There's One in Every Kingdom

by Shain-of-Ireland

A new obstacle has appeared on the horizon and the future of Shin Makoku may hang in the balance. Our heroes must face an age old prophecy head on...but they might need a little unexpected help to do it!

6. Chapter 5: Stranded in Paradise

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, yada, yada, yada, disclaimer, acknowledging pre-existing copyrights…you get the point, right?

First I would like to thank those of you who reviewed and/or added me to your story/author alert list or favorites. I was worried that little attention would be paid to my story after having been on unannounced hiatus for so long. Hopefully bringing in chapter five after chapter four as fast as possible will bring in more readers and reviews for me.

This chapter is dedicated to a very close personal friend of mine outside of the internet highway. She was the one who encouraged and motivated me (through a series of praising, threats, and bribery) to pick up this story again and put out the last chapter…there's a yaoi book in transaction between us, but we'll hash out the details later! Enjoy!

Chapter Five

Stranded in Paradise

"Yes, yes," the door to the hospital wing open as the voice of Blood Pledge castle's resident demon healer came floating into the hall. It sounded like she was in the middle of a conversation with someone, the other voice no more than vague murmurs that seemed to cut Gisela off every few seconds, much to her annoyance. "Yes I…that's what the basin is for, if she should…just…look!" she cut across sharply, as she began to back out into the hall, "Just stay and keep an eye on the patient and make sure she is comfortable. If she wakes before I return she may be a little disoriented and dizzy. If she shows any signs of nausea have her use the basin by her bed." Gisela emerged fully into the hall and shut the door behind her, leaning against it with a sigh.

"How is she?"

Gisela looked up to find not only Yuuri and his friends gathered in front of her. Greta was also there, standing between her two fathers and clinging to their hands as she worried her lip between her teeth.

It was the Maou who had spoken to her. "How is she, Gisela?" he asked again.

Gisela knelt down in front of Greta to take the princess's hand in hers to give it a friendly squeeze, her eyes focused on her king over the redhead's shoulder. "Kimi is fine," she assured. "I have Dakoskos keeping an eye on her for now. I won't sugar coat it here, Kimi's rather shaken up, as is understandable with her kind of situation. I had to give her some medicine; just something to calm her down and sleep off a bit of the stress. I normally don't like to rely so heavily on potions and sedatives while healing my patients, but she has been in such a fragile emotional state on and off since she first woke up that it was becoming difficult to treat her while conscious." She stood up and ran her hands along her pants and sleeves as if to smooth out any wrinkles. "I am hopeful that this regime of light sleeping draughts and muscle relaxants will make her easier to reason with and willing to stay put in my care until I see fit to discharge her."

Yuuri nodded in understanding. "So she's going to be alright, that's good."

"Any idea as to what may have caused her to become so inconsolably distressed?" Gunter inquired of his daughter.

"As I've said to his highness before, Kimi is probably going through shock and a bit of denial over what has happened to her. She's far from home, doesn't know how to get back and she's surrounded by people whom she knows nothing about. And I'm sure that Kohhi didn't help matters." Gisela turned to stare at the wall to the side of her as she said this, glaring as though she could see said winged skeleton flying about the courtyard on just the other side of the wall. "From what I've gathered from his majesty's and his eminence's stories of Earth," she titled her head towards the pair of double blacks, "Mazokus' keep their heritage a secret and Maryoku is practically unheard of. That being said it is doubtful she or anyone else for that matter would have ever seen a Kohhi anywhere on Earth. Am I correct in assuming that, Heika?" she asked Yuuri.

"Yeah...we, uh, don't exactly have any flying magical creatures on Earth," Yuuri agreed with a grimace.

"The whole incident could have been avoided if she had just stayed put in the hospital wing to begin with," Wolfram pointed out. "Needed fresh air;" he huffed, "it seems to me her sole intention was to sneak off and escape when the coast was clear."

"I have a question," Gunter spoke up from behind them. "We were able to unlock some of the Mazoku language from Kimi's mind as was done with Yuuri, though with less success as she understands far less on her own with assistance, unlike our glorious Heika," he paused to gaze adoringly at Yuuri.

"That's right," Conrad piped up. "Kimi still needs to use Anissina's translator until we can teach her the complete Mazoku language. I almost forgot about that."

Gunter bobbed his head at the swordsman. "Yes, well something occurred to me. Kimi being able to understand us even a fraction of a bit, implies that what we unlocked for her was the memories of the language, right?"

Everyone muttered sounds of agreement, still not entirely sure where Gunter was going with all this.

"Well," Gunter continued, "with Yuuri Heika, it was because he contained memories of his soul's previous."

"Susannah Julia," Yuuri added.

Gunter smiled at his king. "Yes, Lady von Wincott. Well Heika has a past life because the Great One personally selected the soul deemed worthy enough to be trusted with the Maou's power and rule of the Great Demon kingdom. The same goes for his eminence."

"We know all this, Gunter," Gwendal interrupted. "What point are you trying to make."

Gunter looked like he was seriously considering sticking his tongue out at the Earth wielder. He settled with giving him a wry grin. "My point," he said dryly, "is that as far as we know, only a handful of Mazokus have lived more than one life, the few known reincarnations usually being directly caused by the will of the Great One." He scratched his chin. "Though it's hard to say how many reincarnation have actually occurred, since it is incredibly rare for one to remember a past life." He turned about to face Murata. "Geika, you seemed to know Shinou's nature and intentions better than anyone, aside from Ulrike. Is it possible that Kimi is the reincarnation of a Mazoku, reincarnated for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy made at Wolfram's birth?"

Murata mulled that thought over in his head, his lips pursed in thought. "I don't think so," he said after a brief silence. "The prophecy was made because it was what fate itself has intended for us. The prophecy was already being made before Shinou came into his own rule, it was just revealed at the birth of one of the key players in it, Wolfram. Shinou put Julia's soul into Yuuri because he wanted a Maou personally chosen by him to rule instead of one decided by the birthright of previous Maoh's, having seen the outcome of monarchies left to their own devices after his rule ended. And it was his will that I live many previous lives so that I may possess wisdom enough to guide Yuuri as I did for Shinou himself in my first life. There was no prophecy fortelling of our coming because it was not fate that chose us to live our particular lives, but Shinou." Murata paused and pushed his glasses a little higher up the bridge of his nose. "Kimi was raised on Earth, we know that much. It would be safe to assume then that she was most likely born on Earth. Perhaps her parents are of demon blood."

"That could explain why she knew nothing of Shin Makoku or our world in general," Gwendal said. "All Earth demons are believed to be related to Christel Wincott in some way, dating back to when he first came to Earth to hide one of the four forbidden boxes. Since there is so little Maryoku on Earth with which to establish an elemental pact, many would not be aware of their demon abilities and therefore might not realize they descended from demons at all. Kimi's parents might not realize their hereditary connection to the Great Demon kingdom if they have any connection at all and so Kimi was also never informed."

"But that doesn't explain why she has memories of our language," Wolfram interjected. "If her parents knew nothing of the demon kingdom, it is unlikely they would know the Mazoku language. So if Kimi had no knowledge of any sort regarding her demon heritage and she isn't a reincarnation of a demon from Shin Makoku, then there would also be no memories of our language for Gwendal to have unlocked."

Murata took this into consideration. "You're right," he agreed. "One doesn't learn a language out of nowhere. Even a child's native language must be taught to them when they lean to talk. Maybe Kimi's parents did know they were demons. They could have even known Bob and Dr. Rodriguez; that would probably be where they learn the Mazoku language. Kimi could have grown up around bilingual parents, speaking both Japanese and Mazoku. If they never took the time to truly teach her the language, Kimi would not have actually grasped what was being said or truly understand it and simply filed it away in the back of her mind."

"Why wouldn't they teach it to her if they supposedly knew it?" Yuuri asked.

"It could be similar to your situation, Yuuri," Murata explained. "Your father was an Earth born Mazoku (1) and your mother knew he was. Yet, they chose not to tell you before you were ready to take the throne. Kimi's parents may have spoken the Mazoku language occasionally around other aware Mazoku, but decided not to reveal their history to Kimi. They probably figured she would never need to know it."

"But my parents had a reason for not telling me," Yuuri pointed out. "At least, I think they had a reason. I wasn't just a half demon; I was going to ascend to the throne of an entire kingdom. That's a lot for any kid to take in; of course they would be hesitant to tell me. But what reason would Kimi's parents have for not telling her? I mean, it probably isn't possible they knew of the prophecy; it was made over eighty years ago in Shin Makoku and her parents were probably born on Earth like most demons living there were. So why keep what she is from her?"

"I guess that's what we need to figure out, Shibuya," Murata replied.

"And you can figure it out later," Gisela stated, calling everyone's attention back to the fact that she was still there. "Right now, there are some things I would like to discuss with all of you."

Gisela folded her arms over her chest, slipping into her no-nonsense "Sergeant" mode. "Now, I still don't really know about this prophecy matter you all keep mentioning, I have the basic gist of it at best, but if I let you back into to see Kimi I don't want you all bombarding her with numerous questions. She doesn't know how she got here, she doesn't know why and I'm pretty sure she barely knows a thing about any prophecy concerning her. The last thing she needs amongst all this confusion is being pestered for answers she doesn't have." Her stance switched to a more humble, relaxed pose. "I don't mean any respect to you Your Majesty, but I feel I must put my foot down on this. My patient's recovery requires the full cooperation of everyone involved." She gave a quick low bow. "I am in no way trying to go over your own authority on the matter. I am simply asking you as strongly as I can to follow my request to give this girl some peace for the time being."

"I completely understand where you're coming from, Gisela," Yuuri answered. "Last thing we want right now is to bring up anymore concerns for Kimi to spend time worrying herself sick over. We promise to hold off on the heavy questioning for now."

"Thank you, Heika."

"But, Gisela," the healer looked down to find Greta staring up at her, hands clasped together pleadingly.

"Gisela," the Princess gave her a pair of bambi eyes that would put Yuuri's to shame, "Can, we at least have one quick visit with Kimi? To see if she's alright?"

"Would that be alright, Gisela?" Yuuri implored. "We want Kimi to know that we're people she can trust, that we're friends here. A good way to start is by showing her we care about her wellbeing."

Wolfram hmphed. "Why isn't noble of you," he snapped sarcastically. "You're certainly quite interested in what's going on with that girl." He grabbed Yuuri by the shirt and leaned in so close they were almost touching noses. "I trust there is no ulterior motive for you wanting to see her so often?"

Yuuri put his hands up in surrender. "Of course not, Wolfram. I'm just trying to show her a little kindness." He reached down to loosen Wolfram's grip on his shirt. "I can relate to what she's going through. I was new here too once and I know I was glad to have you and Conrad and so many other people looking out for me."

Wolfram's glare softened. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to show her some support." He reluctantly released Yuuri and turned to face Gisela. "Do you think we could go in and see her? We really didn't get much time to get to know her earlier."

Gisela sighed. "I guess I could let you in for a bit," she relented, "When she wakes up. But no hassling her with questions. We need to make her as comfortable as possible. Try and ease her into our culture, the positive things about our kingdom. You know, get her used to the idea of being here."

"Good idea," Gunter agreed. "She may be here quite awhile."

Gwendal nodded. "We don't know when the events of the prophecy will come to pass or how long she will be needed. The sooner she accepts her life here, the sooner we can begin to figure out what the prophecy requires of her."

"That's another thing," Gisela said. "I must ask you all to refrain from any 'prophecy' talk for a while. Kimi doesn't need that much pressure on top of everything else." She opened the door to the hospital wing. "Now, I am going to go check on Kimi's condition. I will send someone for you when she wakes up and is feeling reasonable." She gave one last bow and then vanished into the hospital wing, the door swinging shut behind her.

Gwendal cleared his throat. "Well, Gunter and I are retiring to my study to begin arrangements for Kimi's stay here."

He held up a hand to cut off Gunter's protests, the flaky royal advisor wishing to spend more time in Yuuri's presence and probably hoping to get to know the newest double black sleeping in the hospital wing.

"The two of us," Gwendal continued firmly, "will be going over stratagem for training Kimi. If she is somehow going to assist in the protection of Shin Makoku in the future, then she will need to know at least basic military practices. She did not appear to be much of a soldier to me; it is safe to say she will need all the training she can get."

"Don't plan anything too strenuous for her," Conrad chided with a smile. "She's new here. We don't want to scare her off with an overly rigorous boot camp. I think I will stay here with his majesty—,"

"Yuuri," Yuuri reminded.

"Right," Conrad corrected himself, "I'll stay here with Yuuri, Wolfram and Princess Greta for a bit."

Gwendal jerked his head in a brief nod. "Very well." He then turned on his heel and headed off down the hall towards his study. "Come Gunter," he called over his shoulder when Gunter lingered behind.

Gunter looked back and forth between the group still gathered in the hall, and Gwendal. He worried his lip between his teeth and looked very much like he was trying to resist pouting. "But…but I…Heika..,"

"Gunter."

"Coming Gwendal!" Gunter hurried off down the hall after Gwendal's retreating back.

The others watched the pair walk off, Gunter hastening to catch up to Gwendal when the other man made no attempt to slow down or wait for him.

"So," Yuuri said, "What should we do while we wait?"

"Hm," Wolfram crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "It's late afternoon now so it's too late for me to really try and catch up on my soldier's training before dinner. With all that still needs to be settled here with Kimi, I won't be able to fit a proper double session with them to make up for what they missed this morning."

"I'm sure your men will be quite relieved to hear that," Murata quipped.

Wolfram chose to ignore the sage's remark. "We already had breakfast," he continued, "—late breakfast. We had lunch and Yuuri has the day off from paperwork and Gunter's lessons."

"And I can't tell you how happy that makes me," Yuuri added with a wide grin.

Wolfram rolled his eyes. 'Wimp.' "You know," he mused aloud, "for such an exciting day, it actually went pretty slow. I mean we got to sleep in, Yuuri and I have been excused from our usual duties and responsibilities for the day, and Anissina hasn't created any questionable, life threatening, or spontaneously exploding inventions in over two days. Aside from tending to Kimi, we have nothing to occupy our time. And yesterday we had a little time to ourselves to play that game with Greta and the maids." He shook his head. "It's been awhile since we've had so much downtime, I'm not sure what to do with myself."

He felt a tugging at his sleeve. "You can play with me," Greta offered hopefully.

Wolfram smiled fondly down at his daughter. "Of course I can," he replied as he took Greta's hand in his. "Even when I actually am busy, I can always find time for you."

Greta beamed at him. "Can we have cookies in the garden?" she asked as Wolfram led her away.

"Of course we can." Wolfram agreed. "I'll send for some maids to bring it out to us. And some milk tea too."

"Okay! And I can make you a flower crown. It's been a while since I've been able to make you one. Maybe I could make one for Kimi too."

"Sounds good, I'm sure Kimi will love that."

Yuuri stood with Conrad gazing fondly after Wolfram and Greta as they chattered happily to each other. It was always nice to spend some quality time with his friends and family. Sometimes with all the things he was expected to do as the Maou, Yuuri barely had time to enjoy life with those he had grown to care about over the years.

"Yuuri?"

Yuuri was pulled out of his thoughts to find Greta and Wolfram had stopped, the young girl staring at him in confusion.

"Papa Yuuri (2)," she said again, striking a pout she could have only learned from Wolfram, "Uncle Conrad, aren't you two coming with us?"

"Sure, Greta," Yuuri answered.

"We would be happy to join you," Conrad agreed.

"As would I," Murata cut in, not wanting them to forget he was there.

"Besides," Yuuri added, "when are we ever going to get such a carefree day like this again?"

Wolfram frowned. "Excuse me?" he said, placing a hand on his hip. "You get free time all the time. I actually do hard work and practice every day, you shirk your responsibilities on a regular basis, sneaking out of signing paperwork with Gwendal and ducking out on lessons with Gunter to go off on crazy adventures. Sometimes I feel like my brothers and I are the only ones who do any actually work around here—and wipe that smile off your face, Conrad!" he added when he caught the brunette smiling a bit more brightly at being acknowledged as Wolfram's brother. That was happening a lot more often lately.

"I have no idea what you mean, Wolfram," Conrad said innocently.

"Hmph."

"Hey wait a minute," Yuuri exclaimed, "Wolf, I do too work hard! I am always putting myself into my work, doing the best I can for the good of the kingdom. So I sneak out now and again to take a break…you usually go with me! So…if anything…you're just as irresponsible as you say I am!" he grinned triumphantly, unaware of the menacing aura that was coming off of his fiancé.

"Uh…Shibuya," Murata warned.

"Excuse me?" Wolfram let go of Greta's hand to stride up to Yuuri, his eyes burning with ire and his face flushed with indignation. "How dare you accuse me of being irresponsible!' he cried, poking Yuuri in the chest with each word. He was livid; Yuuri had no right to accuse him of being less than the best soldier he could be. He got enough of that from the other residents of the castle for years. They thought he didn't hear the nicknames, the name calling behind his back. "I'll have you know that I go on your absurd adventures with you to protect you. I think that qualifies as doing my job. I don't get the luxury of relaxing on our little trips that you do as our king."

Wolfram couldn't believe Yuuri would even entertain the thought. 'Spoiled Brat,' 'Little Lord Brat', 'Selfish Loafer;' that's what people called Wolfram when they thought he wasn't listening. Unfairly judged as being unwilling to contribute to his Kingdom if he so much as showed an ounce of anger or neediness; he just wanted to scream sometimes. "Do not accuse me of not doing my duty, as is expected of me every hour of everyday!"

"Easy, Wolf," Yuuri attempted to pacify the raging fire wielder. "I was just kidding, no need to get so upse—."

"Papa Wolf," a voice piped up.

Yuuri and Wolfram turned to see Greta gazing up at them with concern written plainly on her face.

Greta approached Wolfram and gingerly took his hand in hers. "Don't be mad at Yuuri," she pleaded. "We hardly ever spend time altogether anymore. I want us all to have tea in the garden together," she pouted. "Like a family."

Wolfram's eyes softened. "Oh Greta…" he bent over and cupped her face in his hands. "I'm sorry…you're right. I shouldn't be mad. I didn't mean to upset you." He straightened and turned to the Yuuri. "Yuuri," he said, "I would still like for you to join us in the garden; both you and Conrad. And Murata…," he added disparagingly with a side glance at the sage.

"Ah Wolfram, you do care," Murata teased. "I would be honored to join you and your family for tea."

"Wonderful," Wolfram remarked dryly. "Come along Greta," he said to his daughter before turning to regard Yuuri. "We look forward to seeing you in the garden." Wolfram's voice held no malice and his face was blank, but the look in his eyes clearly read, 'don't think that this is over.' He gave a stiff nod and a forced smile for show before leading Greta off to the garden.

Yuuri sighed as Wolfram and Greta rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. "Ah, man," he groaned, "I did it again. I keep ticking him off." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't get it, Conrad. What did I do this time? I was only joking with him. Why did he get so mad?"

"Heika…"

"Come on Conrad," Yuuri said dejectedly, not even bothering to correct his godfather. "There's some space in the garden where we can play a bit of catch. Let's go get the ball and mitts." He headed off towards his room, Murata and Conrad in tow. "Maybe Wolfram will have forgiven me after a few games."

"I'm sure he'll come around, Shibuya," Murata stated with a smug grin. "After all, it's not the first time you've pissed him off and made him want to fry you alive."

"Gee, thanks," Yuuri muttered. "That makes me feel so much better…"

"I do what I can, Shibuya."

ThisIsALineOfTransition

ThisIsOneToo

HereToo

Gwendal stood leaning over a scroll spread out across the desk in his study. He found himself working in here more often in the past year as he had begun to crack down a little more sternly on Yuuri, getting the young king to spend more time working and signing papers in the main office and leaving Gwendal with less reason to spend time working in there himself. The only times Gwendal really needed to work in the main office any more was when Yuuri was away on matters of peace-keeping and treaties, or when it was necessary to meet to discuss important or worrisome matters in politics (usually when the Ten Nobles sent request for an audience with the king). Other than that, Gwendal often took care of the less official work of running the kingdom from the comfort of his private study. Surrounded by his knitting needles and various creations made for 'meditation'…yes, truly a professional place of work…

"It's settled," Gwendal declared, tucking away a stack of documents into a drawer on his desk, "Kim Lee will received swordsmanship training from Conrad and Wolfram, with basic military training from myself as well as proper conduct and you, Gunter will take care of her lessons in our culture and history." He frowned as he scanned over one more paper before putting it away. "She'll need some knowledge of our culture if she is going to fit in here. As far as housing," he continued, laying out an old map containing the layout of Blood Pledge castle and examining it, "we can place her in one of the guest rooms on this floor, preferably one far away from Mother when she returns." He pointed at Celi's room on the map and inserted a bright red push pin into the spot to mark it off. "I would prefer to keep her away from Kim Lee as much as possible. We have enough trouble on our hands with her trying to teach her ideals of 'free love' to the maids."

"Agreed," said Gunter, standing near one of the bookshelves in the room organizing various book titles that seemed to have been overturned, taken out, or put away out of alphabetical order. Gunter was beginning to suspect that Yozak may be sneaking in here on occasion and fiddling with the order on the bookshelves, toying with Gwendal and his desire for a neat and organized workplace.

"And we can't put her anywhere that Anissina has close access to," Gwendal continued as he pushed another red push pin into the map. "Yuuri knows well enough to avoid talking about Earth inventions in front of that madwoman, but we need to make sure Kim Lee understands the important of avoiding that subject as well."

"Yes," Gunter thumbed through a worn edition of 'Military Elemental Offensive Tactics' before setting it in its proper place. "We would all very much like to steer clear of inspiring Anissina into creating any new unsound contraptions."

"That's all we need, another explosion in the castle that takes weeks to repair," Gwendal grumbled. "Let's see…there are some spare rooms closer to the hospital wing," he put a few yellow pins down on the map. "One of those would make it easier for Gisela to look after Kim Lee." Gwendal paused a moment and tapped the back of one of the pins against his lips as he regarded the map. "Then again, there's a room or two by Greta." Another yellow pushed pin hover above the map over the section of the castle where the princess resided. "Greta seems fond of her; it's probably good for her to have another young girl around to play with."

"Kimi is sixteen, Gwendal," Gunter pointed out, rifling through more scattered books. "And I believe she prefers to be called Kimi."

"She's still younger than anyone else here," Gwendal countered. "She's closer to Greta's age than anyone else is. As for her name, I do not generally address those around me by affectionate nicknames. It's hardly the proper etiquette for nobility to engage in. I shall continue to address our guest by her proper name given to her by her parents."

Gunter rolled him eyes.

"Now then," Gwendal tapped the map gently and traced the lines running throughout it, his other hand picking through the various colored push pins sprawled across his desk before settling on a green one, "Where to put our guest?"

Gunter placed one last book back on the shelf and approached the desk. He stood besides Gwendal and leaned over the map as well, his lavender hair trailing down over his shoulders and grazing the top of the worn parchment. The scent of lilac and lilies wafted paste Gwendal's nose, causing him to move away slightly and stare more intently at the map.

"A-ha!" the lovely advisor exclaimed. "Well, look at that. Right here," he prodded a section of the map, "If you look at it closely, you'll see this room right here lies almost evenly halfway between the Hospital wing and Greta's room." He reached across Gwendal and with slender fingers, deftly plucked the green push pin from his hand. He pegged it on top of the designated room and stood back to examine it. "There, you see?" he asked with a pat to Gwendal's shoulder, "The perfect compromise."

"…Yes," Gwendal replied slowly. "Yes, that does work. And it's not too close to Heika's room; that's good."

"Wait…" Gunter frowned, "why is it important that we not house Kimi too close to Yuuri Heika? Do you think she could be dangerous? The prophecy indicated that she would be beneficial to Heika and the kingdom."

"It's not that," Gwendal disagreed, "What I meant was that it's important we try to avoid the citizens of Shin Makoku getting the wrong impression." He shifted so that he was resting one hand upon the desk and leaning his weight on it. "Especially the Ten Nobles. Think about," he entreated, "Kim Lee is a double black, brought here upon mysterious and, to the public, unknown pretenses. She's a girl who comes from Heika's place of birth, Japan on Earth. She speaks his native tongue. If word gets out that a young woman with so much in common with the Maou has suddenly come to stay at Blood Pledge, the entire aristocracy of the kingdom will be in a full on upheaval of gossip. There will be talk of a possible opposing suitor for the title of his fiancé. It would seem even more suspicious if she slept anywhere within range of the royal bedroom; like an outright invitation for improper conduct between them."

Gunter blanched. "You're right," he said. "We have enough on our hands with the maids troublesome Love Lottery. Thanks goodness the Ten Nobles don't know about that shameful thing." He 'tsked' and turned his head to the side, biting the tip of his thumb in worry. "That darn lotto, sullying the good name of our king and most respected noble residents…and Wolfram."

Gwendal watched on in slight annoyance, though the corner of his mouth quirk up a bit against his will. "Gunter…"

"And to think," Gunter carried on dramatically, "if word gets out that a young woman is that close to Heika, that accessible to him, the rumors will run wild! Whispers of our innocent king tarnishing his reputation with sordid affairs and secret tryst with a mysterious woman will circulate like wildfire, tainting the good name of our most righteous and chaste Heika!" He wobbled in place, the very thought of such gossip apparently making him dizzy with dread.

"While I think you're blowing this a bit more out of proportion than necessary, you do have a point," Gwendal admitted. "There's nothing the nobles seem to love more than a royal scandal; that goes double for the Ten Nobles. They will undoubtedly start saying that Kim Lee is the 'other woman' in Heika's life, even a possible mistress or candidate for the title of Queen. Even worse, a rumor that Heika's eyes are wandering could inspire the idea that he is in the market for a mistress or consort. We'll receive dozens of letters and requests for a public audience with the king, all from nobles wishing for their children or themselves to be by his side and reap the financial and political benefits."

"Oh it would be a disaster!" Gunter wailed. He rushed forward and gripped the front of Gwendal's green jacket. "Whatever will we do?"

"Well…I…" Gwendal flustered. He took a step back and hastily detached Gunter's hands from his jacket. "First off," he said after a deep breath and a brief pause, "We're going to avoid placing Kim Lee too close to the royal bedchamber. We'll have her stay in the room close to Greta, like you suggested. Also," he moved back over to the desk and pulled out a few documents and papers, "I've been thinking about what to do about Kim Lee's identity."

"What do you mean?"

"Well it might be prudent to conceal Kim Lee's true identity from the general public. Not only would a double black from Earth cause talk among the nobles, it could also cause unrest with our enemies." At Gunter's confused expression, he sighed. "Kim Lee was summoned to Shin Makoku in order to lend her influence to the outcome of a dire matter in the future." He shrugged. "A war most likely. Though we don't know just what Kim Lee's influence will cause or how significant it will be in the grand scheme of things, from the outside she could be interpreted as a trump card for us. In order words, she'd be seen as a threat to that which may oppose us in the near future, whatever and whenever that may be."

Gunter nodded, "Makes sense. It is very possible that we are not the only ones who know of the prophecy. Fate creates possible paths for us to follow but does not write them in stone. A prophecy does not choose a side to benefit one over the other; it simply tells us what could very well be if not intervened upon from either side." He wandered to the window and gazed out upon the castle grounds, in thought. "If the prophecy was revealed to Ulrike, it is very likely another priestess out there received the message as well. They could be expecting Kimi, whoever they are."

"Exactly," Gwendal came to stand beside him. "We must avoid word getting out about who Kim Lee truly is. Her coming from another world is already suspicious enough. Add that to the fact that she is a double black, a trait that only two other people bear in this world right now, and it would be all but a dead giveaway that she was brought here for more than a simple visit."

"So what do you suggest?" Gunter inquired.

Gwendal looked off to the side, thinking. "I think," he began, "it would be best if we hide the truth from the kingdom for now. We'll spread it around that she is a cousin of mine from a lower branch of the Voltaire family, here to learn proper etiquette as a well rounded aristocrat. We'll change her hair color like we have done for Heika in the past when he would travel. Her eyes shouldn't be too much trouble thanks to those colored contacts Heika brought back from Earth on his last visit there. He says they are more comfortable than the lenses we would have him wear."

"What about Kimi's name? You can't address her as Kim Lee, Gwendal," Gunter pointed out. "It's too foreign a name to be from Shin Makoku. Looks like you'll have to call her Kimi after all," he declared with a triumphant smirk.

Gwendal glared at him. "I shall call her Kim, by the first half of her first name. I will rename her Kimberly if I have to"

Gunter sighed. Sometimes Gwendal could take up such a stubborn nature so reminiscent of Wolfram that it was obvious they were related.

Gwendal rubbed at his chin. "Kimberly von Voltaire, sounds passable for a name of nobility," he stated with a firm nod of his head. "We'll draw up fake documentation of her relation to me if necessary. Do you suppose the servants who have already seen her will keep quite?"

"They usually do," Gunter replied. "The majority of them live here on the castle grounds in the servants quarters, it's not like they spend large sums of time among the people in the town. The maids tend to keep their gossip strictly to the staff anyway. We only know about the love lottery because they aren't too discreet in their whispering in the halls. Though I can't say I have ever heard a peep from them when we have nobility visiting; they're very careful about that."

"Good," Gwendal said. "But just in case, the staff will be spoken to about minding what is said outside these walls." He folded his arms and nodded with finality. "We'll inform Kim Lee of this decision at a later date in time; it would make little sense to her without explaining the prophecy and Gisela was quite firm on that matter not being discussed at this time. A new name, a new background, new looks; this could work quite well. Kimi will blend in perfectly as just another lower ranking noble on leave from her home. That should keep talk to a minimum and more importantly it will—,"

"It will diffuse any confusion and gossip that could arise among the noble before it even has a chance to start!" Gunter cried happily. "No one would expect a member of the strict and proper Voltaire family to exhibit such illicit acts as an indecent liaison with the king. Oh my precious Heika's innocence will remain unquestioned." Gunter radiated an aura of sheer fangirl. "Oh my marvelous, wonderful Heika, how could anyone ever suspect you of something as distasteful as an affair?"

Gwendal resisted the urge to sigh and chose to rub at the crease on his brow instead. "You may dote on him too much, you know." There was an underlying tone of annoyance to his voice as he moved to gather up the maps and papers strewn across his desk. "You do realize he isn't available for your affections, right?"

"What," Gunter stopped midway through his 'flailing of joy'. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Gwendal explained, "that you seem to 'like' Heika more than is appropriate for someone of your stature and…'experience'," he avoided using the word 'age', choosing to approach this as delicately as possible so as to steer clear of instigating a fight. Gwendal continued to reorganize his desk, a bit more force in his movements than was necessary; he swept a hand out to pick up one form and accidentally swiped it off the desk. "I just think your behavior could be deemed inappropriate."

"There is nothing wrong with how I act in front of his majest—" Gunter paused and regarded the man moving stiffly about the study. Hesitantly he made his way over to Gwendal and began assisting him in sorting out the desk. "Gwendal," he prodded gently, "I am merely expressing my loyalty and admiration to our king for having come to us all those years ago to bring peace in a time of political unrest."

"Of course," Gwendal replied with just a bite of sarcasm, "You just happen to do so in an overly enthusiastic manner." He crumpled a few papers as he picked them up hastily.

Gunter carefully pulled the papers out of Gwendal's hands, straightening them. "I'm serious," he said, setting the papers down in an orderly pile. "I have nothing but the utmost respect for Heika."

Gwendal scoffed.

"Of course I like Yuuri Heika."

Gwendal head snapped up at that.

"I like many people here," Gunter continued. "I like Conrad and Geika, Greta and Lady Celi. I suppose I care for Wolfram so you could probably call that liking him. I," he shuddered as he picked up a few more documents, "I guess I sort of like Anissina, when she isn't strapping me down to any ominous deathtraps." He chuckled, earning a small snort from Gwendal as well. "I like Lasagna, Sangria, and Doria. I like Effee and Dakoskos and..." He bent down to pick up the paper that Gwendal had dropped at the precise time Gwendal went to do the same and their hands touched, "and you."

Gwendal pulled his hand back quickly and stared at Gunter, the lavender haired man looking back with a small smile on his face.

Gunter resisted the urge to giggle as he noticed Gwendal's ears beginning to turn red. He stood up and held out the paper he had picked up for the other man to take. "Gwendal," he began…

Knock, knock

Both men turned to the doors on the other side of the room as another, slightly louder knock sounded from the opposite side. "Lord von Voltaire?"

Gwendal stiffen his features into a more serious expression and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Enter," he called roughly.

One of the doors open and a palace guard poked his head through. He lingered in the doorway for a moment before stepping fully into the room and standing respectfully at attention. He took note of Gunter's presence and gave a quick nod of acknowledgment. "Lord von Voltaire, Lord von Christ," he address them, "Forgive me for disturbing you, but I have been sent to inform you that Lady Gisela requests your presence."

"In the medical wing, I trust?" Gwendal asked, receiving a nod from the guard. "Will that be all?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you then, you may go," Gwendal dismissed the guard.

"Sir," the guard clasped one fist and pressed it to his chest as he bowed lowly before leaving the room.

Gwendal and Gunter waited until they heard the 'click' of the door before making any attempts to speak.

Gunter tucked some loose strands of hair behind his ear and glanced at Gwendal out of the corner of his eye. "Um…so…" he brought his hands in front of him and tapped his pointer fingers together, like one would do when being caught doing wrong and still hoping to feign some sort of innocence, "so, that's a good sign, right? Gisela wants to see us; that must mean Kimi is awake."

"Yes," Gwendal grunted shifting on his feet a bit, "that is a good sign." He coughed into his fist, "we should-we should go, then." His eyes were downcast as he awkwardly went about checking his uniform, smoothing out wrinkles that probably only he could see and folding and refolding the cuffs of his sleeves.

"Yes, uh," Gunter adjusted his own collar while looking anywhere in the room but at Gwendal. "His majesty and Geika are sure to be there, no doubt," he leaned over and attempted to view his reflection in the overly polished surface of the oak desk and ran a hand through his hair, "it would be disrespectful to keep them waiting."

Gwendal made a noncommittal noise behind him, observing the more effeminate man's fussing out of the corner of his eye.

Gunter stood back up and turned around to face Gwendal. "Well," he said, holding his arms out to the side of him in a manner that clearly asked 'how do I look?' "Shall we go then?"

Gwendal cleared his throat. "Of course," he extended his hand out towards the door, "after you."

Gunter hummed and proceeded to the door. Before he reached it, Gwendal came up behind him and reached out for the doorknob. He held the door open and gestured for Gunter to pass through, the latter smiling broadly at him as he walked by.

Gwendal stood there lost in thought as he watched the other man walk away. After a moment, he shook his head furiously and followed after Gunter at a brisk pace.

ThisIsALineOfTransition

ThisIsOneToo

HereToo

Not too far away, Yuuri and Conrad were making their way to the hospital wing as well. After a good workout playing catching in the garden, they had gone to their own rooms to change out of their dirty clothes and put the ball and catcher's mitts away. Wolfram, Greta, and Murata chose to stay behind to finish off the tea with plans to meet up with them afterwards. Conrad had just met back up with Yuuri outside the royal bedroom when a guard came to inform them that Gisela was asking for them.

"Let's go, Conrad," Yuuri said as they sent the guard back to his post, "It's safe to say Gisela probably sent someone to look for Wolfram and Greta; Gwendal and Gunter to. We can just meet up with them at the hospital wing when they get there."

"Of course, Yuuri," Conrad replied. He had already been reprimanded by his godson several times today about not calling his godson by his royal title. He was being extra careful to keep Yuuri's request in mind; he was sure Yuuri was getting tired of having to constantly remind him and he certainly didn't want to upset him.

The pair meandered down the hall at a leisurely pace. They didn't want to anger Gisela by taking too long, but seeing as Kimi was most likely not going anywhere, there was no urgent need to rush over. They'd get there when they get there.

After several minutes of walking in comfortable silence, Yuuri turned to Conrad. "So," he said slowly, "Do you think Wolfram has forgiven me?"

The aforementioned prince had done his very best to evade any of Yuuri's attempts of reconciliation, using their daughter as the perfect distraction and scapegoat. The human princess had spent her time matching the appropriate blossoms to Wolfram's complexion in order to make the perfect flower crown for him and discussing what color would go best in a crown for Kimi. All the while she remained oblivious to the fact that her beloved Papa Wolf was using the opportunity to dote on her to his advantage. Yuuri barely got a word in edgewise around their constant amiable chatter and laughter. When Yuuri finally managed to coax Wolfram in joining him for a few games of catch, hoping to lighten the blonde's foul mood towards him, Wolfram only agreed to two games and only because Greta had decided to play. Each time he had thrown the ball to Yuuri, it was obvious he was wishing it was a ball of fire he was hurling towards the double black.

They did have one moment of mutual enjoyment in the game, though. Murata had made the grave assumption that he could get away with making an inappropriate (and as he defended, flattering) comments about Wolfram's posterior when the blonde had gone to retrieve a wayward ball from under some rose bushes and had to get onto all fours to do so (not the sort of conduct deemed appropriate for a noble, but since it had been Greta who threw the ball, Wolfram could make an exception). The comment hadn't been well received by the Bielefeld and Murata found himself on the receiving end of an airborne flaming dirt clump's flight path. The sage had 'eeped' quite uncharacteristically and tripped into a bush of vivid blue tulips when he went to dive out of the way. Yuuri and Wolfram found themselves sharing a rather riotous laugh at Murata's expense, though Wolfram promptly clamed up and turned his head away when he caught Yuuri smiling at him. Not much progress was made towards reconciling from there.

Conrad looked thoughtful. "I'm sure Wolfram has," he replied. "As it is, there really isn't much for him to forgive."

Yuuri quirked an eyebrow at him. "There isn't? Because last I checked he was beyond pissed off at me."

"It isn't so much you that he is mad at," Conrad explained, "as it is the accusation he believes you made; an accusation made by many people." Conrad smiled wistfully. "Wolfram is a spirited person, sometimes a bit…high strung I guess you could say. He is upfront about his feelings when he believes he or those he cares about are being wronged. This is generally not the most appropriate way to go about expressing oneself when you are from noble upbringing, and people tend to judge his anger as an act of disrespect, or that of a 'spoiled brat' and with such claims gets tacked on the accusation that Wolfram doesn't work hard for the titles he bears." His smile waned. "In other words, for being honest about his feelings, albeit too vocally sometimes, he gets labeled as a spoiled and pampered prince, seen as nothing more than a subject of royalty who is coasting through life on the political status of his mother," he turned to Yuuri and attempted another smile, but it just came off unexplainably sad, "and your political status."

"What?" Yuuri exclaimed. "Wolfram doesn't do that! He didn't even want to be engaged to me in the beginning, regardless of my title or political standing. He's not using me for any-any perks, or-or…or advantages in society!"

Conrad shrugged sadly. "People outside the castle don't really know the circumstances under which you became engaged to Wolfram. They only know that you proposed to him by means of traditional methods and that he accepted. They also know that Wolfram is famously beautiful in the eyes of the public. Many believe he used his inherited good looks to gain your infatuation and a proposal, just as they assume he has done to countless suitors that have asked for his hand in the past; just as they have often accused Mother of doing."

"That still doesn't make sense," Yuuri insisted. "I slapped Wolfram because he insulted my mother and the only reason he 'accepted' was because I hit him so hard (3). As it is Wolfram is nothing like Lady Celi, and even if he was that is no reason to assume either of them was a bad person for being attractive. And so what if many people fall for Wolfram's looks, he didn't lead them on, did he? He turned them all down, didn't he?" Yuuri paused and eyed Conrad suspiciously. "Didn't he?"

Conrad smiled. "Yes he turned each and every one of them down. He was still considered rather young for marriage when you first met and before becoming engaged to you, he had very little interest in courting or being courted. Wolfram was never able to tolerate the women of the royal court; he often said they were too catty and deceitful, obsessed with appearance and wealth. And aside from power, the gentlemen callers he received seemed interested in one thing only." Conrad trailed off and though the smile didn't leave his face, a flexing in his jaw told Yuuri that the subject was uncomfortable for him.

Yuuri tilted his head to the side and watched Conrad carefully. "…Conrad?" he asked, "What…exactly…were they interested in?"

Conrad took a deep breath and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's just say some of them were very eager to skip straight to the wedding night…"

Yuuri nodded. "Oh, I see. I—," Yuuri blanched, "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry, Gwendal sent each and every one of those men on their way long ago," Conrad assured. He decided to leave out that they still received a couple of marriage proposal in writing every month or so for both Wolfram and Yuuri, countless people of the court trying to convince them that the royal couple would be far more satisfied marrying one of their sons or daughters than they would be marrying each other.

"That's good," Yuuri said. "Wolfram shouldn't have to put up with anyone trying to take advantage of them like that. He's a person, not an object or a prize."

Conrad smirked. "Oh trust me, Wolfram definitely didn't put up with it. Think of all the times Wolfram has chased after you with flames blazing." He chuckled. "Well, Wolfram actually caught those men when he chased them."

Yuuri cringed at the thought, but he couldn't really say he felt sympathy for those men; they brought it upon themselves for thinking they could play Wolfram like that to begin with. If anything, he felt a surge of pride for the blonde. His friend could do better than some pervy nobleman with no manners and a hidden political agenda. "I bet nearly getting burnt to a crisp sent them packing, huh?"

Conrad shook his head. "No, unfortunately Wolfram temper wasn't enough to dissuade them from pursuing him for his good looks. I believe some of them thought they would be able to tame that temper of his. That's where Gwendal had to step in and have a little 'chat' with them."

"I bet Gwendal wasn't too happy," Yuuri said.

Conrad shrugged. "It comes with the territory of looking after a young charge who has been blessed with good looks. You will probably have your hands full dealing with suitors for Greta when she is older," he pointed out. "She's already showing signs of growing up to be a lovely young woman."

Yuuri looked alarmed. "What?" he cried completely scandalized, "Absolutely not! No way am I going to let that happen; not to Greta."

"What about Greta?"

Yuuri and Conrad turned to see Wolfram and Murata making their way down the hall towards them, Greta happily skipping in front of them.

"Yeah, what about me, Papa Yuuri?" Greta asked. A wreath of flowers adorned her head and another draped around her neck like a necklace and two others around her wrists. In one hand, she clutched another flower crown, presumably for Kimi.

"Uh, nothing," Yuuri lied. "I was, uh, just telling Conrad here that I don't want Greta staying up too late tonight. I know she wants to play with Kimi, but she still needs her sleep."

Wolfram hummed. "Agreed," he said, while Greta pouted slightly.

The pout was quickly lost. "Look, Yuuri," Greta cried, rushing forward, "see my flower jewelry? Wolfram helped me make them!"

Yuuri smiled. "They're very nice, Greta."

"And look," Greta pointed to Wolfram's head, which Yuuri noticed also bore a flower crown, made entirely out of only two kinds of flowers, "I made Papa Wolf one too. And see what flowers it's made of? Do you see? It all made of Beautiful Wolframs and Filled with Yuuri's Naivetés (4)! Don't you think they go nice together?"

Wolfram blushed and Yuuri stammered, "Uh…"

Next to Wolfram, Murata snickered.

"The colors complimented each other nicely, Greta," Conrad said, diffusing the awkward tension.

"I know, don't they?" Greta giggled, spinning around with her arms held out at her sides. "And they have the names of my two favorite people in them: Papa Yuuri and Papa Wolf. Oh!" she stopped mid-twirl and clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Conrad," she apologized dismayingly, "I didn't mean to leave you out like that. You're one of my most favorite people too! I love the Conrad Stands Upon the Earth flower, it's just that it didn't work with the pattern for the crown." She pouted, very much upset with what she viewed as insensitivity on her part before holding one of her arms out. "Your flower's in this one," she offered, gesturing to the flower bracelet around her wrist.

Conrad chuckled. "That's quite alright, Greta," he told the young princess, "You don't need to feel bad about living your fathers so much. I know you care about me too, you don't need to use Mother's flower for me to prove that."

"But you are one of my favorites," Greta insisted stubbornly.

"Greta has a lot of favorites," Wolfram said knowingly, secretly proud that he, as well as Yuuri were ranked as her top two above everyone else. After all, they were her fathers, and no one spoiled and loved her like her fathers.

"Uh-huh," Greta nodded. "There's you and Yuuri," she began counting off on her fingers, "and Conrad and Gwendal, and Gunter and Grandma Celi, and Anissina and Gisela, and Lasagna and Doria, and Sangria and Effee, and Dakoskos," she looked down at her hands and realized she had run out of fingers to count on three fingers ago. Instead she opted for throwing her hands in the air like she was declaring a touchdown, "and now Kimi!" she announced happily. "They're all my favorites."

Yuuri sweatdropped. 'Dakoskos?..really?'

Murata leaned down and smiled merrily at Greta. "And am I one of your favorites too, Princess Greta?"

Greta stared at him warily, her pout fixed back into place. "Are you going to keep making dirty comments towards Papa Wolfram?" she challenged.

The grin promptly slipped off Murata's face to be replaced by blank surprise. "Eh?"

Yuuri and Wolfram burst out laughing at how shocked the sage looked. Even Conrad let out a bit of laughter at the spectacle; it wasn't everyday someone managed to leave Geika speechless.

"Well," Wolfram began, taking Greta by the hand and pulling her away from the stunned wiseman. He wiped a tear of amusement away from his eye. "Let's proceed to the hospital wing. I believe we got a bit sidetracked."

Yuuri nodded, "yeah let's go."

The group continued on down the hallway, Greta humming to herself and swinging her and Wolfram's joined hands back and forth as she went.

As they neared the hospital wing, Yuuri fell into step with Wolfram. "So, Wolf…" he began hesitantly, "Are we good now?"

Wolfram looked at Greta, who turned to smile obliviously up at him, and then he looked at his fiancé. "We're good for now…" he said after a moment of silence, "But know this," he raised his fist up to Yuuri's face and shook it menacingly. "That's two strikes today," he put up two fingers. "One, two. You do not want to make it to three strikes with me in one day." He leveled Yuuri with a heavy glare. "So don't do anything stupid. Remember; its three strikes and you're out!" he finished proudly, quite smug that he had remembered an aspect of that darn sport baseball enough to reference it in a threat.

Yuuri gulped. "Gotcha. I hear you loud and clear."

Wolfram's eyes raked over Yuuri's face. He seemed to find sincerity in the king's expression as he nodded his head once in satisfaction, "Glad to hear it," he declared, patting Yuuri on the back before picking up the pace, causing Yuuri to have to speed up to stay next to him.

Up ahead of them, the massive, solid oak doors of the hospital wing came into view, rapidly growing in size the closer they came to them.

"Hey looks there's Gwendal," Yuuri said, pointing.

Sure enough, at the end of the hall Gwendal and Gunter were standing in front of the hospital wing doors, one waiting impatiently with his arms crossed, just a second away from tapping his foot on the floor, the other man almost bouncing in place with his hands clasped together as he caught sight of the king and his entourage. There was also a pair of guards standing on either side of the double doors, no doubt sent by Gwendal earlier to stand guard over their flight risk of a patient.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter exclaimed, continuing to bounce up and down like an excited child at Christmas, "It's so wonderful to see you—," he trailed off mid squeal and glanced at Gwendal, the other man not looking at him but the corners of his mouth turned down. Gunter composed himself and tried to get a rein on his enthusiasm before turning back to Yuuri. "wonderful to see you, your Majesty," he said, his voice shaky as he attempted to convey his joy in a more restrained fashion. Caught between the urge to jump with joy and behave in a respectable manner, he compromised by clutching his hands tightly together in front of him and giving a very low, jerkily executed bow. "Did you enjoy your afternoon in my—," he risked another peek at Gwendal, "in our absence," he corrected himself.

Yuuri nodded. "I did," he said, "I had a little snack out in the gardens with Wolfram and Greta, Murata too. Then we all played catch with Conrad."

"How delightful," Gunter mused. "We should try and arrange a time where we can all spend time together like that. I must say I did enjoy the last time we gathered together to play 'baseball', as you call it. What about you, Gwendal?" he addressed the stoic man.

Gwendal 'hnned' in response.

Yuuri's face lit up. "That would be great!" he agreed. "A real baseball game; we haven't done that in a while. We could get some of the soldiers and servants to join us again. It could be a real blast."

"Not to cut this conversation short, your Majesty?" Gwendal interrupted, "But it would not be wise to keep Gisela waiting longer than necessary."

"Ooh, good point," Yuuri replied. "I'd rather not make her mad," he shuddered, envisioning the rather frightening image of a dark, shadowy 'sergeant mode' Gisela looming over them all. "That's just as bad as ticking off Gwen…dal…or Wolf…" he trailed off seeing the ominous looks that the two more foul tempered of the trio of brothers were giving him. "…I...nevermind," he back-tracked, "let's just go in now, 'kay." He gestured towards the doors with a sheepish grin and a nervous laugh.

Gwendal regarded Yuuri carefully before turning to the guards and tipping his head towards the doors with a quirk of his eyebrows. The guards clicked their heels together and raised a hand to their heads in a salute before reaching for the doors and holding them opening as wide as they could go.

Gunter placed his hands on Yuuri's shoulders and merrily steered him into the medic ward, mumbling something about how, 'A king should always go first' as he went. Just as they cleared the threshold and the others moved to follow them in together, the advisor's hand shot out and grabbed hold of Murata's arm and yanked him in before the rest. "Can't forget our most wonderful Great Sage."

Wolfram and Gwendal bit back a sigh (well Gwendal did, Wolfram tried but still ended up scoffing loudly) as they stepped into the medic ward, Wolfram making a point of eyeing Yuuri and passing him with a 'hmph', his nose turned up.

Gisela looked up at them as they walked in. "Oh your highness," she said quietly, "You're here, good." She came forward and gave a little bow. "Now just remember what I told you everyone: keep her calm. Try not to upset her, alright?"

Kimi was right where they had last left her, although conscious this time around as whatever Gisela had slipped Kimi for her nerves was beginning to lose effect. The girl was seated cross-legged in the middle of the same hospital bed she had been commandeering since her arrival to Shin Makoku, clutching a teacup in her hands and sipping at its contents carefully. She was dressed in a simple loose-fitting white shirt and a pair of gray night pants. One of the blankets on the bed had been pulled up and around her shoulders, the other blanket tuck up over her knees and around her waist. She was leaning over a thin book with a purple binding splayed out near the foot of the bed, but judging from the way her eyes were lazily roaming over the pages, she wasn't actually reading it.

"Kimi!" Greta bounded in and made a beeline straighter for the older girl. She hoisted herself up onto the bed and kneeling, she threw her arms about Kimi's neck.

Wolfram let the smallest hint of a smile grace his features. "It seems Greta has really bonded quite quickly with her," he commented.

Greta leaned back and took Kimi's hands in hers. "How're you feeling?" she asked worriedly. "I'm sorry about what happened in the garden. I only brought you out there because I thought you might like to see the flowers in bloom."

Kimi smiled wearily at her. "I'm fine Greta," she assured. "I just…this has been a very tiring day, you know? It's a lot to take in."

Greta nodded. "Papa Yuuri's told me a lot of things about his old home on Earth," she said, "He's taken me there once or twice too, but I only got to see a little bit of Japan." She patted the top of Kimi's hands sympathetically. "Earth is very different from Shin Makoku, huh?" she asked.

"…Yeah," Kimi nodded, "it sure is, kid. So," she turned to glance at the royal entourage standing in the doorway, "Your father's from Earth too? From Japan?"

"Well one of us is," Yuuri answered for her.

Kimi cocked an eyebrow at him, probably trying to puzzle out for herself the whole, 'Greta has two teenage daddies' thing.

"Long story," Yuuri shrugged, "Anyway, Wolfram was born and raised here in Shin Makoku. I'm from Earth. In fact, both Murata and I are from Japan."

"Saitama to be exact," Murata added. "Well, technically I was born in Hong Kong and Yuuri in the US, but Japan is where we called home for most of our lives."

Kimi nodded. "I might have guessed," she murmured, "that you're Japanese I mean. Your names pretty much give it away. Only, I couldn't be sure. I mean, this place is so…out there, and I seemed to be the only weirded out by it all."

"We've been here longer than you," Yuuri explained. "Trust me, when I first came here I was freaked out too."

"I'll take your word for it," Kimi replied.

"You know," Murata spoke up, "Your name isn't what I'd call commonly Japanese either. Kim Lee," he let the name roll over his tongue, "You sure that isn't Korean?"

Kimi smiled, "You're not the first person to ask me that. None of my friends ever thought it was a real Japanese name and my parents wouldn't say otherwise. Mom always said that she just liked the name, no other reason." She ran a hand through her hair and rolled her eyes.

Yuuri sighed, "I can relate." He sent a little glare towards Conrad.

Greta glanced down from her spot on the bed to the book laid out near Kimi. "Hey, what're reading, Kimi?" she asked.

"Oh, uh nothing really," Kimi shrugged. "It's one of the books you brought me earlier. It was the cover that caught my attention, really." She held up the purple book and flipped it closed to show a bright colorful picture of a flowery, forest grove on the front.

"Ah," Greta leaned over and took the book. "I remember this one," she said, going through some pages. She settled down leaning comfortably against Kimi like she was staying for the long haul. "It's just a picture book, no words in it for the most part. I got it for with Cousin El when he comes to visit." She looked over her shoulder at Kimi. "He's little," she explained, "he's not old enough to read yet."

Kimi nodded. "Well that's part of the reason I chose this book," she said, "It gave me something to look at to occupy my time. I couldn't really read any of the other books you brought."

"Oh sorry about that," Greta apologized, "I forgot, the alphabet in Japan is very different from ours. These books are all in Mazoku."

"Someone will have to teach you our language," Gunter offered helpfully.

"Yeah, about that," Kimi began slowly, playing with a loose thread in her blankets, "When are you guys…you know, sending me back?"

Everyone suddenly became very interested in the walls and floor of the medic ward, looking anywhere but at Kimi and shifting uncomfortably. From the opposite side of the room, Gisela was shaking her head at everyone, waving her hands back and forth. "Don't upset her," she mouthed over the top of Kimi's head.

"Uh…" Yuuri stammered, "About that…" he scratched the back of his head nervously, "we don't exactly…know?" It was more of a question than a statement, as though Yuuri wanted to tell Kimi the truth, but only if she was okay with it.

Kimi blinked. "…what was that?" her voice was deadly quiet and she was giving Yuuri a look that clearly read 'Do NOT say what I think you are saying.'

"What his Majesty means to say," Gunter explained quickly, "is that you have been summoned here for an undeterminable amount of time."

At these words, Kimi stiffened, inhaling sharply through her nose. "I'm fine," she shot out weakly as Gisela moved to comfort her.

The green haired healer settled for resting her hands on Kimi's shoulders.

"You were saying?" Kimi addressed Gunter, her voice a few octaves higher.

"At the moment, we are not entirely sure when you will be able to return to Earth," Gunter said slowly. "I assure you that once we know more we will inform you as promptly as we can and see if your return can be made possible."

"So I'm stuck here?" Kimi asked rigidly.

"For now."

Gisela's grip tightened on Kimi's shoulders as the girl seized up again.

"Fine," Kimi squeaked. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth, "I'm fine, please continue."

"I know staying here is not your first choice," Gunter said, "or a choice at all for that matter," he rectified. "But please know that we and the servants of Blood Pledge castle will do whatever possible to make your stay in our world as comfortable and enjoyable as we can."

"I see," Kimi murmured. She pulled the blankets wrapped around her tighter against her small frame, the material coming up to engulf her neck and shoulders. "So we don't even know when I will be able to go home again?" She pulled her pillow over to clutch it tightly against her chest. "Mom's going to be worried," she said sadly, resting her cheek against the pillow. She looked so small sitting there; a lost little girl in a land of strangers.

"Hey," Yuuri said, coming forward to rest a hand on her knee. He crouched down in front of the bed so that he could look up into Kimi's downturned face. "Hey now, don't look so sad," he pleaded. "There's really nothing to be worried about. You're among friends and we'll look after you. And depending on when we are able to send you back home, your mother may not have even realized that you even left."

Kimi looked at Yuuri questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Time passes much slower on Earth than it does here. Trust me on this; the first time I came here I ended up staying for around a week before I was unexpectedly sent back to Earth. There, it was still the same day I had originally left for the demon world; I don't even think an hour had gone by since I had left!"

"It's true Miss Kimi," Conrad added. "I myself have spent some time on Earth in the past and time does not pass nearly as quickly there as it does here."

"That is really slow," Kimi agreed, coming out slightly from her cocoon blanket, "So my parents might not even know I'm gone? I won't be missing anything?"

"You'll barely miss a thing," Yuuri promised. "Think of your time here as…an adventure," he declared happily, smacking a fist into the palm of his other hand as he stood up, "yeah, that's it, an adventure!" He grinned broadly at Kimi and then gestured to everyone around him, "I'm sure you used to play pretend as a kid, right? Dreaming of seeing wizards and dragons and going on epic adventures to faraway fantastic places, all from your backyard. Well think of this as a golden opportunity to live out those dreams." He pulled Wolfram and Conrad over to him and gestured to the swords strapped to their belts. "Guarded by trusted and fiercely loyal knights," he continued, "exploring secret passageways, horseback riding and carriage rides; a whole big ren faire, except it's all real!"

Yuuri was merrily laying on the descriptions quite thickly with rising enthusiasm, completely oblivious to confused looks he was getting from those in the room who did not have the experience and understanding of Earth culture that you could only get by living there.

"What's a ren faire?" Wolfram whispered to Murata.

"A renaissance faire; a festival reenacting the days of Yore," Murata replied.

"…days of what?" Wolfram asked.

Murata just smirked.

Yuuri was still prattling on enthusiastically to Kimi about all the 'Wonders of Shin Makoku,' with Greta more than happy to chime in from time to time with her own two cents.

"We can take you on a real tour of the castle," Yuuri exclaimed.

"And there are other cool castles too," Greta added.

Yuuri nodded, "That's right. Not only do the ten most powerful nobles in Shin Makoku have their own castle estates, but the human territories have kingdoms of their own."

"There're humans here?" Kimi asked. "I thought this was the 'demon world'."

"The demon Kingdom only makes up a part of this world," Yuuri explained, "We're allied with several of the human territories and kingdoms in this world. We're," he laughed sheepishly, "we're still working on alliances with the others…"

"Cavalcade is a human Kingdom (5)," Greta piped up, "That's where my friend Beatrice is from, remember I told you that."

"You know what else we have here," Yuuri said with a wide albeit mischievous grin, "…dragons."

"D-dragons?" Kimi asked eyes wide and inquisitive, caught between fear and excitement. "Dragons are real here? You have dragons in Shin Makoku?"

Yuuri's grin widened even more; glad to see the formerly forlorn girl had perked up a bit. "There aren't any dragons in the kingdom itself," he clarified, "They're all up in the mountains, but I've seen them."

"Me too!" Greta added. "They were at the castle when cousin El first came to visit as a baby."

"That was just a onetime thing," Yuuri assured Kimi, who had decided upon fear being the appropriate reaction to dragons after that last tidbit. "And there were only two dragons; a mother and her baby…her all grown up baby, Pochi. We had met them once before in the forest surrounding the mountains, back when Pochi was still small enough to carry around." Yuuri chuckled, "He was a cute little guy. I think you would have liked to see him for yourself. If you want, I could see if we could go see him sometime."

"Maybe…" Kimi replied warily. She had just found out the big fire-breathing reptiles from her fairytales were actually real, she wasn't sure if she was ready for an up close encounter with one.

"Well," Wolfram huffed as he lightly shoved Yuuri out of the way, "If you want to discuss less dangerously life threatening creatures," he gave Yuuri a little glare, "a former guest wing of our very castle is home to birthing grounds of dozens of bear-bees." He regarded Kimi with a critical eye. "I'm sure a young woman such as yourself would find their harmless appearance a far more pleasant visit while you are still getting used to things than that of a dragon."

Kimi stared blankly at him for a few seconds. "…what the heck is a bear-bee?"

"In comparison to a dragon, it's more harmless than air," Wolfram replied.

"That's not fair, Wolf," Yuuri protested, "You know as well as I do that Pochi was hardly dangerous. You even said he was cute!"

"True, but dragons as a whole are a species capable of incredible damage," Gunter pointed out, grievous at having to correct his precious ruler.

"And as cute and cuddly as Pochi was he did end up taking out a section of the castle roof during his visit, unintentional though it was," Wolfram said matter-of-factly.

"Not to mention child endangerment," Gwendal added gruffly.

"That too," Wolfram agreed, "Though once again unintentional. Now," he turned to Yuuri, "you rudely interrupted me while I was talking to Kimi. I believe an apology is in order," he smirked.

Yuuri frowned, "fine. I'm sorry, Kimi."

Wolfram rolled his eyes and Kimi giggled into her pillow.

Once Wolfram's back was turned, Yuuri stuck his tongue out at him.

"Anyway," Wolfram continued, "As I was saying, the bear-bees live here in the castle. Well, their nest and eggs do. New bear-bees are born here every year. But they are completely harmless so you have nothing to worry about."

"Right, but what are they?" Kimi asked.

"They're super cute!" Greta declared from besides her. "If I could find a picture of them, I'd show you."

"I have one, your highness," Gisela offered helpfully. She rummaged around in the folders and files on her desk for a moment before a smile lit up her face and she pulled out a piece of paper. "You drew this for me a while ago, Princess Greta," she explained, "I've had it here in the medic ward ever since. I like to have it around to show my patients what a lovely gift it is." She handed the paper to Greta.

Greta was practically glowing from the praise. "Thank you Gisela." Greta took the proffered picture and held it out for Kimi to look at. "This is a bear-bee," she said.

Kimi looked down at the paper. On it was a crayon drawing of a swarm of very unusual creatures. They had the arms, legs, and heads of a bear (looking more like stuffed animals in adorability than actual bears) with soft-looking pink fur, but with little bug-like wings and round torsos colored in black and yellow stripes reminiscent of a bee. They even had little antenna perched atop their heads.

Kimi stared in confusion and bemusement. "These things actually exist?"

Greta nodded, "uh-huh. Not too many places in Shin Makoku have them anymore; they're a rare species. Aren't they cute?"

Kimi glanced at the drawing again. After a moment of thought she conceded with a soft smile, "Yes, they're very cute."

"You know," Gisela began, "they say petting an animal can have very therapeutic attributes. Perhaps Kimi would benefit from visiting the bear-bees."

"Excellent point," Wolfram agreed. "You could probably handle a meeting with something as innocent as those creatures, I trust?" Wolfram asked Kimi.

"I…suppose so…" Kimi replied.

"That's a great idea!" Greta exclaimed. "We have other animals around the castle that you may like too! There're cats and horses, and this adorable little bunny that hides in the garden and eats the flowers when nobody's looking." Her face turned suddenly serious and she leaned in with a hushed whisper, "he has to do it when nobody's around, or else the gardener gets mad and throws his hats at him." She pulled away with a solemn nod of her head.

Kimi bit back a laugh; Greta seemed so serious about the daring misadventures of a little mischievous rabbit. "I think I would like to go see some animals."

"Excellent!" Gunter declared. "While we're at it, perhaps I could finally give you a tour of the castle. Oh, what a marvelous idea!"

"Hold on now," Gisela intervened, coming forward to place a hand firmly on her father's shoulder. "One thing at a time, father. Kimi isn't fully healed yet, nor has she rested nearly enough. I do not want you overwhelming her." She moved over to Kimi and titled the girl's face up towards her. "Now Kimi," she began, prodding the underside of Kimi's neck, "You may go with Greta and the others for now and have a quick visit with the bear-bees." She turned Kimi's head this way and that and carefully cupped her hands around the girl's neck just over the bandages. She smoothed her thumbs back and forth across the gauze, gauging Kimi's reaction for any signs of discomfort. Finding little to none, she continued, "You're making a remarkable recovery, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to come back to spend the night here. Now I'll be with you, same as last night so you won't be alone."

"How many more nights does she have to stay here, Gisela?" Murata inquired.

"Well," Gisela mused, "I would like to keep an eye on her for a bit. It is crucial that her neck heals quickly and efficiently to avoid any severe scarring." She tapped Kimi's bandages lightly before moving away. "If Kimi is able to sleep through tonight without her injury being reopened, then I'll conceded to her being healed enough to be moved to a guest room tomorrow." She gave Kimi a stern look, "But you would have to come back for regular check-ups for a while."

"That's fine," Gwendal said. "We already have a room being set up for her."

"Gisela?" Greta asked, "Is Kimi going to have to eat dinner here alone too?"

Gisela smiled. "Of course not, Princess," she replied. "I'll be here too. Kimi won't be alone."

"B-but if Kimi is okay enough to go with us to see the bear-bees, don't you think it would be alright for her to eat with us tonight?"

"Well…"

"If it would make you feel better, Gisela," Yuuri offered, "we can have the maids set a spot at the table for you as well. That way you can keep an eye on things. Okay?"

Gisela thought about it for a moment. Finally she nodded, "Okay. That could work."

"That means you'll be having dinner with me," Gunter said happily. "It will be so wonderful to have my daughter enjoying a meal with me in the main dining room with his Majesty!" He pulled Gisela to him and embraced her.

"Calm down, father," Gisela protested, pushing away from her father's grasp. "Really now, that is enough."

Everyone (minus the forever grumpy Gwendal) laughed at the little display of affection by the excitable man and his daughter.

"Gisela's right, Gunter," Yuuri chided, "We really should get going if we plan on showing Kimi the bear-bees before dinner."

Greta hopped down off the hospital bed as Yuuri held a hand out to Kimi and waited patiently for her to take it. "Ready to go, Kimi," he asked as he helped her off the bed.

Kimi smiled, "Yeah."

"Come on, come on," Greta cried joyously, "Let's get going." She latched onto Kimi's arm and began tugging her towards the door, only loosening her hold when she heard Gisela sternly remind her, "Gently, Greta. She's still healing."

The others chuckled (except Gwendal) and proceeded towards the door after the young pair. As Yuuri and Wolfram departed, followed by a cheerfully gushing Gunter and peacefully pleasant Conrad, Murata stayed behind. He lingered by the door until everyone else had passed and then moved to approach Gisela. Only Gwendal took notice of the Great Sage's absence in the hallway; he waited a moment for the group to disappear down the hall before reentering the medic ward and coming over to stand besides Murata.

"Gisela," Murata began, "I was hoping you could divulge with us the exact details of Kimi's recovery. The extent of her healing, if you will; this remarkable recovery she is making."

Gwendal hummed in agreement.

Gisela sighed. "You caught that, huh?" she asked. "I had a feeling you might." She walked over to her desk and pulled out a notebook. Motioning Murata and Gwendal closer, she flipped to one of the most recent pages; one covered in various scrawling of notes and markings, and held it out for the two men to see. "When I initially examined Kimi's wounds, I focused mostly on healing the most severe damage to her neck; the deepest tears, the places where bleeding wouldn't stem on its own. I assume that is what the shrine maidens did too. You see we still aren't entirely sure what we are dealing with here and as most humans do not take to maryoku usage on their bodies as easily as Mazoku, we don't want to risk using too much on Kimi in case she is human, or at least half human. Her wound wasn't too deep, mind you. It was a matter of where it was located that caused such urgency; the throat isn't that extraordinarily thick and a slit throat can kill quite effectively. Had the gash been on her arm or a leg maybe, I'd be less concerned. So I healed what I could and left the rest for normal medicine and bed rest to take care of. I estimated that the process would be a gradual one following the course of the next few weeks, maybe a little less provided no infection flares up."

"However," Gwendal prompted.

"However," Gisela shook her head and sighed. "I'm at a bit of a loss now. Kimi had a stored language memory of the Mazuko language, meaning she either lived a past life here or was taught it by her parents. But it's only a fractured bit of the language; memories of a past life as a Mazoku should have maintained all the knowledge, not just a fragment, or she wouldn't remember it at all. And from what we have all seen, Kimi didn't even believe in our kind or our world before coming here yesterday, so it's doubtful she was taught our language by her parents. She seems to be the run of the mill human, other than being summoned here."

"The prophecy never did say whether the one sent to us would be demon or human," Murata said.

Gisela nodded. "She believes she is human and knows nothing other than being one. I'd say she is human, or at the very least half human. A full blooded demon would be a stretch for us to assume with her knowing nothing of our existence. But…"

"But?" Murata asked.

"Things don't seem to add up here," Gisela said again, flipping through her notes. Her eyes fell on a particular section and she held the book back out to Murata, pointing out the segment on the proffered page. "Look," she said, "This is where things start getting confusing. As a human, Kimi's neck should take weeks to fully heal over. Even as a half demon, she would lack the magic to treat herself and would heal at a human rate. But…," Gisela trailed off and shook her head. "Kimi's progress is…well she's healing faster than I anticipated."

"How much faster?" inquired Gwendal.

"At the rate she's healing, the wound should be gone by the end of the week," Gisela answered.

Gwendal and Murata stood in silence and let Gisela's words sink in.

"So she's healing as fast as a demon would," Gwendal surmised.

Gisela nodded. "It would seem so."

"Perhaps Kimi isn't as human as we all assumed," Murata said, his eyes obscured by the light glinting off his glasses.

"You're not really that surprised," Gisela stated, "are you, Geika? Care to enlighten us?"

Murata just grinned.

"Well, regardless of what Geika has known but neglected to tell us," Gwendal said with a slight twitch of the vein in his forehead, "there are still many questions to be answered. If Kim Lee can used maryoku then she, for all intent and purposes should be a full blooded demon. Heika is the only half demon I can think of being capable of using maryoku, and that is only because of the maoh's powers. Yet Kim Lee knows nothing of demons and has lived out her whole life as a human. Short of dredging up her entire family tree, there is really no way of knowing what she is at the moment." He glanced at the Great Sage, "Unless there is anything else someone would like to inform us of."

"I assure you, I'm just as baffled as you are," Murata protested merrily.

"Excuse me," Gisela interrupted the pairs little stare down. "I'm sure this is all very fascinating to you both from a more analytical perspective," she began, "but the reason I am concerned about this matter is solely with Kimi's welfare in mind."

"We're concerned for Kim Lee's health in this matter as well," Gwendal insisted.

"No you're not," Gisela said. She shook her head, "I mean, yes, I'm sure that you do overall care for Kimi's well being. She's a young girl in your care and you take that seriously, as do I. But your concern for this specific matter is more from your interest in knowing more about your prophetic warrior. You want to know what her abilities and limitations are so that you can figure out how much of an impact she will hold in the prophecy you keep fixating over." Gisela went to set the notebook back down on her desk and turned back around with her arms folded over her chest. "The reason I am searching for answers to Kimi's origin are for her benefit and hers alone."

"Perhaps it would be best if you would explain what you mean," Gwendal suggested, his brow furrowed.

"Kimi is scared right now," Gisela stated. "Fragile even, we've already established that. Kimi has no clue why it is so important for her to be here and I imagine when it's fully explained, she is going to have quite a lot of objections to being viewed as some sort of secret weapon." She glared at Gwendal and Murata, her disapproval in the matter made quite clear in her steely gaze. "I mean, why wouldn't she? As far as Kimi is concerned, she is just an ordinary human girl from Earth. She probably wouldn't like to think of herself as weak in any case, but I'm sure she doesn't view herself as being capable of assisting an entire demon nation as the mere human she views herself as now."

"If there is a chance that Kimi is of demon blood in any way, it is important that the matter be handled delicately and the news broken to her in a sensitive, careful manner. Being a Mazoku could help give Kimi a sense of belonging and make her stay here easier if it is presented as a chance to get to know her demon heritage," Gisela elaborated. "Or it could possibly scare her even more to not only be in a world she doesn't understand, but also being in and of herself something she no longer understands. Kimi's acceptance or rejection of her situation is directly related to her mental health. That's why I've been so adamant about her avoiding stressful situations." Gisela leaned against her desk and stretched her legs out. "As it is, knowing what race she is could help greatly in determining proper treatment for her should Kimi need it at any time in the future. As both her healer and her friend, as her confidant in such trying times it is important for me to know all there is about her physical identity and health in order to better assist her. So you can imagine why the baffling results of her examination have caught my interest."

"I would say that's pretty understandable," Murata agreed. "I suppose only time will tell what Kimi's heritage is. Short of risking her health further in a one of Anissina's faulty inventions, there is little we can do to prove her heritage. Maybe as we get to know her, evidence will begin to point us in a more obvious direction."

"Unless of course you could be so kind to enlighten us to what you or Shinou Heika might know," Gwendal said, eyeing Murata suspiciously.

"I swear to you that I know nothing, Lord von Voltaire," Murata insisted, a cheeky grin gracing his face.

"As far as determining Kimi's race goes," Gisela interjected loudly, "we will cross that bridge when we get to it. While I would love to get answers on the matter as soon as I can, the fact remains that there is little we can do to extract the information. Kimi was born and raised on Earth; it isn't like there is anyone here who would be able to recognize her or inform us of her origins. For now, let's just focus on making sure she is happy and comfortable here."

Gwendal and Murata nodded. "Agreed."

ThisIsALineOfTransition

ThisIsOneToo

HereToo

"This way," Greta whispered.

"Slow down, Greta," Wolfram called as he carefully stepped over a dilapidated armchair.

Yuuri grunted and batted his way through a veil of spider webs. "Yeah, wait for us." He caught a small little spider creeping its way up over his shoulder and let out a yelp, flinging his arm around attempting to dislodge it to no avail. Wolfram finally became fed up with his antics and snatched his arm up mid-flail to casually flick the many legged stowaway out of sight, causing Yuuri to grin abashedly at him. "…Thanks."

Greta was leading the group along the dimly lit hallway of the castle's abandoned wing. Provided with only the sparse soft glow of sunlight invading in thin rays through the crumbling ceiling, they stumbled along a path strewn with fallen chandeliers and lopsided end-tables bearing broken, splintered legs. The walls along the hall had once been a light pastel blue, but a lack of maintenance and falling into disrepair had caused them to fade and become riddle with cracks and cobwebs, resembling more of a haunted funhouse than a wing of a royal residence. It was clear not as much lavish decorating and modeling went into the guest wing as the rest of the castle; while it was nicely furnished (at one time), it lacked the plush, rich carpets and expensive marble moldings, the floor and banisters replaced with simple high quality mahogany. There were large, golden ornate picture frames lying on the floor and propped haphazardly against the walls, only a few had been separated from the paintings deemed salvageable before the guest wing had been abandoned to the nesting bear-bees.

"This place has really let itself go since the first time we came here," Yuuri observed, "eh, Wolf?"

"Well that was a good few years back," Wolfram replied, "time has a way of doing that to a place if you don't take care of it. It's a good thing we took the long way in. I would rather not have Greta and Kimi have to propel down through that hole in the floor at the front door that we fell through the first time came here." He darted ahead and intercepted Greta just before she attempted to climb over a broken chandelier lying on its side, opting to pick his daughter up and edge his way around the hazardous thing before putting her down and letting her walk on her own again.

It made somewhat sense that most of the decorations in the hall had been left to decay, as Gunter had explained. Seeing as the residency of the palace was made up of the demon king and high ranking and inherently wealthy nobles, why should they go out of their way to salvage property that they could easily replace, probably with bigger and better gold inlaid features? The loss of a single guest wing was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things; the wing was provided to the guest for temporary visit, not their property to worry over damage and a new wing could easily be provided or built with the funding of the Ten Nobles in their ongoing attempts to rub shoulders with the highest of society and further impress the Maou.

"Whoa," Kimi's foot caught on a loose floorboard and she fell forward, pinwheeling her arms in an attempt to catch something to steady herself on. Conrad caught her by the elbows just before she hit the floor and helped her back up onto her feet. "Thanks," she said. "It's hard to see where I'm going in here. How much farther is it, Greta?" Kimi called to the little princess moving swiftly over the ruble up ahead of her.

Greta leapt over an upturned end-table and bounded over to a staircase and disappeared from sight. "Down here!"

"Greta," Wolfram called, "don't go too far on your own." He hurried after her, Yuuri in tow.

At the foot of the stairs was a basement of some sort, the rafters and support beams of the floor above them making up the majority of the structure. Not too far ahead of them, Greta had come to a set of large wooden doors hanging precariously off their hinges. She cupped her hands to the side of her face and peered through the slight opening in the doors before pulling back with a broad smile as she turned around to face the others. "Through here," she whispered eagerly.

Kimi looked around at the four men standing beside her, noticing that their attention was fixed on her, as was Greta's, all of them waiting for her to move first. Kimi nervously fidgeted with her hands and moved forward at a snail's pace towards the doors, picking her way around a broken vase and side stepping another corner of a floorboard sticking up from the floor.

Taking notice of Kimi's hesitancy, Greta's smile took on a more reassuring look. "Come on," she chided softly, beckoning the girl forward with a wave of her hand. "Come on, it's alright."

Kimi came to stand next to Greta, an uneasy and forced attempt at a lighthearted grin on her face.

Conrad came to assist Greta in pushing one of the doors open with a bit of effort, the hinges creaking in protest.

As Greta stepped through the doorway, she turned back to Kimi and held her hand out to her. "Come on, trust me," she said, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Kimi stared at her outstretched hand for a moment. Cautiously she reached forward and took Greta's hand.

'Trust me," Greta said again, "and close your eyes."

Kimi gave Greta a wary look. With the rest of the group following behind her, she took a deep breath and closing her eyes she allowed herself to be led over the threshold of the door.

For a minute or so the room was silent. The only sound heard was the soft wheezing of Kimi's breathing, the girl too nervous and anxious to breathe out her nose. She clutched at Greta's hand like a lifeline and let herself be led blindly, stepping cautiously across the floor, holding her free hand out for balance as she tried to feel out a safe path with her feet.

She wasn't exactly sure what she should expect to see. The very concept of a bear-bumblebee hybrid seemed completely ridiculous, something really out there in left field. The drawing Greta showed her made them seem cute and harmless enough, but that was just a doodle from a child's perspective. What if these creatures really looked like real life bears; all claws and beady black eyes of death and teeth, lots of teeth? What if they were massive monstrosities, roaming about the castle in lumbering steps that threaten to pitch forward at any moment and crush the life out of a grown man (or puny girl at that)?

Kimi felt the presence of a hand on her shoulder and then someone's breath puffing against the side of her neck as they leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"Open your eyes, Kimi," Greta said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

Kimi mentally braced herself for the worse, just in case, and then slowly opened her eyes.

And bit back a gasp.

"Oh…wow..."

The entire room was bathed in a light glow of blue and turquoise. Various holes in the high, decaying ceiling allowed sunlight to filter in and rest upon towering pillars of large, bulbous woven mounds stuck together in clumps, reaching up from the ground towards the sky. They almost looked like weird, distorted honeycombs in the pale light, attached to the walls and wooden beams by dozens of thin, sticky strings. Some even hung down from the ceiling. By the looks of it, they all had some sort of hole on them from where their living contents broke free. These were cocoons, huge, gigantic cocoons. Kimi would have been very bothered by this discovery if she hadn't seen who had made them.

Flittering back and forth in the air around the odd pillars was an entire flock of bear-bees. They spun and dipped around the room in lazily circles over Kimi's head. It was just as Greta's picture had shown; they were like cute, winged teddy bears. They really were such adorable creatures. A few floated above Kimi and the others, looking down upon them curiously and wiggling their noses at them.

"Aren't they wonderful?" Greta asked excitedly. She clung to Kimi's arm and shook it slightly in her excitement.

Kimi stared up in awe at the furry little beings floating back and forth before her. She smiled. "Yeah," she said dreamily, "they really are."

"Nogisu!"

One of the bear-bees swooped down to hover in front of them. Up close these creatures were no bigger than the width and length of Kimi's torso, about the size of a large stuffed animal like the ones handed out at carnival game booths.

The bear-bee tilted its head cutely to the side. "Nogisu?" it chirped in an adorably squeaky voice. Its nose twitched and its ears wiggled.

Next to Kimi, Greta bit back a little squeal.

"Uh," Kimi stammered. She raised her hand up and waved weakly, "…hi there."

The bear-bee leaned in close enough to Kimi that their noses were touching. "Nogi," it began sniffing Kimi's face, "Nogisu."

Kimi giggled as the little, twitching button nose ran across her cheekbones and forehead. "H-hey," she laughed, "that tickles."

The bear-bee paused to look at her, its little black eyes shining warmly. It began to scan over the rest of the people in her party. Looking at a point past Kimi's shoulder, its eyes lit up. "Nogisu!" it cried happily. It zipped past Kimi and barreled straight into Yuuri's chest. "Nogisu," it snuggled against Yuuri and rubbed its nose against his shirt.

Yuuri laughed. "Well I guess this one is one of ours," he said, hugging the bear-bee close.

"Well some of these are our children," Wolfram pointed out. He stepped forward and clapped his hands, calling the attention of the rest of the swarm flying overhead. A few of them let out little squeals and chirps of surprise before zooming down to Wolfram's open arms. They rubbed against him and nuzzled his face, chattering all the while.

Wolfram smiled. "Did you miss your daddies that badly?" he asked, scratching one bear-bee behind the ears, "you just saw us a few days ago." He laughed as some of the bear-bees gathered around him began to lick at his face.

"Wait," Kimi said in confusion, "your children? How the heck did that happen?"

"It's quite the story," Yuuri began, struggling to be seen over the mass of flying, striped teddy bears crowding him for affection, "Wolfram and I accidentally found this place when we were investigating the wing for the scary monster everyone believed lived here," he jerked a thumb at one of the bear-bees, "these guys, in reality. Anyway we ended up in their nesting place around the time some of these little guys were hatching. Their own parents had unfortunately passed away before they hatched and because Wolfram and I smelled like them, they mistook us for their parents."

"Smelled like them?" Kimi asked, quirking an eyebrow at Yuuri.

"We were painting early that day," Wolfram explained, "The paint I use is high quality stuff made from the excrement of bear-bees."

"It stinks like you wouldn't believe," Yuuri cut in.

"It really is a rather potent scent," Gunter added, patting the head of a bear-bee that had drifted close enough to him.

Wolfram nodded. "Potent enough that these little guys picked it up and imprinted upon us as their parents." He looked up to the rest of the bear-bees flying about them, "Of course not all of these are ours. It's been a few years since our eggs hatched. They've all come back each year since then and had kids of their own, and those kids went on to have kids of their own too. We have quite a few grandkids and great-grandkids here."

"Nogisu!" a loud voice boomed.

"Wah!" Kimi jumped back with a start as an enormous bear-bee came down and landed in front of her, its massive height making it tower over her. "W-what the heck?"

"It's alright," Yuuri said, clapping her on the shoulder. He moved past her to pat the bear-bee on its stomach, the large creature cooing happily as its tummy was rubbed. "This big guy here is like the leader of these guys. He hatched with the rest of our 'kids' back then. I like to call him Beary."

"Such an undignified name," Wolfram muttered.

Yuuri ignored him.

"I see," Kimi edged cautiously over to Yuuri and the big bear-bee. "N-nice to meet you…" she held a hand out to the bear-bee, unsure of whether she should pet it or not.

Beary bent down and touched his nose to the palm of her hand, sniffing. After a few seconds of nosing her hand, he let out a loud bellow of "Nogisu!" and began rubbing his head against her palm in affection.

Yuuri smiled. "He likes you!"

Kimi laughed. "Yeah, I guess he does." She petted the plush fur of Beary's head with vigor now. "He's really soft," she murmured. "Wait…" she paused and gave Beary a once over. "How do you know he's a he?" she asked. "There's nothing on these guys to tell their genders apart."

Yuuri frowned, mulling the question over in his head. "I'm…not sure," he said finally, shrugging his shoulders. "I sort of just know. I mean," he gestured to Beary, "Beary's a boy's name and he looks like a Beary to me."

Kimi eyed him bemusedly. "Riiiiight." She turned her attention back to Beary. "Anyway these guys sure are cute." She looked back and Wolfram snuggling with the smaller bear-bees and then look back up at Beary. She raised her arms hesitantly, then shrugged her shoulders in a 'what the hell sort of way, and flung herself forward against Beary's stomach, hugging him around the middle. "And cuddly too."

"It's a shame Gwendal didn't come with us," Gunter mused as he and Conrad petted the bear-bees nearest to them. "Wherever he and Murata went off to, they're missing some quality time with these sweet little creatures." He pulled one bear-bee into a hug which was happily returned. "An animal blessed enough to be hatched by the Maou himself, what an honor for them."

"I'm sure wherever Gwendal is his head must be spinning," Conrad joked, "his cute senses on full alert."

"Yeah," Yuuri agreed, "Like spidey senses!"

His comment was met by silence and looks of confusion.

"I get it," Kimi assure him, "It was funny. I used to read that comic too."

"Really?" Yuuri asked. His whole face lit up. "Awesome!"

"Anyway," Wolfram cut in, eyeing the pair, "Kimi, it looks like you are enjoying yourself here. Do you feel better now?"

Kimi nodded. "I do," she said. She buried her face into Beary's fur. "The fuzz therapy is working nicely," she murmured, her voice muffled.

"You're lucky you got to see them like this," Greta said, holding one of the smaller bear-bees in her arms, "They just hatched from their cocoons a few days ago. Pretty soon they will migrate out of here for the year and won't be back until they are ready to lay their own eggs."

"Yeah and you probably would have had a harder time to adjusting to these guys if you saw them before they made their cocoons," Yuuri added. "Before that, when they hatched from their eggs, they didn't exactly look like bears."

"What did they look like?" Kimi asked.

"…ten-foot caterpillars…"

"…you're right…I'm glad I didn't meet them then."

Everyone laughed at that. "They weren't so bad," Yuuri assured her. "They were a little startling at first, but they didn't mean any harm and did no more than tickle and rub against us when we first met them."

"Nogisu?"

Beary was looking down at Kimi. She had stopped petting him during her discussion with the others and he wasn't onboard with this development. He leaned forward and nuzzled the top of her head. "Nogisu."

"Ah, sorry about that, big guy," Kimi soothed, rubbing her hands along his fur and patting his head, "I didn't forget about you."

"Nogisu!" Beary licked the side of her face, making her laugh.

"Ew," Kimi giggled, "Beary slobber!"

Greta came over with her arms full of newly hatched bear-bee. "So Kimi," she said, "How do you feel about staying in Shin Makoku now?"

Kimi turned to look at her, her hands once again stilling in Beary's fur. She thought about it for a moment and Greta was dismayed to see the look of sadness Kimi wore in the hospital wing return to her face. Kimi bit her lip, "Well I…" she trailed off.

"Kimi?" Greta asked hesitantly, feeling a little guilty for having brought it up at all. She releases the bear-bee she was holding to move closer to Kimi, unsure what she should do to make her feel better.

Seeing the little princess so upset for her, Kimi sighed. Kneeling down, she placed a hand on Greta's shoulder. "I feel a little bit better," she told Greta, giving a little halfhearted smile, more for Greta's sake than anything else. "I don't feel a hundred percent about this but I feel better. I guess it won't be so sad being away from home for a while," her smile turned momentarily sad and bittersweet before she shook it off and her features set into one of mocked seriousness, "But I don't expect to go through this alone." She wagged her finger at Greta, "You're gonna be with me all the way, right Greta?"

Greta beamed at her, "All the way!" she said, "You can count on me."

Kimi pulled her into a hug, "Glad to hear it."

"Don't forget you've got us too, Kimi," Yuuri reminded.

The demon king and the others stood before Kimi and Greta, smiling kindly down at them. The bear-bees floated around them spouting off their cute little phrase of "Nogisu," here and there.

"His highness is right, Miss Kimi," Conrad agreed, "We only want you to be happy here and we will do whatever it takes to ensure you enjoy your stay."

Gunter and Wolfram nodded.

Kimi's smile widened. "Thank you everyone. That really means a lot to me." She reached out to pet Beary, who was snuffling at her hair and shoulders, and took in the carefree way the bear-bees merrily flitted back and forth, the light streaming down from the floor above and giving the room a calm, warm glow. She thought of the smiling faces of Gisela and the maids who had brought her food and clothes, of the massive, fairytale-like castle she was in, of the vast fields of exotic fruits and flowers out in the garden and how the sweet the air smell among the fresh blossoms.

Kimi flexed her fingers in Beary's soft, warm fur, earning herself a rumble of contentment in return. She took in all the happy, smiling faces in front of her and chuckled softly. "Maybe being stuck here for a little while won't be too bad."

---

I really did try to end this chapter on a not so sappy note, but that is really hard to avoid when dealing with a subject as cutesy-fluff as bear-bees. I mean seriously, they're flying, plushie teddy bears that speak in high pitched voices. How do you make that serious or less silly? And so we're making it out Kimi's emo-phase, which frankly, we are long overdue for leaving. I don't necessarily want to heap on the melodrama with my OC, but I was really trying to give a somewhat realistic portrayal of how someone might behaved waking up in a foreign place, surrounded by strangers and even stranger creatures and being told she can't go home.

Footnote time. And seriously people, please read these and feel free to answer any questions I might have in them. I hate to admit it, but these footnotes are more for me than you, because I have no beta (still looking for one please) and I'm sort of on my own in this. If I get stuck or have difficulty recalling some aspect of the series, I really need someone to be so kind as to enlighten me. If it's not too much trouble, that is. I understand that the chapter is somewhat long and the footnotes are scattered throughout, but if you are willing to go back and see the footnotes now that you are finished, I would really appreciate some answers to my questions.

One (1). What is the story behind Yuuri's father Shoma (Shouma?) I mean, is he an Earth born demon, with parents born on Earth, a demon born on Earth with parents from Shin Makoku, or was he born on Shin Makoku and came to Earth at some point. I can't really recall.

Two (2). I really would like to know this one. When addressing Yuuri as a father as she does from time to time, does she call him Papa Yuuri, or Daddy Yuuri, or Father Yuuri? Does she alternate between the three? I understand this is trivial to fuss over but I really want to get the character's mannerisms and they way they act or talk right.

Three (3). Most of you probably don't need me explaining this, but the traditional method of proposal used by Shin Makoku nobles is to slap your intended's left cheek and if they offer their right cheek, it is a sign that the proposal is accepted. While Yuuri refrained from punching Wolfram (because, as he explained, he didn't want to hurt a beautiful face), he did slap Wolfram hard enough that his face turned to the side from the force of impact, technically offering his right cheek and accepting the proposal.

Four (4). Anyone know what the colors of the flowers named after Yuuri and Wolfram are? I wanted to actually put that down in the details of the flower crown, but couldn't remember for the life of me just what the colors are. I want to say Wolfram's had yellow in it.

Five (5). The place Greta's friend Beatrice is from, Cavalcade, is part of human territory, right? I just want to be sure, but I had some difficulty finding out for myself.

That's all I have for now. Thanks for hanging in there with me so far. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner.

R and R please. Feedback welcome, constructive criticism greatly needed and appreciated.

Till next time!

~ Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland