It was mid day when Gwendel explained Wolfram's absence to the court. Despite shouts of outrage and confusion, he made his brother's case known, omitting the details he felt were spoken in confidence. With Cecilie on her return cruise to the capital, there remained only Conrad who was present and could argue fairly with his older brother. Gwendel had no desire to be questioned, though, and went about his business as quickly as possible once the news was shared. Lunch had never been so hard to swallow and even now, sitting on the steps of the courtyard in the early evening, Yuri found it hard to believe the report.

He was gone. Without a word. No letter, no personal message, just a million and one unanswered questions left behind without answers.

Conrad sat beside him, looking calmly into space at his king's side, his own thoughts of the situation wrinkling his brow. Yuri mused for a moment that it was with such expressions that the brother's truly looked related: they all had the same scowl. Conrad's face was the one least accustomed to the pinched look, though, and it seemed quite out of character to see him brooding rather than supporting. "I had thought he might try something like this but I am surprised Gwendel allowed it," he said at length, guessing as to what thoughts cause his king's own silence.

Yuri sighed, running his fingers through his short, black hair. "Why would he do it? Last time I saw him, he was fine. He didn't say anything about leaving. Didn't say anything at all," he added the last words softly, more to himself than for his friend's ears.

"It is...difficult, your highness, to be in the presence of one you love when such love is not returned."

"But he's my friend...why isn't that enough? Why does he have to sleep in my bed and tell everyone we're engaged to be happy?" Yuri looked to Conrad for an answer, hoping his insightful companion could help him understand the enigmas that had confounded him since his engagement's retraction. He was always there with the right answers and a smile. Yuri desperately wished he would continue to be such a man with this over their heads.

Conrad shook his head, brown bangs blowing in the gentle breeze. "It's not the same. Wolfram may have a hard time showing it, but he is a very gentle hearted young mazoku. He wears his heart on his sleeve, as you would say, though he tries to disguise it. To him, he has been very straightforward with you about how he feels. Having been dismissed as your fiancé, it is too difficult to simply become a friend. He's never been your friend, no matter how you perceived things. He probably doesn't know how to be."

The king hung his head, feeling weighed down by too much in too short a time. Conrad laid his hand on his head, trying to comfort his friend with his presence. "You are not alone in this feeling," he reminded him. "Wolfram for many years would not accept me as his brother through no fault of my own. He felt it easier to despise me than to love me and have me die. I'm half human, so my life will much shorter than that of a full-blooded mazoku. Wolfram does not cope well with loss, or anything outside his control for that matter. I know my brother well, so I have never held his feelings against him. I understand his fears and that even at eighty-two he is still too young to know how to deal with them. I would hope you would not hold such things against him either. He is a child of an age of war and hate. He has seen more fighting than embracing and felt more anger than joy."

Yuri winced internally. He'd seen Wolfram during their world's time of great strife under the rein of the ex-Maou. He'd been anxious and melancholy, eager to join battle and grieving for those close to him who might not return, unable to do anything but sit back and watch as men marched to their deaths. He was a quieter Wolfram than Yuri was used to, still stubborn and full of pride but also distant and empty in private. It was hard to recall such moments with the brash young prince when there were so many more in which he was being bossed around or insulted by him. Even then, he supposed, Wolfram didn't bother dulling the sting of his words. Maybe he was more honest with his emotions than Yuri noticed. Perhaps when he was yelling at him, it was because his actions honestly did offend him. He'd never meant for them to.

"It's my fault then, right? There must have been something I could have done to make him stay."

Conrad shook his head. "Perhaps, had these things been dealt with in the beginning, it would have been easier. At this point in time, he is so in love with you it is impossible to extinguish those emotions. You cannot change how he feels or how he reacts, though. It's not your fault."

"How does he know he loves me? What if he's just confused and doing all this for the wrong reasons?" Yuri asked. There were so many questions.

"I know he loves you. I have seen it in the everyday things you have done together. He has taken this more seriously and more to heart than any other task he has taken on. And it has brought him more joy and satisfaction than any, as well."

Yuri ducked his head between his shoulders, scared to ask more of what bothered him. Conrad was his best friend in this world. But he was also the brother of the man who caused him such grief.

"What is it, your highness?"

The king took a deep breath and put his face in his hands. What if Conrad hated him for what he was about to tell him? He'd lose two friends, maybe more, all over the mess he'd made in just his few days home.

"I just...Wolfram and I had argued about the engagement. He was so mad at me and I...I felt guilty, you know? So when he said he'd agree under one condition, I figured I owed it to him. I shouldn't have done it, Conrad. I made a mistake," he admitted, shaking his head back and forth in the palms of his hands.

"What is it you've done?"

"I...we had sex...in my private bath. He said people would think we'd done it anyway...and then Gwendel brought up all that stuff when we told him about the annulment... I'd promised, Conrad, I had to do it, didn't I?"

Conrad's face looked cold and impassive for a moment then relaxed slightly. "I have underestimated my younger brother's impulsiveness. I hadn't thought him that desperate."

"You're disappointed in me again, aren't you, Conrad?"

Yuri watched as his friend's emotions cascaded across his face, unsure if they would end in a stern frown or melt into a charming smile that would dispel his sadness. Conrad settled on seriousness though and patted Yuri on the back gently.

"I'm not so much disappointed as I am confused and worried about my brother. I would have preferred such an event had not taken place, especially as you are both very young, but it has happened and cannot be undone. I trust you were gentle with him."

Yuri blushed deeply but nodded. "He wanted me to hurry up but I...I really shouldn't be talking about these things with you."

"Did you say anything to him?"

"No..." Yuri thought back, still confused by the blur in his memories. "When it was over we laid down on the stone beside the bath to rest. He kissed me, then left. I haven't seen or spoken with him since."

"Hm." Conrad patted his back once more, then stood. "No, Yuri, you didn't have to go through with it. Same as with your proposal, such important decisions are worth thinking over and it is normal to have doubts or to change your mind. Next time you are cornered into such choices, do not hesitate to speak with me. Even though he is my brother, I will not guide you in ways that will please him but rather in those which are just and suited to you."

"I'm sorry, Conrad." Yuri spoke after a moment's hesitation. "This is all my fault. When Wolfram comes back I'll talk to him and try to get everything back the way it was...more or less."

Conrad smiled cheerfully at his young companion. "I would not ask for more from you. Thank you for caring so much about Wolfram. We are all very fortunate to have someone like you reigning over us."

He walked away. Yet again, Yuri did not feel like a person worthy of any amount of praise. When all one ever hears is that he is wonderful and magnificent, it becomes harder and harder to believe it. He wished Wolfram were there to remind everyone of his faults, including himself. Maybe then he'd feel wonderful again.

CUT SCENE-WET DREAM

(Yuri wakes up…)

Yuri fell back against his pillow and pulled it over his head, giving an exasperated scream into the feathery down. Even when he was far away, Wolfram was still in his bed, only now he invaded his thoughts and dreams as well.

Feeling disgusted and foul, Yuri rose from his bed and quickly cleaned himself off with the water from the basin in his room, removing and then rolling up the pants that held evidence of his tainted visions and hiding them to be dealt with later. He couldn't afford one of the maids finding it. There would be no telling what sort of rumor might spring up then and there was no explanation he feared more than the truth.

He remained awake for many hours, sitting up in his large bed, thinking off all the things that he wished Wolfram were there to answer and trying not to see his bruised, pouting lips as they kissed flash across his eyes with the thought of him. Gwendel had promised Wolfram would return on his birthday, and so Yuri brought himself to think on the future rather than the past, writing out the guest list in his mind as he thought about the people he wished to celebrate with most. Soon the nightmare was nothing more than a nagging memory and sleep reclaimed him again before the sun began its ascension.

It would be the perfect ceremony and before that night was over, Yuri was sure everything would be settled and fixed between himself and his beautiful friend. The foreboding chill he felt was surely just the wind.

Cut scene available in the un-edited version at http:(DOUBLE SLASH)niko(DOT)spectrumvoid(DOT)net(SLASH)writing(SLASH)T3OC4(DOT)html