Disclaimer: I don't own Maruma
Author's Notes: When it comes to being concise, I'm a major FAIL. This is even longer than the previous installment and I've had to cut almost all scenes from the bachelor party. At any rate, let me know if you want to see the party from Yozak's point of view. And again, thank you for the wonderful reviews.
FIRST LAYOVER: The Wedding
"Come my love I'll tell you a tale
Of a boy and girl and their love story"
Perhaps if it had been an ordinary wedding, it wouldn't have been so bad...
But perhaps it would not have mattered in the end. It's not as if anything in Shin Makoku was ever ordinary by Yuuri's standards. Besides, Günter and Anissina waited with barely suppressed anticipation for these types of events to showcase their talents. And additionally, in Anissina's case, gather victims.
Yuuri had prayed for a quiet ceremony with only family and close friends attending. But being a member of the rougher sex, his wishes meant nothing and had been quickly ignored by the castle's female population (and Günter) who seized the wedding idea like mad-crazy goalas and turned it into an outlandish facsimile (according to Yuuri's humble opinion) of the celebration of a sacred union. Did they really need to have all these machines? Most likely no. Did they need to invite half the kingdom? Probably not. Had it really been necessary to spend hours debating the table centerpieces? Is there even a need to ask this question? Yuuri could not remember ever having any slight fascination for centerpieces much less spend hours talking about them. But who was he to question, he was only the Maou - a very male Maou.
Even his sweet little twelve-year old Greta was infected with the insanity. Well, it was actually his sweet little Greta that had initiated and masterminded all this, and it was she, with Anissina's mentoring, who managed (lulled her subordinates into submission using innocent smiles and cheerful energy) and coordinated the whole fiasco. In his head, Yuuri had labeled it as such and he was quite sure that something or many somethings would blow up before the end of the wedding day destroying all or part of the castle and a decent percentage of the town.
It had been one of the most bizarre, frustrating and frightening months that Yuuri had ever spent in Shin Makoku. And that was saying a lot. Yuuri could name scores of less painful torture than what he had been subjected to these past four weeks. Perhaps if he had prayed to the right gods, they would have forgiven his sins and condescended to just let him have athlete's foot for a year as penance. Perhaps if he had prepared burnt offerings, some merciful deity would have made at least one person in the castle see reason – Yuuri's reason, not Shin-Makoku-crazy reason. As it was, the castle residents seemed to have been bitten by the bug of irrationality causing their brains to all take a pleasure cruise somewhere far far away from Shin Makoku.
Günter's hobby of strangling Yuuri with fanatical devotion became a daily habit since the announcement. Being consumed entirely by wedding preparations and discovering that he was lucky to even see the king a few minutes each day, Günter made sure to use those precious minutes wisely by spending them molded tightly to the young body of the 27th Maou. Yuuri, on the other hand, spent a lot of time sneaking around corners, and sending Conrad to peek into rooms first in order to avoid unnecessary run-ins with the tall, silver-haired man. He wasn't sure if he could survive being regularly smothered to within two breaths of his life long enough to be in the wedding.
The Günter entanglements were especially painful and full of wet and salty tears on days when the advisor went toe-to-toe with Anissina regarding some trivial aspect of the festivities, or during delicate negotiations with the head of the family of the wedding celebrant. Not that Günter ever won any battles with Anissina. No one ever did. But there were times when one had to hunker down and try to tell her no. Who wanted to have Here-Comes-the-Bird-kun feeding guests when sporks have done the job effectively for thousands of years. Especially, since sporks did not have a tendency to blow up diners into smithereens. And the headaches that came with dealing with someone else's recalcitrant relative were no picnic either. Even Gwendal had to step in and become heavily involved. And in the end, despite being one of the ten nobles and after finally giving his reluctant blessing, the man had declined to attend.
Not that anyone expected all ten nobles to accept the invitations, they were busy aristocrats who had lands to take care of and people to rule. Only four out of the eight who lived away from Blood Pledge Castle accepted: Lord von Wincott whose son, Lindsey, spent hours 'helping' Anissina and Greta; Lord von Rochefort whose younger brother, Jean Luc, spent many hours in secret meetings with Gwendal and, later, Anissina; Lord von Spitzweg who spent many hours ingratiating himself to the Maou; and Lord von Grantz who... well, no one was really sure why he came considering he declined to attend council meetings. With the arrival of each noble, Yuuri's daily life became less and less casual and more and more... fussy.
"And how he loved her oh so much
And all the charms she did possess"
It would have been easier for Yuuri if he could have left all the fussing to someone else like the unavailable Günter, the capricious Lady Celi or the ever-frowning Gwendal. But for some reason that Yuuri could not quite guess, the stern statesman had taken into sequestering himself in secret rooms around the castle where no one could find him. It was as if Gwendal had suddenly decided that it would be great fun to play a month-long game of hide and seek. It was both a blessing and a curse for Yuuri. On one hand, he did not have Gwendal's frown hounding him to do paperwork. On the other hand, he could never find the man when he needed help, say for example, when Anissina came to look for test subjects. It was especially annoying that Gwendal didn't completely deprive Yuuri since he dropped mounds of paperwork in the royal bedchamber in the middle of the night while the castle slept. Yuuri always woke up to the rustle of evil documents.
Yuuri could understand that the man must have some good reason to hide. Heck, he himself could honestly admit that he wanted to run and hide until Armageddon found him. But Yuuri knew Armageddon, in his blue uniform with shining blond hair and infuriated green eyes, would eventually find him and there'd be hell to pay. Feeling the unfairness, Yuuri kept a barrage of complaints about Gwendal being a sneaky coward.
Until finally, Wolfram took it upon himself to lecture Yuuri.
"It's not as if he's slacking," Wolfram had scolded Yuuri. "He's doing his regular work and Günter's administrative and diplomatic duties. Plus all the wedding tasks he has to take care of. And he has met several times with Lord von Rochefort and his brother. And he's taking care of the details for Lord von Grantz's arrival. So, unless you want to take the responsibilities for any of those instead of running off with Conrart to play baseball, it's best to just keep your mouth shut."
"He's probably just knitting battalions of unrecognizable stuffed toys. And even with all that work, he doesn't need to hide himself from me!"
"Are you kidding me? You're the worst time-waster in the whole world. You can suck up other people's time chasing after your odd whims or doing absolutely nothing!"
When Yuuri received the same admonishment from Conrad but in a much nicer, gentler way, and leaving out the part about Yuuri being a black hole in people's schedules, he finally stopped whining about Gwendal's withdrawals.
It wasn't surprising that it was also Conrad who, a week after the promise to Greta, had dashed Yuuri's last vestiges of hope of not having the wedding. It had been after the week-long argument with Wolfram that wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't so much an argument as much as Yuuri whining and Wolfram ignoring him. When Yuuri had given the news of the wedding, he had monitored Wolfram's reaction carefully. What had registered on Wolfram's face in rapid succession were comprehension, surprise, full realization, shock, dread, disbelief, indecision, and after a long thoughtful silence and a careful sigh, capitulation. Yuuri should have taken advantage of the split second between shock and indecision and pounced, but he uh'ed and um'ed too long and the moment passed. Once Wolfram resigned to Greta's wish, there was nothing Yuuri could do or say to get Wolfram to help convince Greta that the whole thing was a foolish and silly idea.
"There's really no need to make such a preposterous commitment at this point in time," Yuuri would argue, adding sarcastically, "not that I want to deprive Anissina of the chance to blow up half the capital..." Actually, I do want to deprive Anissina of the chance to blow up half the capital. "But what's a little postponement when Mazoku have hundreds of years? I mean how many people marry young only to find that they're with the wrong person. People should really take their time and maybe sow some wild oats before making these decisions."
At this point, before Yuuri could think of the error of his words, he would find himself in a headlock, accused of being the worst cheater in both worlds and Wolfram would like to know whom Yuuri had been sowing oats with as Wolfram was going to let them know, personally and painfully, that Yuuri was his and his alone. Yuuri would spend much effort in calming his fiancé, assuring him that the only oats he had ever seen were baked in bread or eaten by horses and he had never ever planted anything except for those beans in elementary school during science class when they had to learn about roots and stems and buds and other parts of a growing plant.
After finally cooling down, Wolfram would only reply and shrug, "It's not my decision. Besides, you're the one that decided this. You gave your word. You're the Maou, it would be unseemly to take it back."
Sometimes, Yuuri would say, "Look, this whole thing has got to be a joke. No one can possibly be serious about it."
Wolfram would give him a disgusted look and say, "Tell that to your daughter."
And Yuuri would narrow his eyes and give Wolfram a baleful look thinking, "That was low, Mr. von Bielefeld, using your daughter as an argument."
Then there was the last plea from Yuuri, "I don't want to do this and you don't either, right? If we both talk to Greta..."
He never did finish because Wolfram bellowed, "YOU ARE SUCH A WIMP!!" Wolfram then left Yuuri never to be seen again at least for the rest of the day, evening, night and the following morning. He did not come to bed and when Yuuri went to Wolfram's room, it was empty.
Perhaps Yuuri's constant whining had been reason enough to drive Wolfram to a level of frustration that he needed space away from him, but Yuuri felt there was no need not to come to bed. After raising the hue and cry that he couldn't find the third son of the ex-Maou anywhere in the castle, he was gently informed by Conrad that Wolfram had been with Yozak taking care of a little kerfuffle in town.
That was when Yuuri voiced his frustrations about the wedding to Conrad and asked for his help as he was not getting anywhere with his uncooperative fiancé.
It hurt to see the disappointment in Conrad's eyes and it hurt even worse when Conrad simply said, "Yuuri, you gave your word."
And because he had seen the hurt in Yuuri's eyes, Conrad tried to compensate giving Yuuri a gentle smile and offering, "If you'd like, I can sweep you off your feet and we can run away before the wedding."
True, they had a connection, but sometimes Yuuri felt it was a one way connection as he was never entirely sure when the older man was being serious. It didn't help that Conrad had the worst puns in the world and was under the mistaken impression that he was actually funny. Yuuri shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.
"No," Yuuri replied in a resigned voice. "I am the Maou, I should be a better example to my subjects. I've given a promise and I should keep it."
"Now this did happen once upon a time
When things were not so complex"
Even though that had been pretty much a declaration of surrender, being the stubborn, high school, baseball-loving, average, stubborn, teenage, justice-obsessed, stubborn boy that he was, Yuuri had no qualms in making it difficult for the crazy wedding planners when it came to subjecting him to their crazy wedding plans. They could get him to agree with having it, but he wasn't going to jump for joy with ecstasy and blindly follow them into insanity. Someone had to stay home and keep the fires of reason going – and yes, that's Yuuri-reason not Shin-Makoku-crazy-reason.
So Yuuri spent a great deal of time escaping from Lady Celi who was on a quest for the perfect wedding attires for all her favorite people, and from Anissina who was on a quest to arm the capital to the teeth with questionable (and probably explosive) inventions, and from Günter who was...well being his usual self multiplied by twenty.
It was only Greta from whom he couldn't escape on a regular basis. It had actually been fun listening to her chatty excitement every evening as she recounted her various wedding planning escapades with her mentor. Yuuri, also, found it amusing when Wolfram discussed those little details with her as if they were having the most normal father/daughter conversation. Their strange discourses would range from decisions on how many large, green, glassy round decorative items to have in the ballroom to strategies on how to handle Günter and his melodrama about color motifs when the last of the Merciful Yuuris lost their bloom.
Once in a while, the two would turn to him and ask him for his opinion. And Yuuri would pretend a cough to clear his throat and would declare in his most authoritative voice that, "yes, the maroon flowers would be most becoming with the green decorative items." They would then give him that strange look: the look that questioned whether Yuuri's mind had finally become unhinged. Greta would giggle and Wolfram would throw a pillow at him. Then the evening would degenerate into a laughter-filled pillow fight until Greta's exhaustion claimed her and instead of throwing another pillow, she would fall on it fast asleep.
Yuuri felt almost glad to have Wolfram around. Almost. Although Wolfram helped him escape Anissina's machinations, first by holding Yuuri's lessons that he had taken over for Günter as far away from the castle as possible and second by sacrificing his personal guards when capture was imminent. Wolfram felt a little bad about that, but then again, it wasn't as if Anissina didn't already actively recruit (force) them to participate in her experiments anyway. No man with any small amount of Maryoku was safe from her that month. However, Wolfram was not only unhelpful when it came to wedding attire fittings, he made sure that Yuuri attended each and every one of the interminable sessions with Lady Celi and her battalion of seamstresses. And when Yuuri needed to go to Earth to pick up Murata, Wolfram threw a fit.
Though Lady Celi's fittings were nowhere near as life-threatening as Anissina's experiments, they were certainly one of the dullest, most boring and most exasperating things Yuuri had had the non-pleasure to sit through. Or stand through. On a little stool. While getting pricked regularly by metal pins. And if Yuuri ever had the desire to have his opinion ignored and disregarded in the fullest degree, he knew he would only need to find a group of women (and perhaps Wolfram or Günter) discussing wedding attire.
Discounting Wolfram and Günter, Yuuri had thought his opinion didn't matter because he was a man. A manly man, he added in his thoughts. Until one afternoon when Conrad came at the same time to get fitted and had had an animated discussion with the seamstresses on the best colors and best fabrics to use. Yuuri virtually threw his hands up and gave up.
It had taken him thirty minutes of arguing not to wear the thick, red, fur-lined, royal cape and the heavy crown only to spend another thirty minutes trying to argue against a floor-length thinner red cape.
"I feel like Superman," Yuuri complained.
Conrad laughed and explained to the women and Wolfram what Yuuri meant.
After another lengthy discussion, Lady Celi and the battalion of seamstresses acquiesced with not having the floor-length cape, but they put their collective foot down when it came to not having a cape at all. They compromised on a royal blue cape that was short enough so that Yuuri didn't feel like a misplaced superhero that was about to go flying to save the world from imminent doom.
After stopping himself from calculating how many times he would need to fly around the globe at a rate faster than a speeding bullet in order to turn back time to when he arrived at the library, Yuuri barely caught the conversation regarding Wolfram's cape. The conversation went somewhat like this.
"I'm not wearing a cape," Wolfram stated.
"Okay," the evil battalion and their leader agreed.
What?! No argument? No 'Your Excellency would look stunning with this white cape'. No 'This attire cannot be worn without this necessary accessory'. No 'His Excellency needs to look his noblest, his most royal self for this very important day'. No 'Wolfie, you would look so adorable'. Just an 'okay'? What's up with that? Was he, Shibuya Yuuri Harajuku Fuuri, not the Maou, the ruler, the sovereign, the most powerful individual in this demon kingdom? He fought for an hour and he still had to wear a stupid cape and Wolfram only needed to say five words! Five! This was injustice of the highest degree!
Punishment must be dispensed; Maou Yuuri, gathering all his authority, ordered in the most commanding voice he could project, "Measure him up for a veil."
The gasps of surprised pleasure from the women caused a fleeting look of horror on Wolfram's face and the aggravation of the past hour was suddenly worth it. Yuuri was going to file that image away so he can cherish it every time he was angry and irritated at the blond. The five minutes of Wolfram's disgusted look, as the women's excited, high-pitched squealing and Conrad's quiet agreements permeated the room, was icing on the cake.
It was too bad that Greta pointed out too quickly, "But Yuuri, Wolfram can't wear a veil. He's not a bride, you know."
"Awww," Yuuri faked disappointment, "it would have been nice to see him in a veil."
"Don't be ridiculous," Wolfram said indignantly.
"...bride really doesn't seem to be the right word," Yuuri mused mostly to himself. "It implies some things, you know... doesn't quite fit." Not that the word 'wedding' fit either. To Yuuri, the word meant the union between a man and a woman. This clearly was not happening at this wedding. Call the person bride, groom, bridegroom or Chad, what did it matter, really.
At least, Yuuri finally got away from wearing his school uniform. Wolfram made sure of that. The final outfit that the evil minions of the wedding mafia had decided on was similar in cut to Wolfram's, but simpler, with less trim, no lace and no cravat. Wolfram's attire was in the same royal blue that he normally wore with wide black trim on the wrist and collar, black epaulets, black buttons and with the white lace of the undershirt peeking out. And, of course, a fancy cravat. Yuuri's attire was in the blackest black he normally wore, but with royal blue trim around the wrist, collar and running up the front covering the buttons. The trim had the same exact design as Wolfram's.
"They sure like dressing us in similar outfits, don't they?" Yuuri commented as he checked out his and Wolfram's costume.
"What are you talking about?"
"I just realized that some of our clothing, you know, coats and shirts and hats, match."
"So? What's wrong with that?"
"Put your fist up."
"What? Why?" Wolfram asked suspiciously.
"Just put your fist up."
"Do you want me to punch you?"
"Come on Wolf. Just hold your fist up in the air like this."
Wolfram did as requested looking at Yuuri with uncertainty.
Yuuri touched Wolfram's with his own fist and said, "Wonder twin powers activate. Form of – water serpents."
The room would have been filled with an overflowing silence but for the king giggling at his own joke.
Wolfram, Yuuri decided, had the most expressive face he had ever known. He suddenly understood why Lady Celi sometimes acted the way she did with her third son. How can she not? All of Wolfram's expressions were adorable, and Yuuri understood that same desire to have Wolfram wear those adorable expressions.
"How he worshipped the ground she walked
And when he looked in her eyes he became obsessed"
The expression that Wolfram wore when he was drunk was a rare sight indeed. Yuuri almost wished he had the foresight to grab the digital camera when he and Wolfram went to bring Murata back from Earth for the wedding. He had expected Wolfram to be an angry, moody, violent drunk, basically pretty much like sober Wolfram but more intense so Yuuri had stayed by Conrad watching the party from the sidelines keeping a good distance from potential physical harm. He was surprised to find out he was completely wrong and that Wolfram was a giddy, happy drunk. The drunker Wolfram got, the giddier and the happier he became -- to the point that he was spreading his giddiness and happiness a little too physically.
As it turned out, it was Gwendal that was the intense, angry and violent drunk.
No one was really sure how the impromptu bachelor party got started that night before the wedding. And no one was really sure how Murata had enough time to instruct the maids on how to make a Mazoku-sized cake. And certainly no one was sure how Yozak, who had been goading the three brothers one moment and popping out of a pink and white giant confection a moment later, had enough time and had enough flexibility to get himself inside the cake. And definitely, no one knew and no one wanted to know where the white leather outfit full of straps and buckles came from, nor did they want to know why Yozak was wearing a little white veil.
Life really just wasn't fair, Yuuri thought sitting on the bed the following morning. He had only one drink the night before, the one Yozak pressed into his hands after Wolfram's catcall-provoking invasion of his mouth. Wolfram, on the other hand, participated in a marathon drinking contest with his eldest brother, the younger Rochefort and the red-headed spy, given everyone in the party drunken bear hugs, accosted five people with a slobbery kiss, rammed his tongue down Yuuri's throat as far as he could in front of an approving audience and had thrown up and dry-heaved before going to bed. Yet, when they woke up, it was Yuuri and not Wolfram that had the worst headache and body aches in history. Wolfram had woken up his same angelic, somewhat sleepy self, no sign at all of last night's debauchery. Yuuri wanted to punch him.
Yuuri cursed himself silently for disagreeing with Conrad on where to stick the intoxicated blond the previous night. They had decided that Wolfram had had enough and was not going to win any drinking contest after he grabbed Anissina and gave her a big wet one right on the lips. Gwendal had not looked happy about it. In fact, he looked as far away from happy as he possibly could, like he had swallowed a bowlful of bearbee poo and was about to punch Wolfram sending him after his twenty-two other victims to Gisela's infirmary. Yozak and Anissina wisely dragged Gwendal to his room while Yuuri and Conrad did the same for Wolfram. Conrad had been guiding his brother to the soldier's room when Yuuri said he was going the wrong direction.
Yuuri swore never to let Wolfram drink again. Aside from the abnormal giddiness and happiness and the hugging and the kissing and the vomiting, there was the small matter of a little, localized tornado that was drunk Wolfram sleeping, it was like having a hundred sober Wolframs all at the same time in bed kicking and elbowing and pushing him. He was glad someone had the foresight to tuck Greta into her own bedroom when the male bonding bacchanalia began.
Looking at the beauty take a deep contented breath, stretch pale arms and try to rub the sleepiness off half-open eyes, Yuuri decided that yes, he was going to punch Wolfram. So he did.
"Hey, what was that for?" Wolfram grabbed the upper arm that received the wimpy punch and threw a threatening glare at Yuuri.
"For being a lousy drunk," Yuuri answered.
"That is not true," Wolfram said indignantly, "Gwendal and Conrart are much worse than I am."
"Well, at any rate, you're not allowed to drink anymore... Do you even remember what you did last night?"
"...not really... everything is kind of... fuzzy..." Wolfram tried to stifle a yawn and then added, "how many victims?"
"So you do that every time, huh?"
Wolfram shrugged.
"Well, you had far less victims than Gwendal. He punched twenty-two people and you only kissed five, no six, people. Do you even have an inkling who you've been smooching?"
"Not really. And don't tell me either! I'd rather not know. It would be easier to look them straight in the eye if I didn't know."
"I'm sure other people will tell you, eventually. Why did you drink so much anyway? Are you scared about today?"
"I'm not a wimp like you."
"I don't know about that... the way you threw a fit last week when I had to go back to Earth to get Murata, I think you're pretty scared about today. Petrified even. Did you really think I was going to leave you, much less Greta, hanging?" Yuuri narrowed his eyes and put his face closer to Wolfram's, "...hmmm... I see fear in your eyes."
"I don't need to be scared. You could say I've made my peace with the devil, unlike you." Wolfram smirked. "And I still think you would have tried to escape if I didn't keep an eye on you. You're a wimp after all."
"You still haven't answered why you drank so much last night. You were kind of...um...well, I'd prefer if you didn't get drunk in the future."
"Don't worry, I can't even remember the last time I got so drunk. It was probably over ten years ago. I wasn't really planning on drinking, I should have known better than to take that first drink from Yozak. It's not really a good idea to drink alcohol after you've used up a lot of Maryoku. And Anissina had drained most of it out... just left barely enough to keep me breathing." Wolfram put his hand through his hair, "Frankly, I'm not sure why I did. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Maybe it was the shock of seeing Gwendal."
"You could've stopped after the first one."
"I wasn't really thinking clearly after the first one... besides, it's been years since I've seen Gwendal get hammered. I wanted to keep him company." Wolfram smiled a bit evilly. "How come you didn't drink? You're the one shaking in his boots about today."
"For your information, I'm not old enough to drink yet. I'm only..." If someone were to ask how old Yuuri was, he wouldn't know how to answer it. He'd been in Shin Makoku for over two years; Greta was twelve and Wolfram eighty-four. But he's still in his first year in high school. Was he sixteen or was he eighteen?
"...well I'm under twenty," Yuuri finally said.
"You're an adult at sixteen Yuuri. Last time I checked, the laws of Shin Makoku said that you can drink."
Wolfram laid back down and pulled the covers over him.
"What are you doing?" Yuuri asked as he pulled the covers back.
"I'm going back to sleep. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"You can't go back to sleep! It's midmorning already! Don't we have to be ready by eleven?"
"Hmmm... how about if you go without me?"
"You brat!" Yuuri pushed Wolfram off the bed.
"My love is like a storybook story
But its as real as the feelings I feel"
Günter, if anything, was efficient. Conrad, with a strange look on his face -- a cross between wanting to rebuke, to sooth and to laugh out loud, had been looking down at his rumpled younger brother sprawled on the floor when Günter in all his magnificently-coiffed glory swept in the royal bedchamber followed by an army of servants. In a whirlwind of white and lavender-tinted silver, Yuuri found himself being tugged and pulled and bathed and dressed and brushed and perfumed and praised in all different directions. Wolfram had been kicked out of the room immediately with a parting word from Günter stating that he didn't care whether the ex-prince got dressed and showed up at the ceremony or not. A little later on, Conrad was also dismissed with a parting word that if he was going to be standing by the king all day, he'd better get dressed and not mar the majestic image of the 27th Maou Shibuya Yuuri. When Günter felt that the perfection that was Yuuri couldn't be any more radiant, he left the king to check and make sure no disasters (especially ones named Anissina) were occurring that would destroy the beautiful wedding he had so painstakingly planned.
Yuuri found himself alone, as alone as one can be with a bevy of guards, pacing up and down a festive hallway decorated with maroon flowers, green banners and large, green, glassy balls on pedestals. Despite his earlier protestations, he was anything but calm and confident. He thought it was best to hide his apprehension... trepidation... fear... panic... pure and abject terror...
No, it wouldn't do at all to show his subjects that he's... I'm not a wimp, he thought to himself. The country needed to see a strong leader. Their morale demanded it. So no matter how scared stiff he was, all the people would see was a brave and valiant Maou.
A brave and valiant Maou... pacing up and down the hallway, palms sweating, heart beating erratically, jumping at any sound.
"Nervous, Your Majesty?"
"Aaack!" The brave and valiant Maou jumped three feet in the air.
After making sure that his chest was still intact, Yuuri answered, "Conrad. Don't sneak up on me like that. And it's Yuuri. Today of all days I think it would be nice if you just call me Yuuri. I need the moral support."
"We all do, Yuuri," Conrad smiled.
When it came to Conrad's suit, many would agree that Lady Celi had completed her quest for the perfect wedding attire. The white suit trimmed with gold and sporting shiny golden buttons all the way up the stiff collar would make any girl obsessed with men in uniforms swoon.
"Don't tell me you're nervous." Yuuri wished he had the older man's calm demeanor.
Conrad laughed. "I don't think there's any man in our position that wouldn't be nervous."
"I suppose you're right," Yuuri conceded.
"I have faith in you, Yuuri. The wedding will go fine."
"It's not the wedding itself I'm concerned about. It's the stuff after it." Yuuri gave a sigh. "You know... it's the waiting that gets me. I just want to get it over and done with and start dealing with the consequences."
Yuuri turned around when Conrad looked over his shoulder.
"Good morning, Your Eminence."
"Good morning, Lord Weller. You look good enough to marry. And Shibuya, you look... Lord von Bielefeld was right. How did he phrase it? Oh yes, something like 'wimps and weddings don't mix'."
"It's nice for you to join us Murata. Tell me, did you make it to your room okay last night?"
"No need to worry about me. I didn't drink that much. And don't give me that look. I'm 4000 years old, you know," Murata smiled mischievously. " Anyway after the main events left, nothing much happened. We had to drag the younger Lord von Rochefort to his room, but that was about it. I had a very nice comfortable sleep. Though I did wish I had an amazing kisser accompany me to bed. But I suppose we can't all be as lucky as you."
Yuuri's face blushed bright red. His mouth opened several times only to close it again.
"You might have wanted a kisser on the bed, Your Eminence, but you might end up getting one on the kisser instead," chuckled Conrad.
"...!"
Awkward forced laughter was really the only reaction one could give to such a lame joke, but Yuuri was glad that at least it took the attention away from his embarrassment.
"Murata, why are you dressed like a priest?"
"Well I thought since the ceremony took mostly from Earth's western culture, I thought it would be appropriate."
"Considering the type of 'wedding' we're having, don't you think it would be rather inappropriate? What happened to the costume that Lady Celi commissioned for you?"
"I disagree with you regarding appropriateness. And don't worry I'll wear that suit after the ceremony. I look quite dashing in it. What are weddings for anyway but a great chance to have romantic encounters? And there's going to be lots of pretty girls today."
"You'd better not be looking at any of them, cheater," Wolfram's voice came from behind Yuuri who jumped three feet in the air again.
"Aaack..." Yuuri grabbed his chest again to make sure it is still intact. "Why is everyone sneaking up on me?"
"Nervous much, Shibuya?"
"I am NOT nervous! I'm just... concerned. Why are you so calm anyway? Aren't you just a little bit anxious?"
"Other than my part in the ceremony, I don't really have a big role in this wedding. I'm not the main attraction, I get to sit in the sidelines and watch you while I rub shoulders with the most attractive available people in Shin Makoku. Actually, I'm not calm at all. I'm excited. And unlike you, I won't blunder my words."
"Honestly, Yuuri, I hope you remember them."
"Wolf, we've practiced them often enough in the past week that even Greta can say them."
"Well, it's a good thing she'll be up on the dais, she can prompt you."
"By the way Wolfram," Conrad interrupted, "after the ceremony, you won't have much time, are you already prepared for the trip tomorrow?"
"Anissina already has the vessel ready to go. I myself powered it yesterday. My bag is all packed and ready."
"You mean that little bag in the room," Yuuri said. "Won't you need more clothes than that? The trip is for a whole week."
"Where we're going, there won't be a need for that much clothes."
"And Gisela wanted me to pass along a message," Conrad said. "Make sure to go see her today. She tried talking to you last night... but. Well...you were... incapacitated."
"But in the most beautiful and delectable way," the great sage added.
Wolfram frowned at him and Yuuri mumbled a low warning at his friend whose only response was shifting the angle of his eyeglasses where the reflected light momentarily obscured his eyes.
"I'm sure she didn't mind that Lord von Bielefeld was 'incapacitated' last night," Murata teased. "I certainly didn't. In fact I look forward to..."
"Look it's Greta!" Yuuri almost shouted with relief.
After Wolfram turned around and approached his daughter, Yuuri turned to Murata with a look of disapproval.
"Will you lay off him? Why do you like to make my life difficult?"
Murata smiled enigmatically, "So how did your fiancé convince you about this trip. I would've thought you'd be too hardheaded and stubborn to agree to it."
"I am not so predictable Murata. Why wouldn't I agree to it?"
"It must've been a long argument. I just wonder how much damage he caused."
Yuuri staunchly stayed silent.
Murata laughed, "Did he duel you for it?"
"..."
"Fine. Fine. Since Greta is here, I'm sure we are expected to start getting ready. I'm heading to the throne room. I'll see you there."
"I'll go ahead with you, Your Eminence." Conrad turned and gazed into Yuuri's eyes, "I'll wait for you there Yuuri."
Yuuri returned the gesture and nodded.
"You look wonderful Greta," Wolfram had been saying as he knelt on one knee in front of their daughter.
Her outfit was identical to Wolfram's except instead of blue with black trim, hers was white with maroon trim and instead of pants, she had a skirt.
Yuuri wasn't entirely sure if it was Lady Celi who came up with the idea of dressing them in matching outfits as if to mark them as belonging together. Sure the three of them looked nothing like each other. One couldn't even point out to a single physical attribute as being the same for any two of them. Warm brown, light tan and pale skin. Brown, black and green eyes. Curly brown, straight black and wavy blond hair. Human, half-Mazoku and Mazoku. They couldn't possibly look any more dissimilar. But Yuuri knew they didn't need any visible sign to mark them as family. If people could see into their hearts, it's evident that the three of them belonged to each other.
He didn't even know when it was when he started to consciously think of the three of them as family. To the people around him, it must have been much sooner because he knew long before he felt it, that when people referred to the 'royal family', they did not mean Lady Celi and her three sons. He had always argued with Wolfram that Greta was his daughter only. But he didn't remember when he stopped. Maybe it was when Wolfram scolded him regarding Greta missing him while he was living his other life on Earth. Maybe it was when they dealt with the forbidden boxes and they lost Wolfram's heart and then lost Yuuri to Soushu. Maybe it was when Wolfram left for Bielefeld and he and Greta faced many potential years without him. Or maybe it was during one of those trivial things that they find natural to do together like falling asleep, having picnics, reading to each other or braving the smells of Wolfram's paint.
"You're wearing Yuuri's pendant today," Wolfram remarked.
"Yuuri asked me to wear it because it's a special day today. Oh here, can you pin this on Yuuri? I have to go and check and make sure everything is ready."
She went and hugged Yuuri, "Do your best, Yuuri."
"Thanks, Greta. You know, you're the prettiest flower girl in the history of Shin Makoku."
"Yuuri, I'm the first flower girl in the history of Shin Makoku."
"Then, you'll be the prettiest ever." Yuuri told her as she skipped off in the direction of the throne room.
"Wolf?" Yuuri said when he noticed the Mazoku was still kneeling.
"Wolf..." Wolfram was looking down at something in his hand.
After the third time Yuuri said the name and received no response, he stood in front of the ex-prince and stooped down so his head came very close to the other boy's.
"Wolf!" he said much louder which produced the predictable effect; Wolfram sharply turned his head up hitting Yuuri's chin hard.
The guards were treated to an amusing scene of their king clutching his chin and the third son of the ex-Maou grabbing the top of his head yelling, "...you idiot!"
"I've been trying to call you and you're not paying attention!"
The ex-prince huffed, "Fine, let's just get going before they start hunting for us." He turned and started marching away.
The king fell in step with the prince and the guards followed behind.
Yuuri took a sideway glance at Wolfram and asked, "What's wrong with you anyway? You were fine a few seconds ago."
"There's nothing wrong with me Yuuri," Wolfram replied tightly.
Yuuri took another sideway glance and disagreed, but didn't voice it. Wolfram had a faraway look with lips slightly pursed as if he was remembering something unpalatable.
After a few minutes, Yuuri felt his companion start to calm down. He chanced another glance and saw the previous look replaced by a look of nostalgia. He noted that there was now a slight upturn on the lips. Wolfram was looking down at the golden brooch that Greta handed him.
"It's been a while since I've seen this," he said. "I thought you lost it or threw it away."
"Why would you think that? It's a gift from a friend on a very special occasion." Yuuri heard a light snort.
"I know the contents of all your closets and drawers. You cannot hide anything from me."
"It was in my room on Earth," Yuuri replied, "where I hide all my porn."
"What?!" Yuuri smiled when he heard Wolfram's tone.
"Nothing. I was just kidding. It was in a box in my underwear drawer. I grabbed it last week before we came home."
The golden brooch shaped like a bird with wings outstretched was the first present Wolfram ever gave him. The beautiful brat had pinned it on him right before he was crowned as Maou. Since he had taken it off more than two years ago, after he was unceremoniously dumped back on Earth, it had sat in a box in his drawer. For some reason he was no longer entirely sure of, something stemming from Wolfram's talk of Zoratia, he had wanted to show it to Greta. Greta in turn had requested that he wear it in her honor after his long rambling speech about hard work and leadership and family bonds and being wary of unscrupulous men in nightclubs... not that she was ever allowed to go to such places.
Yuuri stopped Wolfram before he turned the corner that would make the big doors to the throne room visible.
He faced Wolfram and asked, "Can you pin it on for me? I don't think I can do it straight if I do it myself."
Wolfram grabbed Yuuri's suit and was about to pin it when he stopped. Yuuri could feel the warmth of the fingers on his chest. The blond was frowning looking at the brooch.
"I don't really think this is appropriate, you deserve something better. You've come a long way since then. You've accomplished more than any Maou in our history even rivaling Shinou."
"Are you complimenting me?"
"I'm sure there is enough time for Günter to get something from the treasury."
"I don't want to wear something ostentatious, Wolfram. I want to wear something special... Ow!"
"Sorry," Wolfram said. He finished pinning the brooch quickly and brushed Yuuri's jacket then turned around and walked away with hurried steps.
By the time Yuuri caught up to him, he was already standing in front of the large double doors. They were open and the discordant sounds of hundreds of conversations floated out into the hallway. One or two people walk past them intent on some last minute business.
Wolfram crooked his arm and gave Yuuri a look that told the Maou that he'd better take the arm and let Wolfram escort him unless he wanted to get flambéed. Yuuri, who did not want die a painful death before Anissina had a chance to kill him several times with various inventions after the wedding ceremony, looped his arm through the offered one.
Slowly, they walked the length of the aisle towards the dais arm in arm. They remained quiet, busy with their own thoughts, overhearing smatterings of conversations.
"... a perfect day to have a wedding..."
"... I used her last time, but the outfit didn't come out..."
"... her older brother does not approve so he isn't going to be the one..."
"... Majesty and Lord von Bielefeld look perfect together."
"... really like those decorations. I wonder where I can get these green, glass balls."
"... seen Lord Denham von Karbelnikoff yet..."
"... you at least afraid? You've got a lot of Maryoku..."
The king and his escort stopped halfway as Conrad approached them. Wolfram let go of Yuuri's arm.
"Your Maj... Yuuri, it looks like we're almost ready. Shall we?"
The three of them continued to the steps of the dais where Murata and Günter were talking.
Günter, who displayed a look of pain after taking one look at the king, put a handkerchief over the lower half of his face and mumbled, "Your Maj..." and then took off running.
Yuuri could only look and wonder.
Wolfram gave a low hmph and stalked off towards the long wall left of the throne.
Murata looked down at Conrad and Yuuri. He asked, "Are you ready, Shibuya? You're not going to suddenly see the Maou-signal and fly off to save Metropolis, are you?"
Yuuri looked sourly at his friend as he walked up the steps. "You know I'm not sure whether to be grateful for having one other person understand Earth pop-culture references or to want to stick your head in a toilet for constantly making fun of me."
"Now, now. Isn't that how it all started?"
"Yuuri, Your Eminence, do your best," Conrad smiled as he walked off in the opposite direction as his younger brother.
"He said, 'Don't you know I love you oh, so much,
And lay my heart at the foot of your dress?'
The light started dimming as thin curtains were drawn over windows. The conversations started to cease when the double doors were closed and as Lady Celi walked towards the reserved seats up front escorted by Lord von Grantz.
Music replaced the low din of conversations. The audience's attention was pulled towards the back where Greta was standing alone with a basket full of green leaves and maroon petals, beams of light playing with the curls in her hair. When the music changed to a joyful, hopeful tune, she started walking with measured steps up the aisle sprinkling it with leaves and petals. She gave a big bright smile to Yuuri as she continued up the steps of the dais. She stopped a few feet left of the throne and turned to the audience.
The music changed. It was now a majestic, almost pompous tune. The double doors were thrown open and there stood Gwendal in a green suit that rivaled Conrad's, and Anissina in a white and maroon wedding gown with flowers in her hair. As they walked arm in arm up the aisle, all throughout the room were stifled gasps at Lady von Karbelnikoff's beauty and elegance and whispered surprise at Lord von Voltaire's presence.
When they got to the dais, Gwendal looked down and gave her one of his rare smiles. It was a soft and wistful smile. The smile she gave back was bright and full of hope and ambition.
"Thank you. I would have never thought it would be you that would be standing here with me today."
"I've never been able to get away from you and you know that."
"Yes, that I do."
"I'm glad to be here."
"I'm glad you're here." She flashed him another smile.
Gwendal's voice reverberated through the room as it was picked up by the Hear-Me-Roar-kun. "I, Gwendal von Voltaire, representing family and friends, give my full support for the vows that Anissina von Karbelnikoff will take today."
With that, he took Anissina's hand, gave it a squeeze and let go. He walked the few steps past the king and the sage and stood a few feet to the right of the throne, standing opposite Greta.
Yuuri remembered little of the ceremony. It was long enough for Günter's desire for pomp and short enough for Anissina's desire for efficiency to both be satisfied. Yuuri did his part well enough not to be an embarrassment. It was really the last part that was important.
... the great sage handed a long decorated metal object reminiscent of a scepter to Anissina and proclaimed, "Shinou gives his blessing."
Anissina turned around to face the audience and gave her vows, "I, Anissina von Karbelnikoff, do solemnly swear that from today onwards, through happiness and hardships, through successes and failures, through richness and poverty, I shall be a single, independent woman of Shin Makoku devoted to the Advancement of Women Everywhere and to the Promotion of Demonic Intellectual Pursuits."
She gave the audience a big satisfied smile, and punched a button on her 'scepter'. There was a boom and confetti started raining down the audience. Anissina declared in a loud, confident voice, "Let the learning begin!"
"She said, 'Don't you know that storybook loves
Always have a happy ending?'"
All in all, it didn't go too badly, Yuuri reflected the following day. His life was only placed in jeopardy twice and Conrad destroyed the machines with his sword quickly enough. There were only twenty casualties which was two less than from Gwendal's drunkenness. No deaths, only one major injury. No one fell inadvertently in love as a result of drinking the wrong potion much to Murata's disappointment. The castle remained standing up, only three rooms and half a tower were destroyed. And the only part of town affected was, thankfully, the one they had evacuated.
The best news of all was that Murata was able to convince Anissina that the Giant Annual Celebration for the Advancement of Women Everywhere Involving Lots of New Inventions needed to be enjoyed throughout the kingdom and not just at the capital. The celebration that was to take place will be moved to a different territory each year and Yuuri didn't have to host another one for at least ten years. By that time, he would find a good excuse not to be at Blood Pledge Castle. Or at the very least, help Anissina find a way to use Murata's powers so the high school genius could share the joy of being the main power source for the event.
Yuuri had been so tired that he almost missed Wolfram's departure. Greta and Wolfram had already left the castle by the time he woke up. He and Conrad had had to gallop at full speed to the dock.
He was surprised to see a very lively Anissina standing by the banana-shaped vessel. She had still been up when he dragged himself to bed in the dark morning hours. She probably hadn't slept yet, he thought.
Yuuri was also surprised to see Gisela and Lord von Grantz there.
"You're not going to leave without saying good-bye, are you?" Yuuri hollered as he climbed off Ao.
"Why, Your Majesty, I didn't think you cared," Yozak replied in a tart voice.
Yuuri's brain stumbled at that. "Of course... I... uh." He gave up and walked towards Wolfram and grabbed him by the shoulders.
Yozak winked at Conrad.
"Yuuri, I did say goodbye. It's not my fault you can't hear above your loud snores."
"It would be nice next time that you say your goodbyes when I'm awake."
"We did try to wake you up Yuuri," Greta interjected. "But you looked too tired."
"Look, just make sure to keep yourself safe, okay?"
"Don't worry kiddo, I'll keep your precious fiancé from doing anything stupid."
"Wimp, I'm only going to be gone a week. I'll be back long before you return from Earth."
"Miss Gisela, are you ready to go?"
Yuuri turned to Yozak, "Gisela is going with you?"
Yozak didn't turn to face him, instead he went to check the yellow vessel.
It was Gisela that answered, "Yes, Your Majesty, I have an errand to run and they are dropping me off on their way to Zoratia."
"Oh I see."
The three boarded the vessel after Wolfram's diatribe to Yuuri against the evils of pretty girls and handsome young men. After Wolfram thanked Anissina for the vessel and for taking care of Greta, Yozak started the engine and they went off in a yellow blur.
"Too bad, Your Majesty is also leaving today for your world. Between the Maou and the selfish loafer, that's a lot of potential energy gone."
"Don't worry Anissina, we still have Lord von Wincott," Greta said cheerfully. "And there's Lord von Rochefort and his brother. And Lord von Grantz here. And don't forget Gwendal and Günter."
Anissina flashed a mischievous smile, "and, of course, there's Wolfram's personal guards."