Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, this is purely fan-made!

Chapter 8: Forget-Me-Not

Despite their uncertainty at first about my reactions when I met each of them for the first time since I lost my memories of them, they were relieved to find that I slightly recognized them right away. Something about them just clicked to me in a way that I never expected or dared to hope for.

The rest of that day passed like this and I was so happy each time I remembered something new; no matter hos insignificant it may have seemed to anyone else. Because each small thing I remembered was precious to me, and I clung to each of them like a lifeline back to my old life. The life I wanted back so badly that it ached...

Of course, nothing was perfect. There were still noticeable gaps in my memory that were slow or difficult to fill in. Like their names for instance. However, when they tried to introduce themselves to me one at a time after I passed my check up with Geisila with flying colors, at least physically, I immediately stated that I wanted to remember their names on my own.

"I know this might sound silly but, I don't want my memories just handed to me," I told them sincerely, "If I don't remember them for myself then how do I know they're not lies? Not that I think you'd lie to me, I know in my heart that I can trust you, it's just that, well, Stoffel tried to plant ideas about himself in my head that weren't entirely honest at first..." then I added quickly, "By the way, is he ok? I feel really bad about running away like I did. It wasn't his fault that I started to freak out. He was nothing but kind to me. And towards the end, before my break down, I really think that Stoffel was trying to genuinely help me remember you guys but he just didn't know how. And by that point I had hit my limit."

"We believe you," Gwendal said unconvincingly, "But he still should have contacted us the instant you came back here so that it didn't get to that point."

I frowned, "You guys really don't like him do you?"

"You don't remember-" Wolfram began angrily before he quickly stopped himself and said, "Anyway, now that you're feeling better there's something I wanted to show you. If that's ok." he added quietly.

"Are you always like this?" I asked out of the blue, "I have a feeling that you're not normally so meek-"

"Well...I..." Wolfram said bashfully, "...I just don't want to hurt you, that's all! I care about you too much to let my usual outbursts put you in harms way. Because, this isn't like all the other messes you've gotten into before. At least back then you could protect yourself, but now, even I can hurt you with a careless comment."

"But why?" I asked all of them, "Why do you guys care so much? Is it just because I'm your King...?" then I trailed off a bit before saying more cheerfully, "There's so much I still don't remember and I can't go back to being your King until I do right? So if there's a way that I can remember faster then I'm all for it! I mean, you guys can use magic right? Well, except for you-" I nodded absentmindedly at Conrad before blinking in surprise and smiling, "Hey! I just remembered that! You said something about that when we first met right?"

"That's right," Conrad smiled lightly, "I can't use magic. Well done Your Majesty."

"You always used to call me that!" I pouted childishly, but with a silly grin still on my face, "I have a name you know-" then I became somewhat sentimental on them and said, "-my name...when I remembered that name, Yuri, that's when more of my life finally began to fall back into place. So maybe, if I can just remember YOUR names, it will work the same way. I have to believe that I can remember because I know in my heart that you are all very important to me, even when my memories haven't come back yet. I trust my heart to know the things I don't know in my head yet. And you'll help me, right?"

"Of course!" Wolfram puffed, "Whatever it takes, we'll help you remember! I promise Yuri..."

I grinned, "I'm counting on you guys."

"So uh, what is it exactly that you wanted to show me?" I asked Wolfram as he pulled me along.

After talking with them about what to do about my memories and how to keep me safe, I'm surprised that they let me go off alone with Wolfram. I guess he had changed enough over the course of our time together in the past that they felt that he could be trusted not to do something reckless. Although, if they had realized where Wolfram was planning to take me, they might not have been convinced...

"When we get there, I'll tell you if you. That is, if you don't remember anything at first on your own. But I think that this will definitely jog your memory!" Wolfram smirked confidently, "Our love will prove stronger and you'll remember me! I'm certain of it!"

I blinked, blushing slightly at the implication I felt he was making, "Love...? You make it sound like we're a-"

"Here we are!" Wolfram grinned, opening the doors and leading me inside, "So, what do you think Yuri? Isn't this place familiar?"

The place he had brought me to was the guest wing of the castle. It had apparently been in disuse for many years, long before I ever came there. The foyer was wide and led up to a single staircase that then split into two to reach the second floor. In between those steps mounted on the wall there was the faded portrait of some noblewoman who might have even been a previous Demon Queen. I'm not sure though, because I didn't ask...

I glanced around a bit more at the old building before shrugging, "Sort of. I feel like I might have been in here before but...the only thing I'm thinking about at the moment is that this place is a wreck and needs some serious dusting-" carefully, I inched over to the large hole in the floor and peered down into the darkness, "-and someone should really cover up this huge hole in the floor. Someone could get hurt if they-!"

I stopped however when I saw a flash of myself falling through the floor and him trying to pull me out, only to have the floor give way and we both fell. But before I could see what happened next, I jerked out of the flashback and stood there, staring down the hole.

"Did you remember something?" Wolfram asked hopefully, noting my reaction.

"Yeah, sort of. I remembered when you tried to save me when I fell through this hole in the floor," I smiled, "I guess you really do care about me don't you? I saw that look in your eyes and I could tell that I wasn't just your King, you see me as something else, meaning that we're friends too, right?"

I could tell that my response didn't exactly please Wolfram, but he held his tongue for the moment about the whole fiance' thing and said simply, "I guess you could say that. It did take me awhile to warm up to you after you became our Demon King. I was just hoping that this place would bring back a happier memory. After all, when we first met, I wasn't exactly kind to you. In fact, I hated your guts."

That surprised me so I asked, "You hated me? Why? What did I ever do to you?"

Wolfram chose his words with the utmost care as he explained to me, "Well, now that I looked back, I absolutely hated anyone with human ties or who had human blood. So when you came along, a half-human demon who was going to become our King, I despised you and even insulted your mother. That's when-" he cleared his throat before stating, "-well in any event, we had a duel over it and I lost. But what you said just before the duel ended is where it really started. You said that I needed to change. And besides that, losing to a wimp like you made me realize that maybe it wasn't going to be so bad having you as our King. As long as I was there to keep you on track..."

"Wait a second..." I asked, "...you just said 'half-human,' does that mean that being the Demon King is more than a title?" then-most likely because the idea my mother always had about demons-I twisted around to look at my back and said, "Aren't demons supposed to have wings?"

"Of course not!" Wolfram puffed, "What would give you a silly idea like that?"

I blushed, "My mom..."

"Oh..." Wolfram blinked, feeling slightly abashed because of what he just said about once insulting her.

I shook my head, "A-anyway, lets get out of here. It's kinda spooky..."

Wolfram sighed heavily, obviously disappointed, "Alright Yuri, lets go."

I nodded and began to follow after him when I heard the floor creak underneath him and gasped, "Look out!"

He turned, "Wha-?"

That's when I lunged at him, arms outstretched, and knocked him away before the floor collapsed further around that same hole. I, however, wasn't so lucky. After Wolfram cleared the hole, I was hanging on by only my throwing arm, dangling helplessly above the darkness...

Why does this also seem familiar...? I asked myself stupidly, forgetting for a second that I was about to plummet to my doom.

"Yuri!" Wolfram cried, grabbing my hand, "I've got you, just hold on!"

"O-ok..." I muttered before dozens of flashbacks began to spin dizzily through my mind...

I saw myself yelling at Wolfram as we all stood facing each other at the dinner table; I saw Wolfram being lifted into the air by dragons made entirely of water; I saw myself posing for a painting of his that was anything but realistic; and lastly, I saw the two of us surrounded by giant cocoons and me saying to Wolfram as he pointed his sword at me-

"Hey Wolfram, since you're bringing love into this I gotta ask-don't you think it's odd to kill something all in the name of love?" I asked him simply.

"What do mean?" Wolfram challenged.

So I replied, "Doesn't being in love mean that your nice, friendly, considerate, and kind? You know, like saving the life of that special person you care so much about?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I'm trying to do!" Wolfram retorted.

"If you'd do it for me you should do it for them!" I told him firmly, pointing to the large cocoon behind me.

Wolfram frowned, "I don't understand all this nonsense!"

Frowning just as deeply, I shouted, "I'm just saying that love isn't just something you give to one person while you say screw you to everybody else on this planet! Shouldn't you share your love with every living thing?"

His eyes widened for a moment before Wolfram slightly lowered his sword, "Your unbelievable," then he took another step and rose his sword again at me, "Apparently you're a flirt through and through!"

I waved my hands and said nervously, "No, that's not what I'm getting at!"

"Love is something I bestow upon one person! The one I gave my heart to! It isn't possible to give my love to everything, that's exactly why we have to attack humans in order to protect our Demon Tribe!" Wolfram shouted back.

Desperately, I cried, "You've got it all wrong! Don't you see? All the love you give will come right back to you, when you share it even humans give it back! They must be the same!"

I blinked, trying to clear my vision as Wolfram finally pulled me up to safety. After we were both on solid ground, I stared at him. In just that one moment, I remembered so much about Wolfram. So much that it was overwhelming.

"Wolfram," I whispered, testing the name out loud while I was still staring blankly at him, "That's who you are. Your name is Wolfram," and then, when I told him all those things I remembered, his cheeks reddened and he embraced me, holding me so tight that I could hardly breath.

And with thick affection in his voice, threatening to start crying, Wolfram said bluntly, "I love you Yuri, that's all that matters to me. I don't care that you know my name, as long as you remember that I love you, no matter what!"

After we told the others about our little adventure, Wolfram got thoroughly scolded for endangering me like that when he knew that place still hadn't been renovated yet. But when Wolfram explained how much I remembered, that seemed to curb a little of Gwendal's frustration. Especially since it meant that I was beginning to make progress now that I was back in the castle.

"Well, at least this proves that Raven's observation was correct," Gwendal sighed, "His Highness seems to remember things better when he visits places of significance. Although we obviously can't take him out of the country to see certain places for his own safety, we might be able to risk letting him visit a few places around the Kingdom."

That's when Gunter spoke up, "What about that latest project that Lady Anissina's been working on? She says that it might help restore his memory all at once. But do you think it is worth the risk? After all-" he glanced at me nervously, "I've received a number of worrisome reports that tell me someone might have heard about his condition. And I think that they might try to-"

"Gunter!" Gwendal hissed, "Not here."

"What'd you mean 'someone'?" I asked him suspiciously, "You mean like someone who would try and use my amnesia against me? Like Stoffel did at first? Hmm..." I crossed my arms thoughtfully, "...so uh, what IS this project he's talking about? I won't have to be strapped into a freaky machine will I? It was bad enough when I was wired up at the hospital back on Earth. I don't want to be reminded of that..."

Gwendal's eyes softened and he explained, "No. This time, it's not a machine she's been working on. I've heard that it's some sort of potion made from Forget-Me-Not's and other herbs that stimulate the long-term and short-term memory-"

"Forget-Me-Not's?" I laughed, "As in the flower? That's just silly! How can a flower help me remember anything? Unless, those flowers are magical in this world? I didn't think of that..." I admitted shamefully, "...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of it. I mean, if it really works then I won't have to go anywhere else right? If someone really is going to come after me, then I think its better to try this before something REALLY bad happens."

Gwendal thought about it for a moment before turning to Conrad, who nodded and said, "Just to be safe, perhaps one of us should test it first. Then, if it is safe, we'll allow His Highness to try it. With Geisila on standby of course should something go wrong. Lady Ulrike is still doing research at the Tomb of the Great One with His Eminence and looking up cases of memory-loss that have recovered by use of a certain power or skill. Other then that, the only thing we can possibly do is do just as Wolfram had and bring him to places that he is sure to recognize. However, both of those cases will take quite a while and if someone HAS heard of his amnesia then I have no doubt that they will exploit it. I only hope it isn't someone from Big Shimaron."

"I'll try the potion!" Gunter offered boldly, "I've suffered poison for him before and I shall again for my beloved Majesty!" As per usual, Gunter began to list all the things he would suffer in my stead and the risks he would take before, instinctively, I covered his mouth with both hands.

I smiled brightly though and laughed, "Ok! Ok, we get it! I feel very loved, but can we focus on actually trying it?" I removed my hands, still smiling boyishly, "Believe me, if I have more friends out there like you who are willing to do so much for me, then I want to remember all that as soon as I can! I mean, I sorta remembered Wolfram but..." feeling a little bit discouraged, I looked down at the floor, "...I just wish it didn't hurt to remember. Because maybe, some part of me is scared of being hurt like I was that day so that's why I can't remember as much all at once-"

Wolfram's eyes widened, "You didn't say anything about those flashbacks hurting you Yuri! If I had known that-"

But I shook my head, "No, it's ok. I don't mind a little pain if it means getting my life back. It's just frustrating that this is taking so long. And I'm just scared that if I don't remember things soon, I'll start to forget again, just like what happened in castle Spitzbeg. I was away from familiar faces and things from home that I...I..." and as I usually did, I clutched Julia's pendant for comfort and said, "...I started to forget little things about them, things that I fought so hard just to remember the first time. I can't let that happen here too! So yeah, I'll admit it, it hurts to remember. But, it will hurt a lot more if I forget again..."

"Your Highness..." Gunter mumbled affectionately.

"We'll do all that we can for you Yuri," Gwendal said to me, lifting my chin and giving me one of his brightest, rarest smiles, "I promise you that, so just bear with us a little longer. We can't rush something like this without endangering your health. And none of us here could bear the thought of almost losing you again. Therefore, as much as I hate to risk it, we'll try this elixir of Anissina's. And if it doesn't work, well we'll just keep on trying. We won't give up," and then, if possible, he smiled even brighter and said warmly, "That is something that YOU taught me Your Highness..."