Dismounting from his horse, he looked at the people who came to watch them. His eyes dropped a little when he could not find a particular golden head among them but he was not going to lose hope. As he glanced away, he found a pair of deep blue eyes staring at him intently from amidst the crowd. He narrowed his eyes slightly, not taking his eyes off the dark-haired boy. Something about the boy seemed familiar. He then took a step towards the boy when a hand clamped onto his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Conrad smiled at him.
"Your Majesty, aren't we here to look at the village?" he heard the knight asked. Without replying, he looked back to where the black-haired boy was but he was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, he nodded and followed the rest.
He watched as Yuuri walked away with Conrad and the others before letting out a relieved breath. He could feel his heart beating fast and his whole body seemed to be on fire. Leaning his head back against the side of a village house, he gazed up at the sky as a hand crept up to his chest as though trying to still his heart.
"Just one more glance," he whispered, particularly to no one. But he knew that it would be too much of a risk to allow that. Then, slowly, he began to curse his pride. "I want to see him again," he muttered. But, once again, the words returned like an avenging angel. And he grew tired of listening to them.
"Talking to yourself?" a voice startled him, making him jumped a little. He whipped his head to the side to find the black-haired Sage standing there. His arms were crossed at chest-level while his glasses gleamed, preventing Wolfram from seeing his eyes. "So you're adjusting well to village life, Wolfram?" His eyes widened with shock to hear the Sage call out his name. Then, the black-haired Sage smiled an enigmatic smile.
"How did you -" he started.
"Conrad's told me. So you've been actually living here all this time," Murata commented as he walked towards the black-haired boy. "So when will you be coming back to the castle?"
At the mention of his former home, his eyes dropped a little and he looked away. "I'll not be coming back," he whispered.
"And why is that?"
Wolfram did not reply. Instead, his locks fell forward and he turned to walk past the other black-haired boy.
"He misses you." At the Sage's words, he stopped short. But, after a while, the previously golden-haired boy turned away and walked off.
Behind him, he heard the others talking but he ignored them as he gazed out of the window. Night has fallen, darkness covering everywhere. Suddenly, the front door to the house opened and he turned. His eyes widened with surprise to find the same black-haired boy standing under the doorway, looking as surprised as him. Once again, the sheer striking resemblance of the boy and Wolfram got to him. With a start, he jumped to his feet and made to take a step towards the boy when the village head walked towards the boy.
"You've finally return. Come, I like to introduce you to our guests," the man said as he gently steered the black-haired boy towards him. "This is His Majesty, the Maou." He watched as the boy glanced at him before turning his deep blue eyes away. The boy nodded in greeting before moving away from him.
"Your Majesty, how long would you be staying here?" he heard the village head queried. His eyes still followed the boy as he sat down on one of the chairs that were further from the rest.
"I haven't a clue to how long I would be staying. But I can say until I find what I've been looking for."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as Yuuri chatted with the village head and he nearly sighed in relief for the lack of attention he was getting. He looked down at his plate and began to play with the food. Suddenly, he felt another tug on his shirtsleeve and he looked down to find a sleepy village head's son rubbing his eyes.
"Big brother, I can't sleep," he muttered sleepily, his head nodding off slightly. Wolfram smiled at the boy and stood up. As he stood up, he could feel every pair of eyes boring down at his back and at his side. Taking the child by the hand, he began to make his way into the room where he and the boy shared. Even as he walked, he could feel their eyes following them; especially Yuuri's.
He watched as the small child slept peacefully. Smiling, he gazed upon the child's face and wondered about his own child's well-being. Satisfied that the boy would be able to sleep on, he stood up and began to make his way towards the window. He stared as the stars twinkled and glittered around the huge full moon.
"The moon's beautiful, isn't it?" a voice startled him from behind. He turned around and found the Maou standing a few feet away from him. Likewise, his heart began to beat fast but his face showed no emotion. Silently thanking for the darkness in the room, he watched as Yuuri stood beside him and gazed upon the moon. After a while, he began to relax and turned to watch the moon as well. Minutes slowly ticked by as both stood beside each other, admiring the sacred dark night. "Destiny," he then heard a whisper from His Majesty.
"Your Majesty?" he asked, curious, and careful to mask his voice. The young Maou turned and smiled.
"Call me Yuuri. It was nothing. I was just thinking about my fate," the Maou said, his voice turned wistful as his eyes took a dreamy and faraway look.
"Your fate?" he asked, despite knowing fully well that Yuuri's fate had nothing to do with him now. A sharp pang of pain stabbed at his heart and he was surprised to feel the painful heartache once again. The reddish brown-haired boy nodded and turned; his back facing the window. "Your fate has been decided, hasn't it? You are the ruler of this country and there has been talks that you are now seeking a wife."
"A wife is it?" the Maou muttered, his eyes downcast as his dyed locks slipped forward. "Is that what Gunter and the others have been telling the people now?"
He did not answer the young king's question. That was what he had thought as he looked away. He had no right to answer that particular question. After all, he was no longer Yuuri's protector, subject and fiancé. He smiled bitterly at the painful reminder.
"You can say that my destiny has been confirmed and determined," he then heard the young king said. Hearing those words, he closed his eyes as he tried to regulate his breathing after shards of pain pierced through his heart. "But not after I've found what I'm looking for."
He re-opened his eyes and took a silent breath before looking up at the king beside him. "So the reason you've been visiting the villages in the country is not to inspect the conditions and well-being of the people?"
Yuuri shook his head and glanced up at the ceiling as he leaned back on his heels. His hands were placed on the windowsill and he balanced the weight of his body on them. "I am inspecting the villages. But at the same time, I'm searching for that special person that I'm to spent the rest of my life with."
"And have you found her? This is the last village stop in your inspection. And that is what I've heard from the village head."
The king turned to face Wolfram once again and smiled. Slowly, he shook his head. "Not yet. I've not found him. He is kind of good at disguising himself."
He sucked his breath slightly as his eyes widened with shock. He could feel his heart beating furiously against his ribcage and something burst from within him. "H-Him?"
The king nodded, unaware of deep blue eyes that were constantly staring at him from the side. "I've heard that it is not a rare thing to see couples like that. And I know how some of my people would not accept it, but I don't mind it. Just as long as he's happy and I'm happy. That's all it matters."
"I've heard that it is not a rare thing to see couples like that. And I know how some of my people would not accept it, but I don't mind it. Just as long as he's happy and I'm happy. That's all it matters," he said, a wistful smile played on his lips.
"Not really," he suddenly heard the black-haired boy replied with a sudden. He stopped short and turned to look at the boy whose black locks had hidden his features from Yuuri. "You might not mind that people would not accept the bond between you and that other person but – what if that person that you are looking for really cares for you? Cares enough to deprive himself of that one love that he had finallyfound, only to realize that he has to throw it away the next minute?"
- When I told you my intentions of getting you back, I've thought that in that instant you would reveal yourself to me. But your words chased away my hope of ever holding you in my arms. I've not thought of the possibilites that you did not want to be found. All for my sake. When you told me that if your real intention of leaving is that you cared enough for me to experience life as a normal person, I was outrage. Without you by my side, my life will never be normal. It'll never be perfect. But it touched me deeply to hear you say that you really care. (Yuuri Shibuya)
Side Note: Erm, Yuuri's quote sounds a bit too cliche and simple, sorry bout that. I kind of rushed through his quote here, unlike the previous ones before. Sorry again.