Stupid Cupid

See disclaimer in part 1

Yggdra sighed with relief, stretching out her arms, as she walked out of what had become the conference chamber for the peace negotiations. Today had been a particularly touchy subject—further reparations to be made to Bronquia for the damages the Royal Army had inflicted during their invasion. Embellia and Lombardia had both been suspicious and unwilling, but after Yggdra had succeeded in calling silence, Gulcasa had gotten up and addressed the entire group of representatives in a passionate and poignant speech.

Bronquia had gone to war with Fantasinia, he'd said, for three main reasons: Driving out the Fantasinian occupation of border castles and towns such as Ishnad and extending Bronquia's territory, his own personal vengeance against the Royal family responsible for the deaths of his parents and the degradation of his noble clan, and repeated crop failures that would have become widespread famine if Gulcasa and the Imperial Army hadn't supplied Bronquian villages with looted Fantasinian crops. The spoils of war were no longer an option, but Gulcasa attested that he was prepared to do anything to save his people, even if it came down to emptying the Imperial treasury and completely beggaring Bronquia for as long as it took. When he'd just taken the throne, he'd been too naïve and too proud to beg Fantasinia and its allies for help, but he said that he knew better now.

"Whether he calls himself an Emperor or a King, a monarch has a responsibility to his people," Gulcasa had proclaimed seriously. "I made mistakes in the past, and I wronged you all deeply. But times are changing, and now I have no choice but to beg you, my fellows, for your aid. For better or for worse, Bronquia is at your mercy."

At that point, Yggdra had joined him, reminding the assembly that although several of them had been allied to Fantasinia, her own country and her father had done them ill as well through the complacent, supremacist attitude that they had cultivated under the aegis of the Gran Centurio. "All of us, not just Gulcasa and the Imperial Army, have sins for which we must atone," she had told them. "To avoid further bloodshed, each of us has to change the way we approach matters of state, the way we perceive each other. The lives of the people of Bronquia are just as precious as those of our own… please, show them the respect and kindness you would to those you have sworn to protect."

Gulcasa's testimony had won the sympathy of the Lost Aries representatives, and either the impact of Yggdra's admission of guilt or the picture she'd made, standing hand in hand with the Emperor she'd once sworn to kill and begging for their aid on his behalf, had gotten the agreement of Lombardia and Embellia. After that, they'd debated back and forth about what concessions were to be made, and the result had been far more than both Yggdra and Gulcasa had dreamed was possible.

All in all, it had been an extremely successful day.

"Hey, Yggdra, wait up!"

She turned around, a radiant smile warming her face, to see that Gulcasa was running up to join her. "You were brilliant in there," she told him as he caught up and fell in stride with her. "You completely won them over, and I'm so happy for you. That went so much better than I ever hoped it could."

"Ah… no, it was because of you," Gulcasa said, blushing slightly and shaking his head. "I never thought Embellia would want to help us, since they're still bitter that we're sheltering Nessiah—and I was sure Lombardia was a lost cause. I mean… Luciana may have been taking liberties with her orders, but it still comes down to the fact that I was indirectly responsible for the death of one of their most respected Popes in the history of the diocese. But you got them to listen to you… I owe you so much, I have no idea how to begin to thank you!"

"Oh, no, you don't need to," Yggdra protested hastily, her face flaming. "We of Fantasinia have got to start making up for the way we've treated your people for so long."

"Even so—you're the first Fantasinian monarch who would ever have dreamed of taking our side, and I have to do something to show you how much that means," Gulcasa insisted, giving Yggdra's shoulder a gentle shove. Mischief flared in his golden eyes as he smiled down at her. "So, since I don't have any better ideas… how about that riding lesson I promised you last month?"

"I would love that!" Yggdra exclaimed, glowing with joy. "Thank you!"

"You don't have to thank me," he told her softly. "I'm the one who's always going to be grateful to you…"

But before he could finish his sentence, someone nearby cleared their throat very loudly, making both the Emperor and the Queen jump.

"A-Aegina…!" Gulcasa stared at the irate valkyrie, shaken, one hand clamped over his chest. "You about gave me a heart attack—give me some warning next time instead of sneaking up on me!"

"Trust me, Gulcasa-nii, I could have stripped naked and danced like a lightskirt all through the hall without you noticing I was even here," Aegina told him, a vein standing out in her jaw. "You only had eyes for her. As for the rest of the world, you might as well have been as blind as Nessiah."

Gulcasa sighed and gave her an exasperated look. "Don't talk about Nessiah like that. You should be ashamed of yourself for using someone's disability as an insult—so don't do that anymore, because if he hears you and gets upset, I'll have to think up some kind of punishment for you."

Aegina just glared back at him, favoring Yggdra with a truly murderous expression for a few seconds before giving her brother her attention again. "I don't care, as long as you've got your head back in the real world now. I have an important report for you to look over before you—"

Gulcasa squeezed his eyes shut and groaned. "Not now," he begged. "If I see one more report right now, I'm going to lose my mind. I just spent the past three hours poring over paperwork and engaging in civil, altogether too technical discussion of it. I need to go do something right now."

"But, Gulcasa-nii—" Aegina protested.

"I don't care, I'll look at it when I get back. I'm taking Yggdra out for a dragon ride, since I promised her a while ago I'd teach her how," Gulcasa informed her. As Aegina swelled indignantly, he glared at her. "And I don't care about your personal opinion on the matter. I'll spend my time with whoever I damn well please."

"Gulcasa-nii—"

"No, and that's final," he replied snappishly, his eyes flashing dangerously.

As the two of them glared at each other, Yggdra took a step forward, holding up her hands beseechingly. "Um… please, you two…" she said awkwardly, looking from one to the other.

Aegina rounded on her furiously. "You stay out of it, you little—"

"ENOUGH," Gulcasa shouted, making Aegina flinch back, surprised. Before either of the girls could say anything, he took Yggdra by the hand and pulled her along the hall with him. "Come on, Yggdra. Let's get going."

Struggling to keep up, Yggdra watched Gulcasa anxiously. "Um… I…"

He looked back at her with regret in his eyes, slowing their pace a hair. "Look… I'm really sorry you had to see that. Aegina and Luciana… they can be a little overprotective, and they get jealous of everyone I'm close to, excluding themselves and Emilia. They may be my sisters, but they can be a little… much. It was the same way with Nessiah, when he first started staying with us—and they still don't get along with him very well."

"It's okay," Yggdra reassured him, just relieved that he'd lost that stormy expression. "I know that they only act this way because they love you…"

"That still doesn't make it excusable for them to act like that with you," Gulcasa said, but he sighed and let the subject drop. "Anyway… you, ah… you may want to change clothes if we're going to be riding. I know you can ride a horse sidesaddle, but astride is safer since you're inexperienced with dragons… so you'll probably want pants on. We'll ride double for a while just so you can get used to the way it feels, then you can try solo if you like. Either way, I'll always stay with you just in case." He nodded to her. "You should go get ready—I'll be down at the stables waiting for you."

"Okay." Yggdra smiled and squeezed his hand before letting go. "I'll see you in a few minutes."

She turned and ran off as he headed further down the hall, hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his face.

---

Yggdra was one of those girls who had that gift of looking amazing in anything she wore, even, Gulcasa imagined, if she ever had to resort to dressing in burlap after being dumped in mud and run through a tornado. She could pull together anything from rags to luxurious silk dresses with a perfect smile. All the same, her outfit when she walked through the stable doors dealt the finishing blow to Gulcasa's heart.

She looks hopelessly adorable in denim, the Emperor realized, bewildered and smitten. I never knew.

Yggdra had taken his advice and dressed in a pair of slightly battered work pants, supple leather boots, and a white short-sleeved shirt with a tiny satin bow resting at the collar. Her hair was fastened with its customary black ribbon, and her tiara shone silver on her golden hair, even in the low light.

"I hope this is okay," Yggdra said shyly as she approached, starting to blush.

"It's… it's fine, don't worry," Gulcasa replied, aware that he was staring but unable to help himself.

"I… I mean, I… don't usually wear pants… because it's… not really all that feminine, is it?" Yggdra stared at the ground, going completely pink.

"I wouldn't say that—I mean, I know you like wearing dresses better, but… you look fine, you don't have to worry about it at all," Gulcasa told her, aware in the back of his mind that this could very well be one of those female conversational traps to which there was no correct reply. "You, uh… look good all the time. So don't worry about it."

Yggdra giggled self-consciously and covered her face. "Oh, what am I saying? I shouldn't worry about the way I look at a time like this, should I? I'm so self-absorbed sometimes. Please just forget I even said that."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it."

Still shaking her head at herself, Yggdra continued forward. Gulcasa noticed absently that a sweet scent hung around her hair, like it had recently been shampooed—something like honeysuckle, blended with a citrusy smell. The citrus made the scent playful, but it was still sweet and vaguely soothing.

Gulcasa's dragon let out a happy squeak at being reunited with Yggdra and enthusiastically butted her muzzle against the girl's shoulder, sniffing deeply and purring.

Yggdra giggled. "Hello. You're energetic today."

"She's definitely made up her mind that she likes you," Gulcasa agreed, feeling his face starting to heat up. "I think it's… 'cause you smell nice."

Yggdra looked up at him, surprised, and he ran his hands through his hair, berating himself for being so obvious. "A-anyway. Dragons have a different rhythm of movement from horses, so it may take you a while to get adjusted to that, but the most important thing you have to keep in mind is that the length and positions of the stirrups are different. On a horse, stirrups go all the way down to the belly, and you have more room to cling to stay on… but you ride a dragon with your legs curled, and your control is almost entirely indicated through the reins or spoken commands. Trying to spur a dragon wouldn't work anyway, since these guys' scales protect them against small wounds like that."

"Okay, I think I understand," Yggdra said with a nod.

"Good." Gulcasa mounted up in one fluid motion, then held out a hand to Yggdra. "Come on, I'll help you up. The sooner we can get started, the better."

Yggdra hesitated for a moment. "She'll be able to take the weight, right?"

"Of course. Dragons are hardy. Besides, I've done this a lot of times before with Nessiah on the battlefield—and that's with me in full plate armor, and while he's about the same height as you, with those chains he's quite a bit heavier. She'll be fine."

"Okay." Yggdra took his hand and let him pull her up to sit on the second, or pillion, pad on the dragon's saddle. As Gulcasa watched her over his shoulder, she carefully located the stirrups and slipped her feet into them.

"Now, as soon as you're used to the movement, we'll be going pretty fast, so you'll have to hold on to me," Gulcasa instructed.

Yggdra laid her hands tentatively on his hips. "Ah… o-okay…"

Gulcasa hung his head, starting to get embarrassed. "Uh… no, you'll have to hold on a lot tighter than that. And get closer. If we break into full gallop like this, you're going to fall off, and trust me, that's not fun."

Yggdra scooted up a few inches, to the point where Gulcasa could feel the warmth of her even though they weren't yet touching, and tightened her grip, winding her fingers through his belt loops.

"Um… okay, just let me…" Gulcasa removed Yggdra's hands from his hips and wrapped her arms lightly around his waist. "Like this. And hold on tight, I mean really tight, and lean in. When we get going at a decent speed it'll be instinctive, but…"

He heard Yggdra take a deep breath, then felt her close her arms around his waist and press in, fisting her hands in his shirt. "Is… this better…?"

Gulcasa shivered, hyperaware of the fact that his face was burning and very glad that he was facing away from Yggdra. She was so warm. Her cheek was pressed against his upper back, between his shoulderblades and cushioned on his hair, the inward curve of her belly fitting snugly against the ridge of his spine and bringing that unaccustomed warmth to the small of his back. And… he very distinctly felt the curve of her full breasts crushed to his back, as well.

Oh. My. God.

No, no, no—now is NOT the time to start thinking things like that!! This is absolutely no different from when you taught Nessiah to ride, so stop it right now! This is Yggdra, not some kind of… of…

Get it together!!

"Y… yeah. That's fine," he replied at last, sure that either his embarrassment or the thoughts he was trying desperately to stifle had leaked into his voice. "Okay… let's go." He flapped the reins lightly, and his dragon started forward at a light walk, emerging into the paddock.

The practical reason to have Yggdra plastered to him even at this tame pace was that now she had no choice but to copy his movements, rather than floundering until she found the right rhythm to shift over the dragon's shoulders as they rode. It was considerably easier on her this way—as it had been for Nessiah as well—rather than how it had been for Gulcasa, who hadn't had the advantage of a tutor and had wound up with a lot of bruises until he'd managed to figure it out.

Once he judged that Yggdra had mastered the movements that went with a walk and a light trot, he turned slightly so he'd be able to address her. "Okay, now we're going to try something a bit more difficult. We want to be able to go ride out by the forest's edge for a while—so we're going to have to jump the fence."

"Jump—but couldn't we just—"

"I can't really lean over and undo the gate with another rider," Gulcasa told her truthfully. "Besides, this'll help to get you ready for running around outside. Don't be afraid. Just hang on to me and copy what I do."

Gulcasa walked his dragon over to one side of the paddock, then nudged her into a run, leaning forward over her neck and feeling Yggdra shift slightly to follow him. As they leaped, he arched his body back, then leaned forward again to absorb the landing. Yggdra was with him every step of the way.

"See? You did fine," he told her.

She didn't reply, but he was fairly sure he felt her smile.

---

Yggdra had gotten used to riding Gulcasa's dragon by now, and was entirely comfortable with all the rein commands. Once the two of them had gotten to the edge of the Marduk forest, she and Gulcasa had switched seats, so that she could practice her control with the security of having him sitting right behind her, ready to take over if she got into any kind of trouble.

She could tell that he was still slightly embarrassed at the degree of intimacy implied by their physical closeness, especially now that he was required to cling to her, but though she thought his hesitance was sweet, she'd gotten accustomed to that, too. He'd leaned in close, a warm and solid protective presence behind her, with one bandaged-up arm around her waist and his free hand resting on her forearm in case he needed to take the reins at all. At that moment, Yggdra knew she would've trusted him with anything, even her life.

As she sat in silent wonder at that realization, Gulcasa leaned in a little further, his lips at her ear. "You're doing well. Are you sure you're not ready to try on your own?"

In response, Yggdra smiled and snuggled back against him, looking up at him and feeling her cheeks flush for the hundredth time that day as she thought briefly that they were close enough to kiss. "I know I am, but… I just want to ride like this for a little longer," she told him.

"Ah…"

Before Gulcasa could form a reply, there was a rustle in the nearby brush that made them both look up. As they watched, an axe-wielding man dressed in furs emerged from the forest, followed by another and another.

Yggdra turned to Gulcasa, confused. "I don't see any flags… whose soldiers are they?"

Gulcasa was glaring at the axemen, a low and rumbling growl starting deep in his chest. "Not soldiers—bandits, thinking two travelers are easy pickings, no doubt. Damn it." So saying, he undid the three buckles that had held his scythe against his dragon's tack and spun it in an experimental circle. "Wait here, and stay on. I'll take care of this."

As he dismounted, Yggdra felt fear rise and flutter in her heart, and grabbed his forearm. "Gulcasa—"

He gave her a slight smile. "Don't worry. I won't kill any of them if I don't have to."

And he pulled out of her grip, stalking towards the bandits with his scythe in hand and a dangerous look on his face. Yggdra bit her lip and watched anxiously. It's not them I'm worried about…

"Think yer gonna fight us, eh?" one of the bandits said incredulously, laughing.

Gulcasa smirked. "You obviously have no idea who you're dealing with. A word to the wise—next time, pick an opponent who doesn't happen to be head and shoulders above you in skill. You'd better get out of here now if you don't want to get hurt."

"Get 'im, boys!" the bandit called, waving his fellows on. "We'll see if yer talkin' tough after we're done!"

Gulcasa shook his head tragically, flipping his scythe to hold it in both hands. "They just never learn."

With Yggdra looking on worriedly, he charged towards the ring of advancing bandits and swung his scythe in a wide arc, making them all jump back, yelping, to avoid it. Hardly pausing, Gulcasa lunged forward with a bestial snarl, slicing a bandit's axe in two when the man tried to block with it.

As the panicking bandits got back their nerve and came at Gulcasa in twos and threes, he twisted like a cat to avoid their strikes, then shifted his grip on his scythe and brought it around in a tight sweep, lashing out with all the force of his upper body to rend one bandit's upper arm open to the bone.

The bandit howled and staggered back, blood spurting from his wound, as a pair of his allies ran to support him. "You bastard! What did you do to him?!"

"Relax," Gulcasa said harshly, swinging his scythe in a slow and graceful circle above his head to shake the blood off. "The wound's not fatal or even dangerous. He'll just never wield an axe with that arm again."

"How could you!" another bandit yelled, shaking his axe at Gulcasa furiously. "How do you expect him to make a living now?"

"Try an honest career," Gulcasa retorted, setting the butt of his staff against the ground as he glared at them. "He got what he deserved, trying to steal from the Queen of Fantasinia."

All the bandits but the stricken one instantly turned to stare at Yggdra incredulously, all taking note of her tiara. "Are you serious? She's really the Queen?"

Gulcasa's dragon fidgeted beneath Yggdra; she tightened her hold on the reins and looked out at him anxiously. "Be careful, Gulcasa…"

"Well, then, that just means we'll have a bigger haul," a bandit yelled brazenly, and ran for Yggdra with his axe raised. Before he could get far, Gulcasa reached out with his scythe and tripped the man, knocking him to the ground and striding over to him with a black look on his face.

"You try that again and I'll kill you," Gulcasa promised him in a soft but deadly tone. The bandit stared up at him out of wide eyes and scooted away, nervously watching the blade of his scythe.

Seeing another bandit rushing in from behind, Yggdra let out a fearful cry. "No! Gulcasa, look out!!"

As the bandit leaped, Gulcasa reacted with blinding speed, grabbing hold of the bandit in midair and flinging the man down before him, bringing his scythe around in a wild swing that stopped only a hair's breadth from the bandit's throat.

"Leave now if you value your lives!" The snarling roar that issued from the Emperor's throat could hardly be classified as human. Finally deciding they'd had enough, the group of bandits fled into the forest.

Seeing Gulcasa relax and lean on his scythe, panting, Yggdra dismounted from his dragon and ran over to him. He was pale and sweating, and his hands were shaking; Yggdra's heart seized in terror that maybe one of the bandits' attacks had landed after all. "Gulcasa, are you alright?!"

But as she reached out to him, he flinched away, his eyes wild and wary through the curtain of hair that had fallen forward, obscuring them. "Don't touch me," he said hoarsely, almost fearfully.

"Gulcasa…"

"I'm not hurt," he told her, then shook his head and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. "Just… just keep your distance for a while. I… I'm sorry." After a while, he nodded to her. "We should… go back in. I'm sorry. I don't think I can… just go back to what we were doing right now."

Yggdra nodded in agreement, subdued. "Alright." On the inside, though, she wanted to scream. Before this happened, everything had been so perfect—just the two of them enjoying themselves, the burdens of their crowns momentarily forgotten, and the soft expanse of aloneness ahead of them in which three fragile words might at last have been said… but of course, something like this just had to happen and ruin everything, and now Gulcasa was somewhere distant and alien to her, deep in a private part of his own heart that she wasn't yet allowed to see. There would be no reaching him now, no reclaiming that brief but infinite joy. It wasn't fair!

Each of them took one side of the dragon's reins, and walked with her back towards Castle Karona in wounded silence.

---

Nessiah was there at the gate ten minutes before Gulcasa and Yggdra actually arrived, hovering anxiously while the guards first stared at him like he was crazy, then noticed the Emperor and the Queen coming and lowered the drawbridge. As soon as the two of them were inside, Gulcasa let go of his dragon's reins and walked off, leaving Yggdra standing there amidst the worried soldiers with their mount in her care and a saddened expression on her face.

Nessiah wavered indecisively for a moment, until Yggdra nodded to him and said "Go on". Trusting in her judgment of her own distress, he turned and ran after Gulcasa.

He'd run into Aegina shortly after the pair of them had left the castle altogether, and she'd accosted him to vent her frustration that Gulcasa had ignored her in favor of her half-sister, despite the fact that the information she'd had truly was important. After a few minutes, Nessiah had her calm enough to ascertain what her report had actually entailed: Early that morning, castle scouts had received word of highwaymen hassling travelers around the border of Marduk. Right where Gulcasa and Yggdra had been heading.

Nessiah hadn't been worried, at least at first. After all, this was Gulcasa they were talking about—he was more than a match for a group of disorganized road bandits, especially if he had someone to defend. But not long ago, he'd started getting an oppressively bad feeling, and so he'd headed out to the gate, afraid that one of them had been injured, or worse. He'd been wrong about that, but—Nessiah didn't think he'd ever seen Gulcasa with quite that expression on his face before. There was definitely some kind of underlying issue that had been stirred up outside.

That Nessiah had no idea what it could be, when Gulcasa told him just about everything, was a bad sign.

Entering the empty Imperial common room, Nessiah came upon the Emperor sitting in a corner of the room with his head in his hands and ventured slowly over to him.

"What happened out there?" he asked softly.

Gulcasa just looked up at him and didn't say anything, staring at his best friend out of haunted eyes.

"…If you don't want to tell me… if it's too personal… that's fine," Nessiah decided aloud. "Just… no matter what it is, remember… I'm here for you. You're not alone."

Gulcasa slumped forward in his seat, leaning his forehead against the soft hollow just beneath Nessiah's ribs. "I… I can't…"

"It's okay," Nessiah told him, knowing better than to try to press Gulcasa for more information. "It's okay. Just don't say anything." Leaning down, he put his arms around his old friend, just wishing there was something more he could do. "I'm here."

:TBC:

Timeline: As mentioned by Gulcasa earlier, we're in early March now, just slightly before certain guys are about to go postal with White's Day worries. This may not seem to have much to do with the main plot at the moment, but trust me, it's important.

Where's everyone else?: Even if this wasn't an important event, Yggdra and Gulcasa kind of ARE the main couple in this story, so they deserve a chapter to themselves for once. The subplots will all be back next time, so don't worry.