Chapter 2: Ballroom Blunders
Title: Shin Makoku's Fairy Tales
Author: STLyrica a.k.a. Sakura Tsukino
Beta: None
Disclaimer: I sadly do not own KKM or any of its characters. KKM is owned by Tomo Takabayashi and Temari Matsumoto. I also do not own any of the fairy tales mentioned or used in the story. They belong to their respective owners. I only own the plot and some OC's I may create to fit the storyline.
A/N: Thank you so, so much to those who took their precious time to review the past chapters and also to those who followed and added this story in their favorites! Your reviews make my day! :D
Liz: Thank you! I'm super glad you like the storyline! :D
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ObsessedwithEyeballs: Thank you so much for appreciating my story and for reviewing! I hope you like this next chapter!
Daikenja - Great Sage
Soukoku – Double Black
Maryoku – Demon Magic
~xXKyouKaraMaohXx~
Back inside a familiar looking castle, a certain double black king finally woke up. He rose from the bed slowly, surveying his surroundings. His eyes lit up in recognition as he let his eyes roam the room he had gotten very much accustomed to. It was his room back in Covenant Castle!
"Is it me, or has the bed gotten bigger?" The young king wondered, rubbing his eyes lethargically. Just then, realization hit him. His daughter and his fiancé — wait, did he seriously just call Wolfram that? — were both missing from their usual side of the large, four-poster bed.
Worry started filling him.
Luckily, the demon sword Morgif was present beside him, snuggly strapped on his black scabbard. When the scary-faced saber realized that his master had finally awakened, he started creating groaning sounds—his own way of greeting the double black king. "Good morning to you too, Morgif." Yuuri replied. "Ooh ooh ooh?" Came the blade's reply which supposedly (in Morgif's language) meant 'Where are we?'.
"What do you mean, Morgif? We're right here in Covenant Castle!" The soukoku king replied, raising an eyebrow at his sword. He was already starting to doubt his blade's sanity at the moment. "Ooh! ooooohhhhh!" The weapon answered, supposedly meaning 'No! This isn't Covenant Castle!' That's it. The king decided that the sword had officially lost his sanity in his old age. "What do you mean we're not at Covenant Castle? See, if you go out here in the balcony, you'll be able to see the gardens—" The double black was cut off mid-sentence as he saw the scene before him.
Instead of the royal gardens he deeply admired that had row-upon-row of Celi's Red Sigh, Gwendal's Secret, Conrad Stands Upon The Earth, Beautiful Wolframs and the recent Yuuri's naïveté, his sight was met by greenery. Lots and lots of greenery that belonged to a wide, lush meadow. He didn't realize that he was gaping until Morgif made groaning sounds that undoubtedly meant something along the lines of 'Ha. I told you so!'
Turning to the sword, who, at that moment, had a smug grin plastered on its scary face, he cried out. "Morgif… WHERE ARE WE!?" The young king was desperate. He was about to run out the doors of his imitation of a room (especially right after he noticed his very princely attire much to his chagrin), but before he could make an exit, he unfortunately bumped into someone, causing him to collide on the cold, hard ground.
"Are you alright?" A mischievous voice asked, extending a slender hand towards the young maou. "Thanks." The aforementioned character replied, gratefully taking the offered hand to help himself up before rubbing his sore, painful bum. 'That's gonna leave a mark.' He grimaced. With his clumsiness, he almost swore that he could hear the fire breathing blond calling him a wimp. "I'm sorry, but could you please—" Yuuri never got to finish his sentence again as he saw the figure before him.
It was undoubtedly Ken Murata (or MuraKen for short), his best friend and Wiseman extraordinaire, except this one was much older, with long, lank black hair cascading down his back, surrounding him like an ebony silk cape and matching onyx eyes that were twinkling with amusement. His best friend currently looked feminine, that Yuuri even thought that with Murata's current appearance, his beauty could give both Wolfram and Saralegui a run for their money. His poise and regality could even rival Gunter's.
"The Original Great Sage!? Murata!? WHAT IN SHIN MAKOKU IS GOING ON!?" The soukoku king practically screamed, nearly tearing out his hair in complete and utter disbelief. The daikenja merely laughed, clearly enjoying his friend's reaction. "Well, Shibuya, I must say, I quite missed this first body of mine. Although, a pair of non-graded, glinting glasses would do me well. And by the way, we aren't even in Shin Makoku anymore." The latter spoke, amusement lacing his voice. The king was nearly at a loss for words. "Why? What? More importantly, HOW!? Did I somehow end up traveling back in time like I did with the demon mirror!?" The double black sovereign panicked while pacing in front of the long haired man. The Wiseman fought the urge to roll his eyes. "Shibuya, if you had indeed traveled through time, do you suppose that I'd have known you back then? I know that I'm the great, all-knowing sage, but hey, you guys are giving me way too much credit." The daikenja replied, sarcasm dripping heavily from his words. "Then how can you possibly explain this... this situation we're in!?" Yuuri asked. He was still panicking, yes, but at least he had finally stopped pacing. "Well, to put it simply, we've been sucked into Shinou's fairy tale book. It has quite a bit of stories that need to be completed before those who have unfortunately been warped into this messed up place can go free. Of course, failure to complete the stories would mean that we'd all be trapped here. Forever." The great sage explained stoically, trying to keep a straight face to cover up his little lie. He lifted a hand, about to push his glasses up out of reflex, but he quickly withdrew it when he realized that he did not have any lenses on. Of course, the Wiseman had been lying about being trapped in the storybook forever (well, there was another, easier way out but that would spoil all the fun, now, wouldn't it?) because, truth be told, it wasn't his first time there. In fact, he had actually helped make the book along with Shinou, but he wasn't gonna tell anyone that. At least not until he'd gotten his share of the fun. Somehow, he had honestly forgotten why the book was locked up all those years. Anyhow, he had also omitted the part wherein all other characters, save those who were playing the lead, we're prompted about the story beforehand by what unmistakably sounded like the Original King's voice.
He barely suppressed a laughter when he recalled what happened after Shinou explained the story and the other's roles. The eldest of Lady Celi's sons, Lord von Voltaire, had to restrain himself from burying the great one six feet under with his earth maryoku. He clearly did not approve of the part of the story that just had to contain lovey-dovey moments involving his cute and adorable baby brother and that… that dense brick of a king! Lord Weller and Sir Gurrier simple fell into a fit of laughter (or, in Conrart's case, chuckles), clearly finding the situation very, very amusing while Greta chattered happily about how her two fathers can finally be together. Lord von Christ was being a drama queen as per usual, hands clasped together while having a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes. Everyone actually swore he could see hearts in the beautiful man's orbs.
Well, back to reality. The great sage glanced at the maou who was currently whining about why Shinou, in all his holiness, didn't, at the very least try to tell him what messed-up fairy tale they'd all ended up in. It was taking every ounce of Murata's willpower not to blurt out that everyone else, except the little lord brat and the king, did know where they were and what to do. "If it helps, Shibuya, I'm supposedly cast as your loving father and I'm throwing a ball in your honor, because apparently, you have finally come of age and need to marry." Ken Murata barely fought the urge to to laugh his heart out upon seeing the king's reaction.
"Marry?! Are you insane, Murata!? Wolfram would kill me and accuse me of my nonexistent cheating! I don't want to suffer 3rd degree burns, thank you very much. And wait, what?! FATHER?! WHAT KIND OF JOKE IS THIS!? We're the same age, Murata!" Yuuri whined.
Somewhere in the meadows, a blonde haired mazoku sneezed fireballs.
"Oh Shibuya, have you forgotten that even as Ken Murata, I'm, let's see, around four thousand years older than you?" The Wiseman smirked. "Still!" The dark haired maou exclaimed, a pout gracing his features. "Anyway, where is everybody?" He asked curiously. He hadn't even seen any of the maids that were supposed to be stalking the halls by now. "I have no idea." The sage said casually. "But, like I said, there's a ball tonight in your honor. You're bound to see them there." He added. "Ball!? Murata, do you seriously want me to get fried?" The double black monarch replied exasperatedly. "What's the matter, Shibuya? It's not like Lord von Bielefelt is actually here to apprehend you or throw fireballs at you. Unless, of course, you've actually fallen for that accidental fiancé of yours." The daikenja snicked.
Again, somewhere in the meadows, a blonde sneezed fireballs.
"W-What!? Murata! We're both boys!" The sovereign exclaimed, whacking the other double black on the shoulder. He had intended to whack the latter on his head but seeing as the Wiseman was back in his original form, he was, at least five heads taller than the young king. The sage just laughed it off.
Yuuri, on the other hand, had thoughts swirling faster than the whirlpool he had always traveled in. No matter how many times he regarded his engagement with Wolfram as a mistake, he honestly couldn't bear to dissolve it. In fact, when the blonde left a letter requesting the dissolution of their engagement (which he later on found out that it was actually for his sake), he felt a pang of hurt. Deep, deep down, dare he say it, he didn't want to ever lose his blonde prince. 'Wait, HIS!? Darn. The engagement is starting to rub off on me.' The soukoku thought while sulking. He was brought out of his reverie, however, when his genius of a friend decided that it was a great idea to pinch his cheeks. Hard.
"Ow! What the hell was that for!?" He questioned as he rubbed his poor, sore cheeks. "Well, Shibuya, if you were paying attention, I wouldn't have done that. But look on the bright side. Your cheeks are very squishy. I'm sure that bit of information would greatly please your fiancé." The great sage bemused.
Somewhere in the meadows, a certain blonde could've sworn that he was getting a cold with all his sneezing.
"Anyway, as I was saying, you best prepare yourself for the ball, Shibuya. I warn you though, the girls in this story aren't very… polite." The daikenja said, shuddering at a particularly terrible memory. "Do I have to?" The young king whined. "It's not like we have a choice, Shibuya. It's part of the script." Murata replied. "Besides, you'll be able to meet other girls without that fiancé of yours breathing fireballs behind your back." He hastily added, covering his earlier slip-up. Luckily, the king remained naïve as ever, not catching on to his friend's rushed reply. Morgif, who had been silent up to that point, dragged the poor, unsuspecting maou towards the balcony, which had a full view of the carriages that held pretty women. "Looks like they've arrived, Shibuya. You better prepare yourself." The daikenja replied as he slipped out the open door before closing it gently in one, swift motion. How he had reached the doors that quickly was beyond Yuuri. He made a mental note to practice his 'stealth mode'. Sighing, he opened his closets to retrieve a new pair of outfit. Never in his life had he been so thankful for his black uniforms. He even made another mental note to give Gunter some kind of present to show his gratitude—even if it meant getting suffocated in the lavender haired man's iron hug. As he dressed, he couldn't help but feel empty when he saw that none of Wolfram's infamous negligees were in sight. Heck, he was even disappointed when he couldn't even find the nightgown his mother asked him to give the blonde upon his return. Speaking of the blonde, where the hell was he!? Where was Conrart? Or Gwendal? Or Gunter? Or Yozak? Or his daughter? He groaned in frustration.
Why the hell were there fairy tales in Shin Makoku anyway!? Yes, they were quite entertaining, but if you add the mischievous king into the mix, things could get very, very dangerous. Even one with Yuuri's naïveté could sense some kind of foreboding predicament they would probably encounter soon. I mean, what with those evil dragons or stepmothers with dark magic that could cause unwanted and unnecessary uproar? Yuuri grimaced. He sure as hell didn't want to face any demons or dragons. Oh wait. He thought. He's the demon king, for Shinou's sake! He face palmed at his own stupidity. And it wasn't as if the dragons were bad either. They had Poachie (or Risair as Wolfram liked to call her) and she was an adorable dragon! But then again, this was the original king they were talking about. Who knew what that cunning old man was even planning? Tic marks started to form in Yuuri's head as he recalled the incidents that had transpired with the boxes. It was bad enough that he got traumatized when Conrart lost his left arm, then Gwendal lost his left eye. What more when Wolfram… no. He's alive here somewhere. He refused to remember that day when they all thought that the blonde had died. When his heart had stopped beating. When it was all over and he couldn't even say goodbye, afraid that he wouldn't have enough strength to go back if he saw the blonde crying. He was so lost in though that he didn't even notice Murata returning to the room or the fact that he was waving (more like flailing) his arms about, trying to get the other double black's attention.
"…SHIBUYA!" He finally shouted, successfully making the young king jump in fright. "Murata, what the hell!?" He screamed, his hands clutching his chest, helplessly attempting to calm his erratic heartbeat. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last 20 minutes. Honestly, Shibuya, what has gotten into you? With your expression, I'd mistake you for a lovesick puppy." He great sage retorted, earning a furious blush from the sovereign. "Oh Shinou. Do tell. Is it Lord von Bielefelt?" He asked, smirking. He meant that as a joke but holy Shin Makoku, when the younk king blushed even harder that Murata swore he could see steams coming out of his ears. "The engagement was an accident! It's not like I actually want to marry him." Yuuri stammered. "Oh Shibuya, I never said anything about you wanting to marry him, now did I?" The Wiseman said as his friend opened his mouth to speak, only to end up closing it and opening it again. You could say that at that exact moment, Shibuya Yuuri was doing an excellent job resembling a fish. Ken Murata just laughed it off and settled into ushering the befuddled king out of the room.
~xXKyouKaraMaohXx~
Somewhere in the meadows, an announcement poster flew, landing directly onto the face of a very irate blonde. The fire wielder had just finished braiding his seemingly endless locks of blonde hair after what felt like three, long and gruesome hours. If that wasn't bad enough, wild flowers got tangled into his hair, making him look like some kind of forest nymph. To top it all off, he had been sneezing fireballs a lot for the past hours, black patches of grass were proof enough. He couldn't summon his fire magic, yet he could sneeze fireballs. What was he supposed to do? Sneeze his enemies to death? He snorted. And now, that damned poster just had to fly directly into his face. Snatching the paper into his hands grumpily, he began to read its contents. "Announcement: Royal Ball in honor of the crowned prince of Chrona! All eligible gentlemen and maidens are to attend this evening." The fire mazoku raised an eyebrow at this. Ball? Maybe he'd have a chance of finding the others there. He gave a triumphant grin. But of course, he needed a change of outfit immediately. He was, after all, in his frilly pink nightgown. Thank heavens that no one was there to see him. He was sure to die from embarrassment. He stared at the magical paintbrush in hand. What if he used it to conjure up a dashing suit? He nodded at his 'genius' idea. But wait! His thoughts came abruptly at a halt. It would be very awkward to say the least, if he went to the ball wearing a man's suit when his current appearance was that of a girl. (At least his organs remained as they were, and for that he was thankful.) But his pride wouldn't allow him to wear anything girly such as a ball gown, per say. No.
Without thinking, he grabbed the paintbrush and started painting his blue dress suit on a sturdy, flat rock (the one he wore in OVA 1) and before he knew it, he had already grabbed the garment from its place. After making sure that no one was in the immediate vicinity, he stripped off his frilly pink negligee and started putting on his new attire. He was thankful that he had taken a long, relaxing bath right before joining his wimp of a fiancé in the royal treasury. Finally done, he headed off towards the kingdom. He stopped by a place selling horses and, with the magical tool in hand, he began painting a bag of gold discreetly and bought a white mare, similar to the one he had back in the real world. He rode off quickly to the castle, arriving just in time for the proclamation of the Prince. Wolfram looked around, observing the women that wore huge, bell-like sleeves and ridiculously wide, crinoline skirts and fought the urge to snort. After all, if he was going to make a convincing lady (not counting his outfit) like Yozak, he would act accordingly.
You could imagine their surprise when a pair of onyx eyes clashed with emerald colored orbs.
~xXKyouKaraMaohXx~
To apologize for the short update on the previous chapter, here's a slightly longer one. I hope you'll enjoy this! J I will update again soon so till then, Jaa! Sorry again for the OOCness .
By the way, what other fairy tales would you like me to include? I will be grateful for your suggestions. :D
What are your thoughts on this chapter? Please review! It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!