Author's Note: Don't worry, I'm still going to finish Surreal Fate. The next chapter is just taking a while. In the meantime, I'm thinking about creating a new fic about Kyou Kara and wondered how you guys feel about the new one. Let me know what you think about Stubborn Souls and I might put it up as soon as possible!

: Stubborn Souls - Fragrance of Love :

A gentle breeze blew across the green land, ruffling several leaves that were in its path. In silence, he watched as the wind played with the leaves. Crossing his arms at chest-level, he wondered about his life and what he was going to do now. His green eyes were heavy-lidded as he pondered. It had been days since he exploded at a certain dark-haired boy and days since he last talked to him.

He tugged at his collar, loosening it slightly. With a sigh, he brushed a hand through his thick golden mane as he closed his eyes. He knew that he was not well, he could actually feel the blood rushing up to his cheeks but he assumed that it was because of the way he was feeling right now. And even though he was truly ill, his pride would not allow him to admit. Not to that idiot, for that matter. With another sigh, he turned around and exited the room. Maybe a practice duel and fresh air would do him some good.

He made sure that no one saw him left the castle, only his trusted soldiers following from behind. With a quick whip of the reins, he urged his stallion to go a little faster and felt the wind brushing past his face. Tree after tree swept past as his horse galloped before he pulled in the reins, his horse stopping in an empty grassy field. He dismounted just as the others came to a stop behind him. Ignoring the rest, he walked a little more further away from them. His steps were a little slow and sluggish, his eyes had a slight glaze in them. It seemed that the ride had not done any good either, he could still feel blood rushing up to his face.

With a sudden stop in his tracks, he shook his head to clear his mind. That even made it worse. But once again, pride got in the way and he turned to gesture for his soldiers to come forth. Several of them looked at one another, for they knew that their captain was unwell but was just too stubborn to admit. But as they were trained soldiers, they knew not to question their captain's orders.

He selected a few from the group and they circled around him, their swords drawn. He, too, began to remove his sword from the sheath. With a curt nod, he watched as they ran towards him.

Soon, most of the soldiers were breathing hard. Especially him. By now, his soldiers could see that he was having difficulties breathing and keeping steady. His face was flushed while golden locks lay limp and wet against his reddened skin.

"Sir, maybe we should stop for a moment." but the quiet suggestion went unheard as their captain rushed forward towards them. But before he could reach them, his steps faltered and he stopped. It became harder for him to breathe and he placed a hand on his forehead, trying to steady his throbbing temple. His grip on the sword loosened before the sword dropped with a cushioned thud.

He could see his vision was getting blurry and doubled as he weakly lifted his head. But amidst the blurriness, he could still see the shock and concern etched on his soldiers' face as many rushed towards him. "Sir!" Many called out to him before his vision went dark.

She could hear him taking short breaths, almost as though he had been sprinting. Her own green eyes were full of concern as she placed a wet towel upon his forehead, brushing aside the limp locks. Once her task was done, she sat back and felt a presence beside her. Turning slightly, she watched a little girl stared at him with intensely concerned chocolate brown eyes. Gently she placed hand over a small one and the girl looked up at her. She smiled, assuring the girl that her father would be all right.

"Gisela?" Immediately she stood up and turned. Another pair of brown eyes gazed upon her face, the concern was evident.

"A fever, Lord Weller." She confirmed her statement with a short nod.

"So, Wolfram is going to be all right?" Hearing the small voice, she turned around and lowered herself. With a smile, she nodded.

"There's nothing to worry about. He is going to be fine after the fever passes. But he needs lots of rest. Do you think you can make sure of that, Greta?" The girl brightened slightly and gave a determined nod. With that, she straightened herself up and excused herself out of the room.

He heard Gisela closed the door just as he moved towards the empty chair. Once settled, he watched Greta replacing the now hot towel with another wet one from the basin that was on the side table. He watched as Wolfram gave a weak smile as he slowly opened his eyes, still breathing hard.

"Get better Wolfram. Gisela said to make sure that you get lots of rest. And I'm going to make sure that no one disturb you." He watched as Wolfram gingerly lifted his hand to give Greta's curly brown hair a ruffle. He then gave a short laugh and nodded before closing his eyes.

"All right Greta. I'll be good and rest." It came out in a sleepy whisper before his breathing slowly regulate, an indication that he was asleep.

Life should be this simple. Going to school, worrying about exams and playing baseball. But his life is anything but simple. Not only did he still have to worry about exams and school, his worries even doubled when he took the position of demon king. Not only that, he accidentally got himself engaged. To another male, for that matter. And not only was his fiancé a male, a very temperamental and jealous male at that.

With a sigh, he finished buttoning his shirt. Once done, he gave himself a quick look in the mirror before exiting his room. He saw his mother smiling at him as she gestured for him to eat his breakfast.

"So when will you be going back there?" The question seemed innocent enough that he gave her a skeptical glance. "Mama is just asking, not that Mama doesn't like having you back."

He hadn't thought about going back yet, not at the moment anyway. He had informed the others of his decision to stay here for a while before returning back to the demon country. The others had accepted his decision, though Gunter was a little teary about it. But only one was against it. Right now, though it had been many days, he could still somewhat hear that voice exploded out. "Not too sure yet. Until I've finished high school, probably."

"Conrad, I think we should tell His Majesty about Wolfram." Gunter walked in step beside him. He glanced at the purple-haired advisor but said nothing. "He is the king's fiancé after all."

"And how are we suppose to contact the king?" A deep voice resonated in the hall just as a tall dark-haired man appeared at the end. Glancing at his side, Conrad watched as Gunter's face reddened.

"We could ask Ulrike for instance." It was almost laughable to see both of them fight, an obvious sign of their growing attraction to one another. Gwendel let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head.

"This is ridiculous. Wolfram is a knight, he'll be fine."

"It has been a week now and his fever is not dropping. As a Mazoku, he should be recovered by now." His older brother had no reply for the advisor's last statement and chose to let out a sound before walking away. The two of them were now alone in the hall.

"Gunter, let's give Wolfram another week to recover. I'm sure he wouldn't want the king to see him in his current condition." His eyes were trained on his brother's fleeting back as the dark-haired man disappeared around a corner before turning to look at the advisor. "His Majesty has his own future to worry about now."

He knew he had slipped in and out of consciousness for some time now, but had no idea that it had been a week since he collapsed. He knew he was not getting better, in fact, his condition was getting worse. He had listened to Gisela's worried voice when she explained to the others just as he regained consciousness.

"Gisela, isn't there something you can do to bring down his fever?" He had heard his mother asked Gunter's daughter. He could hear the slight trembling in her voice and even in his flustered state, was proud that she did not break down.

"Mother, don't worry. I'll be fine. It's just a fever, it'll come down sooner or later." With whatever strength he had at the moment, he assured his mother who went to his side immediately. Opening his eyes, he saw her eyes glistened as well as Greta's. He tried to cheer his daughter with a smile, even though it was weak. "Just don't tell that wimp about this. He'll not let this pass." Once again it came out in a whisper just before he slipped out of consciousness again.

"Conrad, would you consider it?" Gunter's question had everyone glancing at him. Two weeks had come and gone but his little brother's condition still remained as it was. By now, everyone was worried. They had tried all sorts of medicine in the kingdom but nothing helped. An urgent meeting had been called for and the decision had been made to transport Wolfram to the king's world to be sent to a place called a hospital that the king had once mentioned.

"No! You cannot tell that idiot about this!" The protest came from nowhere just as he was about to answer. Everyone looked behind him and he, too, looked over his shoulder. There, huffing with exhaustion, was Wolfram being supported by a concerned Gisela. His face was flushed and he looked weak, but his eyes were still clear. "I'll go to his world but no one is to breathe a word to him about it."

His green eyes flitted from everyone's to finally rest upon his brown ones. In silence, he gazed at his little brother before nodding.

"Then the decision is made. Conrad and I will accompany Wolfram to Earth. Ulrike will contact His Highness and informed him about the situation. With luck, we'll be back here before the king finds out." Gwendel's voice was firm and undeterred when Gunter was about to protest. He turned and walked towards Wolfram who seemed to be slipping from Gisela's grasp. With one quick swift movement, Conrad carried his brother and turned around.

He looked down and saw his brother having difficulties breathing again. Unconsciously, he tightened his grasp on the golden-haired knight before realizing it. "We'll leave as soon as preparations are complete." The moment the words left his lips, he turned and exited the room with Gisela and his mother following from behind.