SAPPHIRE WATER, RUBY FIRE
Author's Note:
Here you go! A new chapter! It is more focused on Conrad x Greta. What the heck, Conrad is really such a trouble to describe. Enjoy!
Thanks for all my reviewers! This story is for you!
Disclaimer: Don't own KKM.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The result for the vote:
Kazu: 1
Masato Seigi/Seigi: 2
Seif Recht/Seif/Recht: 3
Hisoka Raitei: 1
Since it is impossible to use all of the names, I have to pick two of them. I'm sorry for the ones who prefer the other names (bows deeply)! Some spoiler here: Yuuri will give the Maou a name (in Japanese), yet Wolfram (and his taste…remember Liswell and Pochi? This is just like that case) decides to give the Maou a name of his own. So…it will be a confusing bundle. That's all I can say (shrugs). Ah, you know what always happen between Yuuri and Wolfram….
Thanks for reading!
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CHAPTER 5: SHADOW OF DOUBT, LIGHT OF HOPE
The scenery around him was hazy, fog drifting here and there, each step he took bringing new scent and feeling. He was floating in the air, and whenever he looked down what he saw was swirling masses of white fog, like cotton candy. The place was warm, yet somehow the warmth was not soothing at all.
The warmth was…dry, empty.
A speck of light sparkled in the distance, far away, glimmering dimly, like an ember amidst the wind. He walked, floated, toward it, willing his body to move toward it. The light expanded as he moved closer toward it, filling the whole space, blinding him for a moment.
When he dared himself to open his eyes again, emerald green orbs blinking, he was staring on a scene he had known to well.
Gaze now weak, Yuuri turned at his fiancée, who seemed close to tears by then. Tears of anger, he noted. And…was it despair in his eyes?
"Wolf…," he called out, voice weary and weak. "I just want you to be safe…."
"I can take care of myself, thank you," replied the arrogant voice, yet the tone was wavering noticeably, and Yuuri was suddenly aware of how fragile Wolfram looked sometimes. The usually ever-existing rage in those emerald eyes now seemed void, blank, a mask to cover whatever was beneath. Yuuri reached out, hesitantly bringing the smaller boy closer toward him.
Then, slowly, awkwardly, he encircled his arms around the blonde's narrow waist. "Sorry, Wolf…," he whispered in regret. "I…just don't want to see you hurt."
A muffled "Wimp" was his reply, yet this time he smiled when he heard it.
Wolfram's eyes widened, taking in the sight before him. 'This is…,' he thought, standing froze on his spot, only several feet away from the couple. 'This is….'
A creak from behind him, and he turned. The couple did not seem to notice the sound at all. He walked toward the door, which was half-opened still. He did not remember this. No, he had not noticed it at all, still in Yuuri's embrace.
Slowly, ever so hesitantly, he peeked outside the door, only to find the scene swirling and changing.
The Maou suddenly was standing beside him, right at the doorway, the previous scene in the room replaying itself in front of their eyes. Wolfram reached out, trying to touch his companion, yet he went straight through him. He was about to utter a surprised yelp when he noticed the expression on the Maou's face.
Was that grief he saw?
Slowly, softly, quietly, the Maou closed back the door, his dark eyes now mellow and desperate, such a yearning that Wolfram could barely stop himself from pulling the other boy into a soothing embrace.
Suddenly, crystal drops of tears rolled down from the Maou's eyes, and he was left stunned in his spot, staring at the illusionary boy in front of him.
'Those are…tears? Why?'
Then the scene in front of him went blank.
XXX
Wolfram woke up with a snap, emerald eyes opening in a jolt. The sky was still dark, and Yuuri's arms were still wrapped around him. 'What was that?' he pondered upon the hazy dream he just experienced. He tried to remember the vague pictures, fleeting words, yet they slipped off from his mind like water from his fingers.
Closing his eyes, he willed sleep to claim him once again, and was immediately drifting back to the land of dreams.
XXX
The door of his room creaked open in the darkness, and he woke up with a jerk, his mahogany brown hair messy yet amber eyes crystal clear and alert. His white shirt was rumpled, yet he did not care. The person at the door paused, as if sensing his awakening, hesitating at the doorway.
Finally deciding to break the tense air around them, Conrad asked warmly, "Who is there?"
The door closed, then a shuffle of feet. A timid voice replied, "It's Greta, Uncle Conrad."
All suspicion he had faded away like mist, and concern—accompanied by genuine warmth—claimed him. "Greta," he called softly. "Come here. Why are you awake in the middle of the night?"
A pause, then a weight settled next to him, the warmth cuddling to his side. He stroked the girl's hair, toying with the reddish brown strands. "I can't sleep," Greta whispered truthfully, big brown eyes staring into Conrad's own amidst the darkness of the room. "I'm still afraid that you might die."
Conrad's hand stopped stroking for a moment out of shock, yet in the next second Greta was rewarded by a warm chuckle. "The Maou is a good man," Conrad assured her, fingers combing her shoulder-length hair. "Everything has been cleared. He doesn't hurt anybody, right? He just rendered the guards unconscious, that's all."
"But…when he was about to shoot you…."
"It was just a barrier. It has been confirmed."
A smile spread on Greta's lips, and his chest immediately felt warm. "Thank you for worrying about me," he said softly, ruffling Greta's hair. Greta rewarded him by placing a peck on his cheek. He laughed. "Now, would you like Uncle Conrad to sing a lullaby for you?"
Greta gave him her infamous puppy-dog eyes, causing him to smile in the instant. The plead was still effective even with the darkness surrounding them. "Only if Uncle Conrad allows me to sing a lullaby for you too."
Conrad smiled. "Then, Uncle Conrad will sing first," he said. Greta snuggled deeper to him, and he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Winter is coming, and the snow is falling everywhere
The cold that bites the skin is grief
I pray for the warmth of joy to come and claim me
May spring come and bring light to all people alike
Autumn is coming, and the leaves are fluttering down
The dry leaves are my fallen tears
I wish for the bright summer to come and take me
May summer arrive and deliver happiness to all people alike
Your smile is the sunlight, your laugh is the blessing rain
I take you into an embrace, and let's fly to the sky
Say my name, and I'll spread light all over the world
Once upon a dream…
I am walking on the hectic street, busy people around
The clouds that hang above are bitterness
I need the refreshing rain to fall and lull me once again
May the sacred rain fall and bring peace to all people alike
Your smile is the sunlight, your laugh is the blessing rain
I take you into an embrace, and let's fly to the sky
Say my name, and I'll spread light all over the world
Once upon a dream…
If this is a dream, then don't wake me up
Let me stay within your embrace
In this eternal sweet dream
Your smile is the sunlight, your laugh is the blessing rain
I take you into an embrace, and let's fly to the sky
Say my name, and I'll spread light all over the world
Once upon a dream…"
Conrad sighed, ending his song. He turned toward the young royal in his arms, feeling his heart flutter uncharacteristically when he saw the pair of glittering innocent deep chocolate eyes. "Your turn, Princess," he said, teasing the teenage girl who giggled before finally opening her mouth and sang.
He was left stunned on his spot, listening to the words the girl wove across the night, the clear and sweet voice drifting along with the night breeze.
"Somewhere far away, in the land of dreams
I dream of you while sleeping on my bed here
And one day I lit up a small light of hope in my heart
In the swirling river of tears of happiness and joy
I see your reflection there from a window
And one day I dare to smile to you in a different way
Say that you love me, not just as friends
Then let all circumstances change
Lit an eternal fire in my heart and let it burn all the time
Somewhere in the land of dreams
In a time in the future, I see both of us standing
I try to grasp the illusion from the 'now'
And one day I pick myself up and tell you my feelings
Say that you love me, not just as friends
Then let all circumstances change
Lit an eternal fire in my heart and let it burn all the time
Somewhere in the land of dreams
Dream me away from that place of yours
And I'll wish the hardest to an angel's feather
So that you…
Say that you love me, not just as friends
Then let all circumstances change
Lit an eternal fire in my heart and let it burn all the time
Somewhere in the land of dreams"
The last words faded into silence, and after several stunned moments, Conrad looked down at the princess lying next to him, only to find the latter already dozing peacefully, a small smile playing on her soft lips. He kissed her forehead tenderly, relishing how soft her skin was.
'Forgive me,' he whispered inwardly, unsure why he would say that. However, the feeling in his heart was not about to go unnoticed, the warm feeling, the need to protect her with all his life and heart…. If for his King he would give his body and life, for his Princess he would give his body, life, soul, and heart.
Tightening his embrace on the thirteen-year-old girl, Conrad Weller drifted to the land of dreams.
Lit an eternal fire in my heart and let it burn all the time
Somewhere in the land of dreams…
XXX
Warm. That was how he could describe the feeling waking up deep within him. And also his surroundings.
He was sure that he was dreaming. Everything seemed to be covered with fog, the air misty and moist. It was soothing actually, to be alone in the nowhere, knowing that he could not hurt anybody else, and nobody could hurt him.
Yet the pain in his heart simply refused to go away.
Tresses of golden hair, soft and wavy under his touch…. Pale and smooth skin, shivering as he tenderly stroked it…. Silver tears, falling from flushed cheeks, a sign of despair and yearning for affection…. Deep emerald eyes, glimmering in the dark, crystal tears causing them to sparkle like a pair of real emeralds….
'Little wolf….'
His chest constricted itself painfully, and he could do nothing to prevent it.
He was pathetic, and he knew it.
Voices, he heard voices. From behind the oak door, leading to the King's chamber. The scene in front of him….
Gaze now weak, Shibuya turned at his fiancée, who seemed close to tears by then. Tears of anger, Shibuya noted. And…was it despair in his eyes?
"Wolf…," Shibuya called out, voice weary and weak. "I just want you to be safe…."
"I can take care of myself, thank you," replied the arrogant voice, yet the tone was wavering noticeably, and Shibuya was suddenly aware of how fragile Wolfram looked sometimes. The usually ever-existing rage in those emerald eyes now seemed void, blank, a mask to cover whatever was beneath. Shibuya reached out, hesitantly bringing the smaller boy closer toward him.
Then, slowly, awkwardly, the young King encircled his arms around the blonde's narrow waist. "Sorry, Wolf…," Shibuya whispered in regret. "I…just don't want to see you hurt."
A muffled "Wimp" was his reply, yet this time Shibuya smiled when he heard it.
Unknown to the couple, he heard it, saw it all, and he knew.
Damn Shin'ou and his ambition for another life!
Slowly, he could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks, and there was nobody there to comfort him.
He, the Maou, one of the strongest beings in the whole world, suddenly found himself pathetic in front of a small feeling, and a lithe prince with deep emerald eyes.
He shook his head furiously, trying to shake those scenes off his head, desperately trying to regain his cold composure. None, he noticed. He had none. He had nothing left within him.
Without Wolfram, he was just an empty shell.
Never before he doubted himself. His previous decisions merely involved justice, and he had—without any hesitation—took even the hardest decision with determined heart. He never stopped for a doubt, never stopped to rethink about his own feelings, simply letting the cold rage he had been familiar with claim him, control him. Justice. It satisfied him, seeing how justice was done.
Yet now, he felt helpless, hanging by a mere thread of illusion he held so dearly, the yearning in his chest pressing and pushing so much that it hurt, that he could barely contain it. He knew, yet he simply could not stop himself from feeling it.
Wolfram was never meant to be his.
Wolfram was meant to be on Shibuya's side. He had known it since the very first time he laid his eyes upon the arrogant blonde prince. He had seen through Yuuri's eyes all the things the prince had managed to hide so well from his accidental fiancée, the vulnerable character behind the selfish exterior he had sported so well.
Yet nothing could deceive his eyes.
He had watched and done nothing, simply listening to Wolfram's sobs at night and staring at the tears the blonde shed from deep within the dozing Shibuya. He realized, and finally knew, what Wolfram was hiding all the time.
All that pain.
Once again, he found his tears rolling down his own cheeks, all against his control. He let out a scream, clutching himself, trying to soothe the pain away. The hurt ate him alive, the yearning, such desire, tearing him piece by piece from the inside.
'Little wolf…'
Wolfram's words echoed in his mind, again and again, the words spoken softly yet with such emotions.
"Who are you to me?"
He was….
The scene changed bloody red, and in his hands, there lay Wolfram, blood trickling down from his whole form, emerald eyes staring to the red sky blankly….
"WOLFRAM!"
XXX
Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He was sitting upward on his bed, one arm outstretched as if reaching out to grasp something, someone. The name he shouted…. That name….
"One's power will be pulled out truly when one loses someone the most precious."
'Damn you, Shin'ou! What alternative is that?! If something fails…. If Shibuya's love on little wolf is not strong enough….'
Then….
The alternative was way too painful, too unbearable. Therefore, he simply could not fail.
Even though he had to sacrifice his own feelings.
Without realizing, drops of tears fell down from his eyes, onto the white sheets of his bed.
'Wolfram….'
XXX
Yeah, I know the Maou is painfully OOC, but hell, he is one tough guy to be written! I surrender! It's all up to you! Yay or nay?
Next chapter will be out soon!
Aqua Alta