Bleak Morning, part 8 by Vanessa S. Quest
A/N: Hey all, I just want to say a few things while I have the chance. First- to everyone R & Ring, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to comment back to you individually, but medical school really keeps you busy nervous laugh go fig, ne? Anyways… I also have to say as a forewarning, at the end of January I'm going to be on a mandatory hiatus from writing until at least February 10 due to some computer issues that can only get resolved upon that late date.
Now, as for my R & R's, there was one I just HAD to reply to, and as they cheated and left it anonymously on me, well, here I go:
In regards to why there are no Gwen/Yuu/Con fics, trying to OUT-write Wolf, then write in Con and then Gwen is really hard. I mean, really hard.
I'd like to go on a side-tangent with that and also mention that with my own preferences, where I could see how it's hinted at in the anime, to me Gwen comes off more cold-fish in that sort of combo pairing (now Gwen/Gunter, Gwen/Anissina, or even Gunter/Gwen/Anissina… I can see that passion… or fear, it's one of those.) Plus, I'm just too in love with ConYuu to really divide my attentions, personally.
/End Note.
Yuuri was a bit shocked when he saw Conrad approach him, smiling. Yuuri looked up at each corner of his vision wondering to himself if this was a good sign or not.
"Yuuri, there you are." Conrad bowed down then knelt beside the maoh.
"Uh, Conrad!" Yuuri smiled nervously, he really had no idea how to act in this situation. He thought to himself as to what Gwendel had not said as that conversation never happened. He bowed his own head, suddenly unable to find the strength to look Conrad in the eyes. "…I'm sorry, I'm sorry you two got in a fight because of me, and then I went it worse and THEN bailed on you both. I'm so, so incredibly sorry."
Conrad put his hand on Yuuri's shoulder lightly, "What are you talking about, Yuuri? If anything we should apologize to you. Wolfram acted completely inappropriately for a person in his rank and I acted out of violence, it must have scared you. I apologize for that."
Yuuri's head lifted to look at Conrad in complete disbelief. "…How do you come up with that sort of thing?" He just… didn't understand these people at all. It came to him simultaneously to seeing Conrad's face. That man just knew how to smooth things over, but didn't he see that Yuuri was the one who had to smooth things over- that HE was the one who messed up? He really didn't like the idea that Conrad was covering up his own mistakes that he made against Conrad himself, that would be so unfair!
Conrad seemed to notice how his attempt had faltered, sputtered, and ground to a halt in a course of seconds.
He looked down at Yuuri, connecting their eyes.
"…What was the outcome?" Yuuri asked, though he did feel as if he had no right to know, after running off like that. "…I'm pathetic, I don't even know how you played it off, did you convince him he was imagining it or did you tell him the truth…" Yuuri rubbed the forming traces of saline from his eyes. "I can't believe how weak I am to just dump such a thing on you both."
"…Yuuri…" Conrad pulled Yuuri into an embrace that was more of a platonic comfort than Yuuri thought he could take at the given circumstances.
He actually felt worse, somehow, when Conrad had done that. It was worse than twenty steps back, it felt like Conrad had somehow cut the strings that connected their hearts, and with that, Yuuri could already feel himself fraying.
Yuuri's shoulders slumped. "What did you tell him?" His eyes felt like those of the dead as he looked up at Conrad, they couldn't hold any warmth, that coldness was what his body was engulfed in, and behind that cold there were surges of pain, the only thing keeping his eyes from turning to ice, those tears that just kept insisting that they wanted to fall.
Conrad was having a hard time reading Yuuri, at the particular moment, the younger man was all over the place and in such a frequency…
"I told him I love you." Conrad raked his fingers through his hair, pulling the brown bangs from his face, he was acting mature, but a bit of provocation was there, as if he almost wanted to goad Yuuri.
Yuuri looked up at Conrad, it seemed his emotional rollercoaster just hit the breaks and hard. He was stabilizing on an emotion much closer to pleasant then it had just been.
Conrad dropped some of the haughtiness in his pose, though if anything it only bolstered that pride in his heart, he was glad that just by Yuuri hearing that he loved him that the black-haired youth would have such a reaction and come to his senses.
Yuuri looked and felt like someone just after wailing, euphoria wouldn't fit it, but the relief, the catharsis was there. His features were becoming more focused, younger, "Then what happened?"
"We fought of course." Conrad said as if that was a silly question.
"…" Yuuri wasn't quite sure if that was a joke or not, "…You do mean verbally, don't you?" He gave Conrad a look that read loud and clear- CLARIFY.
"Yes, verbally, afterwards, I apologized for striking him out of the blue, but he was being a brat…" Conrad let his close older-brother side show, after all, that kind of attitude and reaction only came from an older brother who really was fond of his little brother. The way his voice spiked playfully made Yuuri find yet another facet of Conrad that was charming, beautiful, and perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, but it was good enough!
Conrad continued after a moment of letting that thought mull in the air, "After he admitted he was out of line for calling his fiancé a slut, he asked why it mattered to me so much and I told him why. Though, had I not, your comment would have blown over until later when he'd question why you walked off."
Conrad figured, he could even see the rage re-boil over and how the blond would pout and stomp his feet until he realized what Yuuri had said, oh, it would have been like clockwork down to the realization of the little word, 'over' and then, well there would have been an eruption.
Yuuri's back slammed against the stone wall, frustrated at himself. He was such an idiot, it really was all his fault. "Then…?"
"Then we fought again, a bit more discretely, though not by much." Conrad said, rubbing the brim of his nose, that basically meant he stopped screaming, Wolfram did not. That was a coin toss between being white-noise to the castle-staff or if the maids would actually listen in today of all days. Usually they would get bored after the first few minutes of Conrad you're not my brother you filthy human blah blah blah, especially as there would normally be no mentions of Yuuri.
"…" Yuuri was looking a bit more miserably again.
"Yuuri, you do realize that fighting with him isn't so horribly uncommon…"
"You're wrong! Conrad, Wolfram- him picking fights, him yelling, THAT is normal, YOU fighting back, that is very, VERY rare. I think I've seen you do it three times beside this." Yuuri stuck out his fingers as he mentally counted. "Yeah, three. And frankly, as twice of that was for military reasons, yes it's uncommon."
Conrad rolled his eyes as he thought to himself just how to convince Yuuri how that really wasn't the case, his tongue slid over his teeth then he looked back toward Yuuri, solution in mind, "That is when you are here and when he and I are both coming and going, believe me, we have a normal… a healthy brotherly relationship."
Yuuri gave him an eerie look as his eyes peered out from their upper corners, eyebrows low, it was actually a pretty strong glare.
"After I told him that I love you we both argued about the ramifications, for the record I didn't tell him if you reciprocate."
"…If?" Yuuri gave Conrad a bit of a peevish look, "You mean I get to start that fight all over again with me in the middle, and probably right after breakfast… if not during?"
Conrad nodded, "Pretty much. I'm sorry, but it isn't something I could really avoid without putting words in your mouth, and even then, he'd expect confirmation or denial. For the record, though, I did convince him to accept my feelings for you."
"Huh…? You mean as one-sided!" Yuuri looked annoyed, "And even if he accepts YOUR feelings for ME you know he's not going to accept MINE for YOU."
"Are you sure? As of yet he hasn't accepted that you didn't have feelings for him without a reason he could understand." Conrad again reminded him of how spoiled and bratty Wolfram really could be, "But if you give him a reason, he should be able to come to terms with that."
"But you're NOT the reason why I don't love him. Don't you think that will just make him resent you?" Yuuri almost felt like questioning Wolfram's immaturity going so far as to endanger Conrad's, but such a thought was so horrifying that he couldn't even bring himself to say it. "We should go to breakfast."
Yuuri just couldn't continue thinking such horrid thoughts, thoughts like that truly did terrify him. Conrad just not being there, he couldn't take that, not even again. Once was more than enough, thanks. As he thought that, he stood up and began to walk toward the breakfast hall.
"Alright." Conrad put his hand on Yuuri's shoulder as he escorted the young maoh to the dining hall.
Yuuri clutched his stomach with one arm, was he really getting that anxious over having to deal with Wolfram?
As if on cue, Wolfram barged toward him, Yuuri dropped his arm back to his side.
"Wolfram, I'm sorry for this morning…"
"What are your feelings for him!" He pointed at Conrad, Yuuri felt as if all of Wolfram's hostility was being shot at him with a laser.
Yuuri lowered his head then looked back at Wolfram, firmly. He should at least be strong so Wolfram didn't question his resolution. "I am in love with Conrad. I can not return your feelings towards me. You and I are not getting married. I am sorry for hurting you."
"Hurt? …Me? You think you could hurt ME!" Wolfram growled angrily, "A wimp like you couldn't hurt anyone, especially ME. The only way would be if I LET you! And you don't mean ENOUGH to me for you to do that!"
"Oh, Wolfy…" Cheri said sadly before returning her attention to the business at hand, sitting down for their meal.
Yuuri just kept looking forward, Wolfram continued to shoot his anger at him, he felt painfully numb inside after hearing such spiteful things, but really, he understood where that sort of feeling came from. "I hope this hasn't ruined anyone's breakfast." Yuuri said after a long pause, he moved to sit down, his sides were hurting, it was like his center of gravity was trying to pull him in.
"I wouldn't care if you dropped dead." Wolfram said infuriated.
No one bothered to correct the fuming blond, merely to look down at the meal to begin eating, in silence.
As onyx eyes spotted the sweet meal laying in front of him, something kept nagging at him, his sides hurting far too much to be normal. His fork clinked against the plate before clattering onto it, dropped and disregarded. He slumped slightly forward then slid off his chair to the right and onto the ground, his body stiff.
"Yuuri…" Wolfram glanced at him, concerned, as if he decided it was a bad joke he turned his nose up, "You're not funny at all."
"Yuuri!" Conrad rushed over to him.
Gunter, Gwendel, and Cheri were quickly out of their seats, standing in shock. Cheri cupped her hands, her fingers before her lips, "Oh my, your majesty!"
"…Yuuri…" Conrad shook his shoulder slightly, "Yuuri?" Conrad's eyes winced closed, tears in the corner before snapping open working strictly on soldier-mode.
He laid Yuuri face up, back stretched, though it had taken a bit of effort. He unbuttoned Yuuri's shirt, he had been pawing at his own stomach, maybe something had injured him and he hadn't known… something not fully healed… Conrad's eyes shot wide at the sight of Yuuri's bare chest.
He stood up and turned around, clutching the hilt of his sword.
"Sir Weller! Where are you going?!" Gunter asked in complete disbelief.
"…Toes." He said bitterly.
Gwendel and Wolfram winced before reaching that side of the table to see what had so inspired the royal guard so.
Gwendel looked at Gunter, who in turn after spotting the marks nodded and turned to leave, himself.
Wolfram grabbed Yuuri's hand. "I told you! You're not funny! Wake up, this is a bad, bad joke!"
He shook his head to inform the hand that just planted itself on his shoulder that he wasn't about to let go of that hand. Gwendel squeezed once, Wolfram then relented quite annoyed. Gwendel lifted Yuuri's unconscious form and carried the youth back toward the king's chamber.
His abdomen was laced with intricate spells set around pentacles and magical markers but the spell itself, though the exacts may have a bit left to decipher, was perfectly clear. Contingency plan.
The markings were charred as if it was burning its way through the maoh's body. Spells like that didn't just come into being, no, things like that required a long ritual, seeding-time, and skill. Also, they required the casting sorcerer to keep it going.
That left Conrad with two options, one, convince the gentleman in the holding cell he no longer wants to have the spell cast, or two which, Conrad must admit was his preferred option, to kill him. Horrifically, painfully kill him dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Would that be considered overkill? Conrad presumed he could kill the scum five times over before he could hit the floor.
While Yuuri had been kept well in the dark to Conrad's delight, Yozak was currently guarding four assassins before their execution which was scheduled to take place within a few hours. However, as spells like that took more time to cultivate then what the sorceress had for it to go to completion …
He put together a mental time-line, out of the set of assassins, only one had the magical ability, opportunity, and right time-frame for that spell to be in that far of a stage. Oh, wouldn't he be lucky.
Conrad's eyes darkened, no, he'd never show Yuuri such a face if he could avoid it, it had once partly slipped through. One of the very few times the two had ever had a fight of any sort, Yuuri had wanted to heal a person who had just attacked him, Conrad had been tempted to just take out his sword and finish him off then and there, but was contented in just keeping Yuuri far enough away. Oh he had been tempted.
As it were, he didn't have to keep Yuuri at arm's reach at the exact moment.
Gunter was winding through the library scanning through the books of spells, historic mystical symbols, archaic magic, and a few books on a particular order that must be 'new'.
Upon referencing the crest for the Venomous Mages he already recognized three of the fifteen symbols lining Yuuri's chest and stomach. He had recognized two amplifiers and suppressors in there, meaning he would only have to find the other eight symbols. The general idea would be four elements knowing this sect, a time displacement, sleep, mechanism of death and symbol of death. Really, it was crude. And lo, as he searched the reference materials, there they were just as suspected.
Gunter scowled when he came upon mechanism of death. That was rather cruel on their behalf, really now, though their name did suggest that was their fancy.
They were channeling in the pains of grey squirrel venom, or at least that would be the case if Gunter didn't counter it. He looked at the position of the sun. It had been seven days since Yuuri had been bitten and marked, with the time displacement spell of that caliber it would probably require at least three more days to surpass the maoh's own powers regardless of the suppressors and amplifiers.
He took out a parchment and quill before sending for Gisela.
Conrad stood before the slightly-worse-for-the-wear sorcerer assassin.
"Oh, I see you're back. Has it been a week already?" He smirked, though he still seemed nauseous.
"Let me guess, you're using your life energy to enhance it, am I right?" Conrad mentioned he smiled warmly.
"True, but here's something you probably didn't know, he's going to wake up in another few hours. Do you want to know how that spell's going to kill him? I'll tell you."
"Sure, why not." Conrad said, humming to himself the stabby-knife song. (Stabbity-stab-stab-stabby-stab goes the knife. What a great drinking song soldiers make up.)
"He'll get to go through a tediously slow rendition of grey squirrel poison. Except anti-venom's not going to work, neither will bringing him into the shade. I can't wait 'til he gets to stage two. He'll probably just try to do himself in."
Conrad held the knife making the blade roll over each finger as if it were a baton.
"I should also add, for the record, that spell has a time-displacer which means even after you kill me, that baby's going to keep running for another day and a HALF." He smirked. "Well beyond enough time for him to enter stage TWO." He held up his two left fingers that Conrad had so lovingly peeled the nails off.
"Is that why you seem in such a good mood?" Conrad asked.
"Well, you see, the thing is, if I take the spell off, all of it goes poof away, no wait or lag."
"Oh, I see, so you'd like to beg."
"Bargain."
"For how long, until you think the spell needs to get to a critical point?" Conrad rhetorically countered. "You know, if the spell is simply disenchanted, it also will just poof away."
"You didn't even know about our group, so why don't you explain how you'll figure that out." He kept that smug look on his face just long enough for Conrad to decide that maybe, just maybe, he was mean spirited.
"Ever hear of lying? Your clan was formed 300 years ago, though it also fell into poverty and only reemerged 160 years ago with any promise, gained a little popularity 60 years ago, and went dormant during the war because your big players were too busy selling their own services versus the group's."
The man sat up, blinking, a bit shocked.
"You know what, I may just keep you alive a little longer. That way, once Gunter counters those little squiggles you seem to think of as powerful magic, I can take my time with you. I've been told by many that my company is wonderful. I'll spend days with you, oh you'll recall each minute of that time too." He peeled off the rest of the sorcerer's nails with little effort.
Smiling, he waited until the screams quieted, then he took out the salt. Shortly after dressing the other's wounds with such a lovely antibacterial agent, he left the cell with promises of 'later'.
"Guard, on the half-hour marks you're to salt those again. All of them." His eyes were dark. "And, I'd make sure to be prompt if I were you."
The guard shivered; somehow Conrad's impersonation of Gisela had been stunning, as he had gotten the same reaction. "Sir, yes sir!"
Conrad waltzed toward Gunter's office to see the progress.
--To Be Continued-- by Vanessa S. Quest