Temple of the Winds 4
Pairing: Yuuram
Rating: PG-13 (may change)
Summary: There's one more custom Yuuri doesn't know about.
-o0o-
There was a roaring in his ears.
And a knife in his heart.
Gazing at the three men before him, it was all Yuuri could do not to run screaming from the room.
They had lied to him. Deceived him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was strangled, as though the pain in his heart had crawled up to his throat and twisted his vocal chords. "Why?"
"Wolfram did not want to force your hand." Conrad told him, regret heavy in his voice. "You were having such a hard time accepting your engagement as it was. He believed letting you know about this would only drive you away further."
"So he keeps it from me?" Yuuri shook his head vehemently. "That's his excuse?" His voice broke. "How could he keep something like this from me?"
Günter twisted his hands anxiously. "Your Majesty, do try to remain calm."
Calm? Yuuri couldn't even begin to imagine how to start getting there! His insides were tied into knots, and his heart – his heart felt like a pincushion with way too many pins stuck in it, and every one of them had Wolfram's name on it.
"Wolfram spoke to you the night he received the Temple's message." Conrad reminded the dark-eyed king gently. "We thought he was going to try and tell you then. It was his last chance."
"But he didn't!" Yuuri's mind flashed back to that last conversation, recalling Wolfram's questions, and his sorrow. Why, he cursed himself bitterly, hadn't he pressed the blonde to tell him the truth? He had known there was something the brat wasn't telling him.
"Perhaps he had tried." Gwendal said coldly. "Perhaps he had wanted to, had attempted to, but somewhere along the way your responses made him realize it would be for naught."
Yuuri's gaze slid away from his general's cold gaze.
/Do you think that you could come to love me someday? As your husband?/
/I'm sorry, Wolfram/
/No, Yuuri, I am/
Wolfram, why couldn't you have just told me? Yuuri pinched his nose, frustrated and worried. Had he known that the blonde was in danger he would have done everything in his power to prevent it. Custom or not, the monks would have taken Wolfram over his dead body! Why couldn't you have just trusted me?
He shook his head. All he really wanted was to wake up from this nightmare and find his fiancé sleeping soundly at his side. All he wanted was Wolfram to call him an idiot and a wimp, anything he wanted, just as long as came back. But here were his advisers telling him that no one knew the whereabouts of this temple. How was he going to rescue Wolfram if he didn't even known where to find him?
"Your Majesty," Günter gazed at him remorsefully. "please forgive us for our deception."
Yuuri couldn't deny it. He was upset and very, very angry. "You should have told me." He said heatedly, his tone jerky. "This wasn't just about Wolfram. It was about me too. I had a right to know. I had a right to make a choice!"
"What for?" Gwendal countered darkly. "So that you could sacrifice yourself and marry him?" He snorted. "Wolfram wanted your love, Heika. Not your mercy or your pity. He wanted a husband who could love him, not a husband who won't even touch him! " His tone, though even, was contemptuous.
Yuuri flinched.
"That's enough, Gwendal!" Günter hissed. He sympathized with his lover's feelings, respected his right to be angry in Wolfram's behalf. Gwendal took his responsibilities very seriously, especially where his brothers were concerned. Losing Wolfram to the Temple had been a heavy blow to him. However, he could not allow the dark-haired general to speak so abusively to the King.
"Yes," Gwendal nodded. "it is enough." He stared long and hard at Yuuri. "Wolfram knew about the Temple of the Winds. He knew he had limited time, so he did his best to make you accept him. He failed. He could have told you about the Temple that last night. Again he chose not to. Now he must bear the consequence of his decision. Just as we must accept the reality that my brother is lost to us." A tic jumped in his cheek. Celi had not yet been informed of the developments, and in truth he dreaded telling her. Of all the brothers Wolfram had been her favorite. Losing him was going to devastate their mother. "My brother is lost to us." He repeated hoarsely.
"Gwendal-" The finality of his words hit Yuuri. Hard.
Gwendal knew he should shut up, but his last words were torn from him. "You are outraged by our deception, but in truth you have never desired this fiancé. Truly, you lost very little. You lost a friend, but that is all you have lost. In its place you have gained something you have always desired – your freedom." His tone was chilling. "Consider, Your Majesty, the possibilities now open to you. You are free, and for that I offer my congratulations." That said, he spun on his heel and walked out, not even bothering to bow.
Yuuri stared after him, stunned speechless by the attack, his eyes huge and wounded. He'd always known that Gwendal had a sharp tongue. It had cut him too, in the past. But not like this. This wasn't about his carelessness or impulsive decisions. This was personal.
But Yuuri couldn't find the words to defend himself. In spite of his outward calm Gwendal could not hide his distress. He was deeply hurt by Wolfram's loss, because he loved the blonde prince. And he blamed Yuuri for the unknowing part he had played in this tragedy. He blamed Yuuri for not loving his brother.
He swallowed.
"Your Majesty, you must forgive him." Günter pleaded softly. "He feels responsible."
Yuuri shook his head. "No," he said, shame making him squirm, "Gwendal had every right to be mad at me. I did this to Wolfram." He closed his eyes, the image of the green-eyed boy dancing in his mind.
"You must not blame yourself," Conrad spoke up quietly. "You didn't know."
Yuuri stared at him. "Don't you blame me, Conrad?" He asked, his heart in his eyes. "I've condemned Wolfram to exile. Forever! Aren't you angry with me at all?"
Conrad took a deep breath. "I grieve for Wolfram. He is my brother, and he is lost to me. But how can I blame you? The heart cannot be forced to feel what it does not. It cannot be taught to love at will. Wolfram tried his best, and he failed." He paused, swallowing the pain, fighting to rise above the grief. "Anger will not bring him back." He said finally.
/Anger will not bring him back/
Yuuri absorbed that. Tried to picture Wolfram alone and lonely, and his insides twisted painfully. He tried to picture himself without Wolfram at his side, badgering, nagging, protecting, and his heart rebelled.
He jumped to his feet agitatedly. "This is crazy! It's impossible! You can't lock people away just because they had made a mistake! I won't accept that!" He exclaimed vehemently. "There has to be a way to make this right. There has to be!" His voice rang with desperation.
"Your Majesty-"
But Yuuri had made up his mind. "Besides, I didn't get to have any say in this, did I? And I don't think that was fair!" He argued forcefully. "Wolfram had no right to decide my future for me!" Indignation seared through him.
Conrad and Günter exchanged wary looks.
"I'm going to the Temple of the Winds." Yuuri declared with finality. "I'm going to find it. I'm going to find Wolfram, and when I do," Obsidian eyes narrowed, "he's going to be sorry he had lied to me."
"Technically, Your Majesty," Günter offered meekly, "Wolfram didn't lie. He just - omitted some details about your engagement."
"Some very important details, don't you think?" Yuuri retorted, indignation firing him up. He welcomed it. Anything was better than the soul-crushing sorrow. "He owes me an explanation." He added self-righteously.
"Your Majesty, no one has ever been able to find the Temple." Conrad chose to deal with the immediate issue. "Its location is secret."
"I hate secrets." Yuuri bit out. "No good ever comes out of it." He shot Conrad a stare. "I don't care, Conrad. I'm going to find it."
"And if you do, what then, Your Majesty?"
Yuuri stared, taken aback by the quietly-voiced query.
"Supposing we do find Wolfram, what then?" Conrad pressed. "The Temple will not let him go unless you marry him."
"Then I'll ma-marry him." Yuuri stumbled over the word, but he managed it.
Conrad eyed him consideringly, wondering how far he ought to push. "Your Majesty, you don't love Wolfram." He reminded the King gently.
"I do!" Yuuri shot back heatedly.
A brown eyebrow lifted. "As a brother, perhaps." Conrad allowed. "But marriage entails more than just brotherly affection, Your Majesty. It entails physical intimacy, for one thing." He paused meaningfully. "Are you ready for that?"
Yuuri's face reddened, his eyes widening at the pointed reminder.
Conrad shook his head. "As passionate as Wolfram is, he will not, cannot be content with a marriage in name only. To have you so near, and yet beyond his reach, will drive him mad." He explained quietly. "If you do not even desire Wolfram as a lover, how can you be his husband?"
The color left Yuuri's cheeks. "I – I – "
"He shared your bed for months, and you've never even so much as attempted to kiss him." Conrad pointed out with quiet frankness. "Is that not enough proof that there can be no marriage between you?"
Yuuri shook his head, unable to deny Conrad's observations and yet unable to grapple with them right now. As valid as the Captain's points were, none of them could override the strength of his need. His need to set things right. To bring Wolfram home. As for his feelings, most of the time Wolfram had him tied up in so many knots that he can't figure out what it was he really felt!
No, right now his priority was finding Wolfram. Everything else can wait until then.
"You're right. I don't know what I'm going to do after I've found Wolfram. I don't know how I'm going to get him out of there. I don't even know how I'm going to find him! But I do know this -!" He said tersely. "I can't let him go. I won't let him go. " He drew himself up, his determination plain in the stubborn set of his chin and the light in his eyes. He would find Wolfram on his own if he needed to.
Conrad stared at the Maou, seeing in the dark eyes the same determination that had brought peace to his kingdom, against all odds. Suddenly, inexplicably, his heart lifted. Hope. Yuuri had always given him hope. He nodded, the movement imbued with new purpose. "I see that you are set on this path. Very well then, I will help you." He decided. "I can do no less for my brother."
Günter too, nodded enthusiastically, taking his cue from the brown-haired swordsman. "And I will comb the historical records. If there is any record of its location anywhere, I swear I will unearth it."
Yuuri gazed at his friends, grateful that he still had them, and confident that with their help, finding his fiancé was only a matter of time.
/Just wait, Wolfram, wait for me. I'm coming./
-o0o-