A/N: Someday I will get around to rewriting the beginning of this story…someday

Movie influences for this chapter: "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"

Chapter 12

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

"Read the charges!"

Wolfram stood in the soft layer of snow in the village square with a hand on his belly, feeling the restless life within. His throat was painfully sore. Even in the cold air his head felt hot and feverish. What a time to be catching a cold, he thought, wiping his nose on his sleeve. He was standing in the back of the crowd as they were all about to witness a public execution. Wolfram stared up at the guillotine like the rest of the spectators. The man he had come to know as 'Striker' had his neck enclosed in the wooden entrapment with the blade poised ominously above, held only by a single rope. One of the village men began to read off his numerous crimes.

Beside him, Wolfram heard his pretend husband begin to chuckle.

"So long, asshole." he muttered under his breath. Wolfram glared at him.

"What do you mean 'so long'? Now that Shooter has gotten the reward money, the plan is to rescue him." Wolfram hissed.

"Why? How about we just let him die? It will be easy. We can stand here, and when these pompous fools stop blabbering, the blade will drop. The women will all scream at the sight of the grotesque severed head even though they no doubt have witnessed this several times before. The blood will stain, but life will go on, for them and for us. Although, with one less person in our party, the reward money split between each of us will grow significantly." said Skinner, grinning maliciously. Wolfram scowled in disbelief.

"He is your…" Wolfram searched for the right word, "He is your accomplice! It was his idea to do this in the first place. How can you betray him like that?!"

"The way I see it…" began the other man slowly as he looked upon the unfortunate thief in the guillotine, "there are two kinds of people out there." His strange eyes flickered over to Wolfram. "There are liars and there are killers. If you aren't good at either of those things you won't last long in this world." He held Wolfram's gaze for a moment, then turned and began to walk away.

"Wait." said Wolfram, his nails digging into his palms as he came to a decision. "Give me his sword. I will rescue him myself." Skinner handed the weapon to Wolfram. He grabbed the hilt and stepped forward.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Yuuri couldn't place it, but he knew there was something missing.

Surely she was embodiment of every man's fantasy. She had large breasts, long silky hair, smooth skin, and green eyes that burned with passion. The way she moved, the way she looked…he was hard…

And yet something was just not quite right.

The lavish bed in the royal chambers creaked softly as she knelt over him. Blonde ringlets fell forward onto his face and red lips softly met up with his own. Yuuri broke the kiss.

"I know that I asked you to come here tonight, Cheri-sama, but I am afraid I've changed my mind about this." Yuuri said. The former queen smiled sympathetically.

"I understand, your majesty." She replied, sitting up. "I don't believe that a man has ever turned me down before." She said with a small chuckle while fixing her dress. "But I suppose that this is hardly appropriate for me to be taking over such duties that rightfully belong to my son."

Yuuri didn't appreciate the jab, but he knew that he deserved it all the same. He didn't want to talk about Wolfram, even though he had found himself thinking more and more about him. Cheri stretched out on the bed beside Yuuri.

"I remember how lonely this big bed would be at night." Cheri sighed, reaching a hand up to run through Yuuri's dark hair. "Having no one to share it with always made me long for the gentle embrace of a lover." Yuuri did not say anything, in his head denying that he ever had a need for such a person. "Perhaps you should call on Ralph the next time you desire another's company, your majesty. He admires you so." Yuuri merely snorted at this.

"That brat holds no devotion to me. It is obvious that he only came here thinking to make a name for himself. Now that Gwendal's authority has left the castle he listens to no one. He is nothing more than a terrible, unruly child." Yuuri growled. Cheri let out a small giggle, shaking her head as if Yuuri didn't understand.

"Oh, your majesty, he is only looking for a bit of attention."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Wolfram gazed upon the destruction he had wrought. Townspeople were fleeing the square, shrieking as buildings burned all around them. Wolfram stood in the center, a few guards lay bleeding at his feet. His strength was failing. He had known that he was past the point of safely being able to use his maryoku, but he had been left with no choice after he had seriously overestimated his own physical endurance. He lifted the sword once more and used it to free his comrade from the guillotine. With the last of his strength gone, Wolfram sank to his knees in the powdery snow.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Wolfram felt steady arms lift him just as he lost consciousness.

When he next opened his eyes, he saw only the dark expanse of the night sky. His throat was parched and his eyes burned when he would shut them. He could hear the soft crackling of a fire nearby. The moon was high above and it was quite late, but Wolfram could make out whispered voices of his companions.

"Not quite according to plan but I suppose it worked out just the same." came the drunken voice of Striker.

"A foolish scheme, if you ask me." commented the deeper voice of Shooter.

"Yeah well no one asked you." There was a snigger from Skinner at this.

"It was reckless to have left your escape in the hands of that boy. Why would you place so much trust in him?"

"He wanted to prove himself, didn't he? I knew he wouldn't let me die. He's just good like that."

"Too good. Rather naïve, in fact." remarked Shooter. The human sighed. "I would've done it, you know."

"Look, as much as I can't stand you, I know that you are the only one whose honor keeps you from just taking the cash as soon as it's put into your hands. Why else do you think you are the only one who handles the money?" Striker admitted grudgingly. Wolfram imagined that the human must have smiled at this, for he would have known it was the truth. There was silence for a few minutes and Wolfram had almost drifted off to sleep once again.

"You can't keep him." said Shooter, quietly. Wolfram had the feeling that two pairs of eyes had shifted over to where he was pretending to sleep. Striker grumbled something incoherent. Shooter continued. "I warned you in the beginning that we should kill him or sell him off. I stand by what I said earlier. It would do you well not to get too attached to him."

"Now see here, you. That boy is mine and if I say he stays, then he stays."

"You Mazoku must be the most pigheaded creatures alive." hissed Shooter. "Has your infatuation with his pretty face caused you to lose your mind? He's not one of us! I suspect that even now that he has wealthy parents or a furious husband from a powerful noble family that has sent an army out to find him. It's dangerous."

Wolfram's initial curiosity at how much the human had learned about him only lasted moment before it was washed away by a feeling of homesickness and misery at the reality that no one was actually looking for him.

Shooter seemed to have calmed down. His next words were spoken much softer.

"Besides, look at the state of him. You know well as I do that we can't feed him. We can't give him the care or the protection that he needs."

"I…you're right." Striker agreed hesitantly after a moment. "It's just…" he let out a small chuckle. "I guess I've gone a bit soft."

There was the sound of the fire being extinguished. No talking ensued. What little light and warmth the fire had offered had now been snuffed out...a rather accurate metaphor for the future as well, thought Wolfram grimly.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Castle security had been increased tenfold since the start of the war. Gwendal had liked to brag that even an intruding bearbee could be detected. However, as the moon made it's early, winter ascent into the starry abyss, Yuuri found it not at all that hard to sneak out of the castle. A few well-placed bribes and he was cantering Ao down the streets of his city with his head and face hidden beneath a hood and his cloak whipping behind him.

"I'm afraid it's members only passed this point, Sir." A guard at the door informed Yuuri. Yuuri lowered his hood. The man's eyes widened upon seeing the black hair. "I-I'm terribly sorry, your majesty. Please forgive me." Yuuri swept passed him without a word.

Always, Yuuri had been the prey. He had guards and walls and locks to keep him safe. But tonight, Yuuri was the predator, the hunter in the dark. It felt exhilarating. He found his quarry without trouble. After all, a person using the name 'Wolfram Von Bielefeld' is sure to leave a hot trail.

Yuuri replaced his hood and walked into the dimly lit room. Smoke from an unknown substance hung in clouds around the tables where people were drinking and gambling. Yuuri was finding it increasingly hard to believe that this was the place his wayward husband was choosing to escape to whenever he felt like skipping his work at the castle. Yuuri found him sitting in a secluded corner, surrounded by a faction of attractive women whom he seemed to be charming with tales of a made-up childhood.

"…and that was when the dragon showed up and I was forced to fight him off single-handedly." Ralph was saying to his mesmerized audience.

"Oh my. I never knew that being royalty was so dangerous." one of them commented, looking impressed.

"Weren't you terrified, your highness?"

"A little. Particularly after my sword broke. And, please ladies, call me Wolfram." It was after this was said that Yuuri chose to intrude. He did not want to hear any more of the obnoxious conversation.

"Forgive me…your highness…" began Yuuri with utmost contempt as he approached the table. " but I should really like to see these swordsmanship skills that you boast about. How about a duel?"

In that moment, as the surrounding clique hooted with laughter at Yuuri's supposed impudence, the king watched the pretty, Bielefeld features of Ralph's appearance transform into a look of complete horror. The conceited smile was removed from his lips and the color drained from his face as his eyes met with Yuuri's. He swore.

Suddenly the table was overturned and people were screaming. Ralph made a break for the exit and Yuuri sprinted after him, taking out those who stood in his path with his water maryoku. The chase didn't last long. Once outside, a tendril of water wrapped around the blonde's ankle and caused him to tumble onto the hard, cobblestone street. Yuuri's heart pounded with excitement as he watched the boy struggle. He noticed that he had attracted much unwanted attention. He hoisted his capture to his feet and ducked into a quiet alleyway to avoid making a scene.

Yuuri threw the frightened young man up against the wall, using one hand to cover his mouth. A mouth, Yuuri didn't fail to notice, that was so very much like Wolfram's.

"Just who do you think can save you? Or have you forgotten who I am?" Yuuri asked in a deadly whisper. It was upon this ungrateful brat that Yuuri could unleash all of his fury.

"N-No, your majesty! Oh God, please don't hurt me. I-I won't do it again!" He cried in a voice that was so eerily similar to Wolfram's. The sound of it made Yuuri's arousal stir to life. Yuuri growled and pressed his groin between Ralph's trembling legs, grinding hard against his heavenly warmth. Immediately, the boy's cheeks colored and he looked away.

"What's wrong? You were so eager to give yourself to me in the past." Yuuri said, securing his victim's wrists above his head and trapping his body between himself and the stone wall. He could feel the boy's frantic breathing.

"H-Here, your majesty?" he asked weakly. The small fearful voice was all the more enticing. Yuuri snarled in response, tearing open the blonde's shirt and looking with disgust upon the blotchy marks left upon his skin by unknown men and women. Yuuri attacked the boy viciously, assaulting him with teeth and a tongue while his fingers slid beneath clothes and abused more sensitive places. The pale, slender body jerked and squirmed at Yuuri's aggressive touches. In time, the boy would come to see that it was no use fighting. Small whimpers, barely stiffled had suddenly become sweet music. Ralph arched his back off of the wall when Yuuri's hand brushed against his crotch. He shivered and his fingers clenched and unclenched as he let sensations both painful and pleasant overwhelm him. Yuuri couldn't help but wonder if Wolfram's body would respond the same way.

…if Wolfram would tense up and let his head fall back.

…if Wolfram would moan just like that.

Yuuri stopped abruptly when something fell on his cheek. He looked up and noticed that Ralph had his eyes shut tightly. Tears leaked out and trailed down his flushed face. Yuuri suddenly realized that the nagging feeling had returned. The nagging feeling that something was missing.

This person was not Wolfram.

What am I doing? Yuuri suddenly asked himself as he looked upon the blonde's terrified face. He doesn't deserve this, Yuuri's conscience whispered in his ear. Yuuri stepped back, releasing the boy and letting him fall to the ground and stare up at him with eyes far too young and innocent to be Wolfram's. The king's heart was racing as he looked upon his own palms, horrified of what he had almost done. He staggered backwards until his back was touching the opposite wall. He stood there, panting, for several minutes.

"Why are you still here?" he barked at Ralph. "Get out of here while you still can, you worthless whore." The boy winced at the harsh words. Slowly, he stood up.

"Your majesty-" Ralph began. Yuuri cut him off with a fit cruel laughter, as if the sound of his own title was the most ridiculous thing in the world. The laughter continued until it had died down to a sadistic chuckle.

"Why do you call me that?" he demanded suddenly in a voice near hysterics. "Don't you hate me? Oh don't worry. I'm starting to think that everyone does, even Shinou himself. Otherwise…" The unnerving smile fell from his lips and he began to caress his right shoulder. "Otherwise things wouldn't be like this." he finished in a constricted voice no louder than a whisper.

Ralph watched as Yuuri unfastened his cloak and began to unbutton his black shirt. The boy gasped when he looked upon his king's bare chest. The moonlight and the light reflecting off of the snowy rooftops was enough to make it visible…the ugly, spidery discoloration upon the man's skin that seemed to be glowing red. It was small, but it already had spread from the shoulder to the chest.

"The curse of Soushu." said Yuuri. "In time, it will consume my body and my mind."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Alas, the most obvious reason for the title.

I'm sorry that this story is so sad all the time. I don't know how it keeps happening.

Anyway please review and if you would like to suggest a baby name (I have one but I want to see if there's anything better) it will be greatly appreciated.