.

"But why are we locked up in here? Ah...I'm not, you know, trying to brag or anything, but um, I did save everybody, right? Even if I scared a few people, the pirates would have escaped before the patrol ship got there if I hadn't done anything. Right?" With a 'cargo' of human slaves on board. Including me.

"That's not all. The escort ship took significant damage as well, and all of the lifeboats on this ship were destroyed. They were probably planning to set fire to the ship as they left and sank it. Killing everyone."

Including you Conrad. His explanation is completely devoid of emotion, as if nothing about it is personally relevant. How can he be so calm about it all when he could've been killed?

"Wait, so why are we shut up in here when I saved everyone from that huge disaster?"

"Because we were exposed as Mazoku." Conrad shrugs matter-of-factly. "The Cimarron territory is not a place where we Mazoku can take a pleasure trip."

"That's stupid!"

Do people as unreasonable as that really exist?! It may have been just my petty bourgeois sense of justice, but I did save them. It had nothing to do with whether I'm Mazoku or Human, I did it to save everyone. I guess I shouldn't have stuck my nose into it after all.

"...I'm sorry..."

"Whatever for?" Conrart asked.

"For being so rash." I slip down into a crouch with my arms around my knees and lean my forehead against Conrad's shoulder.

"If I managed to hold back the eruption, we would be digging into the main dish at dinner now."

Sitting with his legs thrust out, throat still exposed and defenseless, Wolfram says: "You have nothing to apologize for Branwen."

"Wolf..." I muttered

"It's the Humans who're stupid."

Out of the corners of my eyes I can see Conrad's perturbation in his slight tremor. His father was a Human, and Human blood runs through him as well. And however many people call me Her Majesty the Maou, I'm still human. Let's end this sort of talk right now and figure out what we're going to do rather than dwell on how this happened. I gaze out at the tiny square-cut piece of violet sky with its pale lavender clouds.

"We have a vertically striped sunset today. It's such a bother that we can look at it from the window but not go out to it!"

"If you're the Maou, then change into something that can fly out of here." Wolfram added.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not Batman, you know." Well, even he doesn't change shape.

"Batman! I know that one. He's the one who dresses in black from head to toe and has a yellow butterfly drawn on his chest." Conrart added.

"...Wouldn't that make him Butterflyman?"

"Stop talking about things I don't know about!" Wolfram growled.

My stomach, now that I've woken from my long nap, moans like a turtledove. It's complaining about not having had anything to eat or drink for a day and a half. My two cell mates looked at me and tummy in interest. I had to shy away to hide my embarrassment. You stupid tummy. Stop growling.

"Ta-da!" The door bursts open at the hearty Master Konbei-like shout. Wolfram, who was leaning against it, springs away. Standing there is a smiling man with loosely-tied orange hair, carefully holding a large silver tray with both hands.

"Thanks for waiting, here's your gourmet repast!" The steam and mouth-watering scent from the tray fills the entire room. At first I mistook him for one of the guards, and wondered at the personnel selection that produced such a jokester. But he comes up right next to me and kneels to set the tray down beside me.

"You're awake, Your Majesty. I'm glad it was nothing serious. Here, this is a bit different from what the other guests are having, but I hope it will suit your taste...Ahh also kore.." He handed me a change of clothes and a knife.

"Wh-wh-wh-why did you call me 'Your Majesty' just now?! I mean, I know everybody knows that I'm Mazoku now, but I'm just an ordinary Mazoku on a trip...well, actually, I'm physically human..."

Smiling like a prancing Roger Rabbit, he unbends his supple upper body and places both hands on my shoulders. "Well, well! So the rumors are true! You really are a cutie up close!"

The corners of Conrad's mouth, though twisted rather interestingly, are relaxed. I don't sense any antagonism there. "Hey, you're being rude towards Her Majesty."

"I guess I am. But it only counts as rudeness inside the country—can't I at least have a little fun with a cold woman who's forgotten all about me here on this distant ocean?" the ginger head acted hurt but still held his sly smile.

"Forgotten? Does that mean I've met you somewhere before?" My interest was piqued with his statement and I tried to rack my brains as to where and when I saw him.

His slightly slanted, almond-shaped eyes are smiling mischievously. But they are of a blue that somehow gives the impression of a capacity for complete ruthlessness with the simple flick of a switch.

"...I'm sorry, I'm not very good with faces..."

"It's not really a memorable face, is it?" he sighs.

His husky voice, like something out of an old jazz record, sounds familiar. He has a thick, firm neck, and the superb muscles covering his shoulders and down his back are obvious even under his shirt—he has the perfect figure for an outfielder. "Wait, you're Mi-Mister Biceps?! Who's having a great time with Conrart that night!"

"Correct!" He chimed like a bell when contestants got the right answer.

"Huh? Wha? But you, why are you suddenly here and your clothes? I thought you were a businessman / merchant on the ship?!" he's now wearing a brown sleevedless shirt over a black tunic that accented his muscled form and dark pants held by a belt.

"Don't be silly, I have always been with you guys. Since you left the port at Voltaire territory. Well, the suit and sometimes a dress is for my job,." The husky voice is rather charming. And that ideal outfielder's physique is understandable for a Mister Biceps.

"Then why was Conrad flirting with you?" I asked.

"The Commander? You mean why are we so close? Well, we did grow up together, after all. But I wouldn't put it as to flirting you know. Unless he wants to. Goshhh our lady has quite a dirty mind doesn't she?" (wink)

I shivered at that. They're not flirting? Grow up together?! Wait, so does that mean another addition to the family? Gwen and Conrad and Wolf are brothers, so if he and Conrad share the same father...

"Oh no, we're not brothers. Stop imagining things, Heika." The second son himself quickly refutes that conjecture. He knocked on my head too. I put my tongue out to that. It's like he can read my mind. Lol.

"We were childhood friends, to put it simply. We're both half-Human, and we lived in the same place when we were children. When we grew up, we went into the same company, and we've survived life-or-death situations together as comrades-in-arms. His name is Gurrier Josak. He's been guarding us since Schildkraut so he could come to our aid in case of an emergency." Conrart Continued his explanation.

"Nice to meet'cha." The cheerful jokester bodyguard waves.

"He's a rude fellow, but I'll vouch for his skill—just ignore him during the trip." Conrart said with a smile.

"Actually, we've been naked together back in Shinma Kingdom even before boarding this ship." Josak said

"Naked...ah! Were you in the bath, then?! So you saw my...my..." I crossed my arms on myself and hid behind Conrart

"Bingo!" he said as he came closer to me. "It would be nice to see your body again" He whispered, his voice was so low that only the two of us could hear despite the fact that we are in close proximity with the others..

"Don't even think about it" I was startled at that but I glared at him and gave him a head chop.

"Worth the try Your Highness.! But I wouldn't go that far, Heika. All the people there would have been killed instantly on the spot if that were to happen! " Then he winked at me.

"Theen! You were the one who stopped them from coming to me" I said, still peeking from Conrart's back.

"Ding ding! That's Correct Heika. Dewa, I should get going so that you guys can freshen up. I already feel like I'm about to die any moment. Please call me once you've dressed. Ja ne!" He turned and assumed his place outside the door.

"What?! Yuuri, have you been bathing with other guys behind my back?!" Wolfram shouted at me

"Don't be stupid!" I punched him in the shoulder. My head hurts. Why isn't there a single lady here?

"Would you like to change first before eating?" Conrad said, handing me fresh clothes.

"I would like to change first, thank you." Conrart unfolded a huge blanket to serve as a curtain and motioned me to the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Heika. This is the only thing we could get at the moment." and then whispers, "Don't worry, I know Wolfram won't peek and I will also close my eyes." This is so embarrassing but I won't go anywhere with this disheveled clothes.

I tugged at the blanket signaling that I've already finished changing. Then he led me to where the food was. He also asked Josak to come back in.

"...Anyway, tuck into this before it gets too cold. Your Majesty, will you be alright with ordinary fare? Or should we start with infirmary food?" Conrart eyed me with concern again.

"No no, this is fine, I'll eat it, absolutely!" I assured him with fatuous greed. I'm great at overestimating my own stomach.

"Fantastic, that's how it should be. The galley head sneaked it out to me. He's a great admirer of your craftsmanship—he told me it was the first time he had seen such art created from stuff they usually toss out without a second thought."

"Huh, art? Conrad, did you make some stuff out of recycled goods or something?" The gazes of both brothers are fixed on me.

"...I did?" My eyes widened with is it I can't remember anything when I use Maryoku

"Well, don't worry 'bout it." Conrart flashed a somewhat restrained smile.

Josak takes a cross-legged seat with a muffled laugh. There's no table, so we sit and eat from the tray on the floor in a circle, Asian-style. Nobody reaches for the lamb ribs garnished with herb sauce. I wonder why? It looks pretty good. After dinner, Conrart got the knife given by Josak earlier and asked if I wanted to fix my hair.

"Sighh. I don't even have a mirror to check what it looks like now. I trust you will style it properly?" I complained.

"I shall do my best. It's a shame about your hair although I think it will still look good on you." I touched it and noticed that the cut portion is just below my shoulders now. I assume that it will be the base of how short it will be. He continued with the knife and I closed my eyes since I could see my hair falling on the floor.

"All done Heika! It looks good if I do say so myself! " saying that he's satisfied with his work.

" I trust your judgment there. I'll be able to take a good look as soon as I find a mirror. Arigatou Conrad." hmm. What would my mom say when she finds out that I cut my hair?

Josak returns before dawn and awakens us to make our escape. I don't know how I ended up using Conrart's lap as my pillow again. I remembered resting with my back on the wall last night. I don't want to think about what actually happened.

"We should be able to get to shore before this ship does even in a lifeboat rowing by hand. Since we're making our escape in the middle of the ocean, we'll try to drift as much as possible. Now, Your Majesty, Commander, get up. His Excellency looks like he's still deep in dreamland."

I got up immediately and rubbed my eyes to hide my blush. Conrart got up and stretched too. Pretty boys, like pretty girls, have low blood pressure. Wolfram rubs his eyes adorably and pulls the rough blanket close.

"Wolfram, get up we have to go.'" I get the feeling I'm not all here either.

"I could only recover about half of your luggage. Though I think I got all the important things." Josak said.

"What about the ship? Didn't the pirates destroy all of the lifeboats?" I questioned.

"Ah, let me set you straight on that point. That was their plan for deceiving the guards and slipping away."Josak produces clothes for the three of us and pale yellow rubber balloons from his bag. He puts his mouth to one of them and blows.

"Stop staring and hurry up and change, then inflate this. Ohh You can be excluded, Your Majesty. We have to use your clothes from the night before."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Water rescue practice doll. Mr. Livesaver." Josak grinned.

"Put your clothes, huff, on these, huff, and we'll leave them behind, huff, when we go, huff, and they'll be disguised as you, huff. They don't know what to expect from Mazoku, so they'll keep these Mr. Livesavers imprisoned, hahah, makes me laugh just thinking about it." He explained as he continuously supplied air to the lifesavers.

"...Isn't it because of stuff like this that there are so many weird rumors about the Mazoku floating around?"

"Well, I guess so—but we need to buy ourselves time, Your Majesty."

That feels rather like self-justification to me. We sneak quickly up to the ship's deck and climb into the lifeboat waiting for us. Sending us off with a thumbs-up, smirking and smoking a cigar, is the freckled Rick...or not. It's the sailor who hit him. Yes, so we know that he can be bought.

"He won't immediately turn around and sound the alarm, will he?" Gripping his slanted oar, Conrad looks back at the luxury liner fading away in the distance.

"There are two kinds of people who allow themselves to be bought. One will betray you for small change, while the other will not betray you except for a large amount of money. Money is his weakness, but once bought he will stay bought."

"I see. Then what about the ones who accept a lot of money and then turn on you?"

"At that point it's no longer about money, but about advantage. Don't you think so?"

"Both of you, stop chatting and keep rowing! If they catch up with us it'll all be for nothing!"

The boat starts listing slightly. Wolfram is starting to doze off next to me.

"Wah, Wolf, don't fall asleep! We're turning, we're going to start going around in circles—!" I smacked him at that.

"Hrmm."

"Not hrmm! Row! Row, come on! Pull-and-push, pull-and-push, heeheefuu, heeheefuu."

"...Your Majesty, isn't that the Lamaze Technique...?"

How the heck does he know that? Mr. Conrad came up with the name before me. I just wanted to trick the little lord brat. Four fugitives desperately row for the wavering lights of the island as dawn silvers the ocean.

Good-bye, my first and last voyage on an extravagant luxury liner. I don't really have any regrets. Drops of spray from the oars drip from my cheeks, and the salt lingers on my tongue when I lick it away. Van der Veer is still silent and motionless. It'll probably be crowded and bustling once the festival starts.

Shinma Kingdom's treasure is sleeping on this island. The wickedest, evilest...no, I shouldn't judge without any first-hand information. The mightiest ultimate weapon, which cannot be wielded by any except the Maou. I'm going to fetch it.

I didn't come here to get attacked by pirates.

"All right! Just you wait, Demon Sword Melgib!" I declared.

"Morgif," I'm immediately corrected. By the three men I am with. (Sweat drop)

A glance at the tiny ship in the distance tells me that we're close to shore. For some reason, I started singing Mr. Michael's song to myself in Japanese. Conrad joins in with a smattering of English, and we sing together:

Hallelujah day,

Sing hallelujah,

Love is on it's way

It's coming to ya'

Children gather round now

Clap your hands and sing

That old sun is shining down

Soon the bells are gonna ring

Can't you see that ray of hope

Somebody finally saw the light

They're gonna send our brothers home

It's gonna be all right yeah

"You have a beautiful voice," the three men choired. hehehehe"Thank you"I said as I fondled my hair. To hide away my embarrassment.