Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN KYOU KARA MAOU

It is not my property, no profit made.

From Yuuri's POV mainly...

xx

I was locked inside a small room whose walls were grey stone and whose long tight window gave me a weak light. At my left, there was a tiny bed; at my right, a chair with a pot (for my natural...needs), and also a sort of wooden table. Upon it, just stood a white candle.

I didn't have a big freedom of motions. My hands were fastened together with ribbons that seemed to eat my flesh when I tried to move. I couldn't stand up either because they didn't feed me correctly and I was tired. Sleep was hard to get because at night, I could hear screams and it scared the hell out of me. I don't know what's happening here. I'm left in the dark.

Gaetan...I should say Valten was visiting me everyday. He brought a tray filled with food everytime he did so. The smoking roasted chicken tortured my mind, my twisting stomach, my tongue. He knew that, he was looking at me with amusement and even with pity; but he wouldn't give the half of the meal. A few drops of water he granted me, though. A bit of bread and a piece of meat, too.

He would kneel before me, stare at me silently some seconds before smiling:

" I'm disappointed." He brushed my black bangs sideways. " You're the Demon King. I was kind of eager to see your power, but it's hiding...And I wonder why. Maybe you're unable to summon it like the rumours say so."

I glared at him.

" Where's my daughter?" I would ask, with a hoarse voice. It was like an old man was speaking with my own body. He shook his head, always, always. I rejected his hand with a swing of my head when he reached out to caress me again.

" Cooperate first with me, and then you'll see her."

" No," it was my turn to shake my head. " You first give her back to me. Then, you let her go, and finally, we can talk together about what you want."

I would barely recognize myself in normal times, but I was finding myself negotiating in a weak state with a sick man. I was crazy! Shouldn't I rather do everything he wants me to, to remain alive? But no, I was stepping once more in the death path. My eyes drifted from his eyes to his chin...I can't believe, with his very juvenile face and his boyish body, that he was the one threatening us for the past few months. But he was extremely intelligent and respected, and it was enough to allow him some power.

He sighed, his breath reaching my face. He had eaten strawberries. The sugared scent made my hunger growing.

" You know I have the upper hand on the situation, and you're still persisting." He nodded as if impressed. " I admired that. You're feeble like an hermit man who hasn't had a good meal well for days, and you resist. That's good."

" Stop with the compliments and set her free!" I nearly growled " and before I forget, you better have her safe and sane. If I ever, ever learn you did something bad to Greta, I swear you'll never have any negotiations with me."

I was holding back from throwing to his face some insults. He raised an eyebrow, probably questioning my seriousness.

" Okay." His answer was neat, calm...but unexpected for he had always refused me this favour. My eyes had widened under the effect of surprise I instantly got. It didn't go unnoticed. The smirk he made showed he enjoyed to see the emotions he created within me.

" You didn't think I was going to grant you that but I'm way better than some stupid mazoku people could think so."

He raised to his feet and snapped his fingers. A masked man opened the door, glanced at me, then looked at Valten again:

" Yes, sir?"

" Bring her to her dad."

" All right."

My growing impatience – and hope- made me lift to my feet. I staggered against the wall behind me. He crossed his arms: " you're funny, and cute."

I darkly looked at him sideways, my tiredness almost forgotten, but my gaze returned to the door.

Soon, it reopened and the same masked man was there with Greta. On seeing me, her eyes grew larger and her mouth gasped with shock. She looked so much frailer and paler! She was chucked against me, worse than a vulgar bag of potatoes.

" Yuuri!" My hands tied together, I could only lean against her to express some relief, my cheek against her curls:

" Greta! How are you? Did they treat you badly?"

Her arms wrapped around my torso and she rose her gaze at mine. There were tears in her eyes.

She made an incomprehensible gesture with her head but didn't respond. Her body was run by shivers.

" Oh," Valten said and I looked at him again " I just punched her once when she spat onto my face, but otherwise I've treated her very well!" he lifted his hand to his mouth as if saying " oops, I shouldn't have said that!" but then, his mocking smile erased this possibility. My anger arose again.

" You fucking bastard..."

" You could have found better as a nickname. " Bastard" is the standard in Shin Makoku to insult someone. Being the king should have brought you more vocabulary to hurt people."

He sighed while Greta was nearly preventing me from rushing over him and head-hitting him in his stomach. " But oh well, seeing how clever you've been these days, I couldn't expect more from you. Follow me," he turned around while four white-masked men, clad in blue and white, entered the small room and surrounded me and my daughter. We trailed up behind Valten who guided us through a lot of corridors. Those ones were nude, old, on the verge of collapsing ( well, it was the impression they gave me) and just a few people crossed our way while doing some stuff-cleaning the stone ground, carrying laundry, food etc. They stared at me when I passed before them but I didn't pay attention to them. Greta was holding me tight.

" At least," I said " you could unfasten those ribbons."

" No," Valten answered without sparing me a glance.

" Why?"

" Because I like it better this way."

I knew he would answer me what I wanted to hear only when he found it necessary. We stayed silent until he stopped in front of a set of blue doors which were at the extremity of a corridor, and opened them with both hands.

" That'll be your chambers," he announced. It was a simple living-room with one white couch, and two large white armchairs at the middle. One high window at our left. Nothing on the white walls, and just a low table before the couch. Then, Greta and I noticed a discreet door at our left.

" Show the girl her bedroom. Her father will come with me."

" You're not going to separate us again," I nearly shouted at him. Valten frowned with an obvious disapproval.

" First of all, you don't have to worry again. Her room is there, at your right. You'll have her everyday and I have no intentions to do you apart again, unless you don't keep your promises."

He designed with his finger another discreet door at our right. The "guards" opened it and dragged Greta into the now discovered bedroom. It was simple in it as I could see it.

" Does she eat well?" She looked almost as hungry as I was. Valten shrugged.

" Prepare some meal for her," he just ordered one of his guards. This one nodded and left us to bring Greta some snack. Before I could snap at his apparent bad treatment towards her, Valten took my arm and pulled me forward to the left door. He quickly opened it and let me find my new bedroom. White, very lighted by a large window- it almost made me blink for such sudden a light- with one big bed at the middle, a desk against the opposite wall, and a giant wardrobe. There was also a fire place under a huge mantel piece that one could see as soon as they penetrated into the room. But despite this luxury contrasting with my earlier conditions of imprisonment , what caught my attention the most was...the blood-red petals of rose upon the bed. I instantly looked at him for an explanation. He mocked me:

" Oh please, I couldn't do more romantic."

" What the hell is that? Am I going to sleep in that?"

" Is it disgusting you?" he looked me into the eye. " If you were not with that mazoku, we could've been a very awesome couple. You would really love me. Though, I don't think I have to wait for you and him breaking up to get you."

" You're sick. First, by acting as you've been doing. Second, for ever thinking I could be with someone like you!" I couldn't repress my ire anymore, despite my still body. Certainly, my reply didn't please him at all. He yanked my ear, a flame of rage animating his eyes.

" Maybe should I be more violent and hot-tempered as your mazoku is! You like being beaten and scolded. I should tell you off like he does!" Now I'm pretty sure he's very mentally sick. Watching his tantrum with a mix of disgust and dread, I was unable to speak. " Wolfram von Bielefeld's personality is well known around the kingdom. Now I know what seduces you: being with a monster like him... You weak, insignificant fool! Do you even know what his tribes do against us, poor human beings? They burn us! They annihilate our own culture! They want to make us slaves! I have had enough of their supremacist behaviour. And it makes me sick that a half-human like you is blindly supporting them! You chose their side, why? You could choose us, work with and for us! But you've been stupidly following their rules because they impress you by their magical powers...just like a child who still believes in fairy tales. It kills me that people still buy this shit!"

His wrath sharpened his face, and reached my heart. I was now gazing at him with pity; but his words had struck an unexpected, unpleasant chord within me just as they triggered former doubts, about my mazoku friends, that I had for so many months tried to bury...

" You don't know what you're talking about. They're not all like this. And I'm not blindly obeying some monstrous creatures. I know we're working all together to make this world better. This is what I want. For everyone, even you. If they hated so much the humans, they wouldn't accept me as their king because my human blood would still excite some bad feeling in them. But it doesn't."

" Really? What about the rumours that say Wolfram von Bielefeld was just considering you only almost better than a slave? I know well how this kind of persons think of you. Wolfram is growing on you...but he's not the sweat-heart you think he is since you're so smitten with him. I'm sure he never told you he beat a woman a few years ago because she wanted to make friend with him. A partially human woman like you!"

" You liar!" I could never believe such stupidities. " I'm amazed at where your hatred is leading you! Can't you ever be any blinder than I " am"? You're starting to insult him, horribly, unfairly, as your last resort! That's just disgusting...and pathetic." True, I pitied him for his heart full of darkness and hatred. But I also couldn't stand when people wanted to bring Wolfram down without actually knowing what sort of person he was.

His lips began trembling, his blood left his face, and something wet started glinting in his eyes. Whether he wanted to punch me or cry remained, nevertheless, unclear.

" I'm just trying to make you see the truth. I'm not lying," his voice was surprisingly calm enough, still shaky, though. " You think I'm just insulting him and inventing stories to persuade you? Ahah, I seriously find better than that. If you ever meet Wolfram again in the future, I really hope you will ask him about that and if he's courageous enough to tell the truth, you're going to be more than shocked."

I fell when he jerked me on the floor. My butts hit the fur white cover at our feet.

" We'll talk about negotiations later. When you had thought enough about everything I told you...and when I'm less pissed."

He glared at me with a dark disdain before walking out and slamming the door behind him. With a quickly-beating heart and panting, I heard him giving some orders, some steps, other doors shutting, and then nothing. The last emotions had shaken me so much that I didn't think of raising up and trying to check on Greta.

But she came into my room almost as soon as they all left us alone, flinging my door open and rushed over me, her arms sliding around my neck.

" Yuuri? Did he do something bad to you! That bad man!"

" Don't worry, Greta. I'm fine and he won't do anything scaring against you. I promise." I leaned against her to relieve her pain but she was still frightened, like some child forsaken in the dark woods.

" You're so pale, dad," she said " he didn't give you enough food."

I nodded. She held back her tears.

" They brought me some meat. Do you want to eat it?"

I smiled.

" If only I share it with you."

She let out a small chuckle and dried her eyes.

" Okay."

xx

Normal Pov.

Wolfram was still seated upon his horse, his eyes lost, his face lowered in a sad, angry expression. Ignoring his companion, Murata was pacing in front of the closed cavern, looking busy and pensive. He knew how to get to Yuuri but only if they already were there...if he was there. This Valten Theobald wasn't a simple human, he was also powerful and intelligent. A bit mad, too, from what Murata had noted during his small trip with him through the forest before he met Yuuri and Wolfram.

He looked at the blond, for the first time since he got off of his own horse.

" I'm not that worried..." he started, his voice clear and neat, to draw the blond out of his unpleasant thoughts. Wolfram slowly raised his eyes at him: " I'm not that worried. It's true Valten makes me concerned but, if they're in time, I can swear Yuuri and Greta will always be safe."

" They?" Wolfram said in an almost glacial, cynical tone. " Who the hell are you talking about?"

He had failed to protect his daughter, and now, they'd kidnapped Yuuri...by his own fault. Their lives were at stake, and here he was, incapable and as mobile as a rock. He couldn't cheer up and his wrath was starting to take the best of him.

Murata's eyes widened.

" Who?" he looked as though Wolfram disappointed him. " Your brothers...and Shinou, of course."

TBC