Author's Note: I am very, very sorry this has been so long in coming. It's been a crazy time for me. And I got kinda distracted by my Tactics fic. It's almost done. Much less epic than my KKM stuff. And it's nearly summer! Summer, when you go to work and then you're done. No homework and long-term projects. Just friends, free time, and fanfiction. Good times shall be had by all. I really didn't mean to leave you with the avalanche cliffhanger for that long. No ninjas, please.

On another note, with the release of Season 3 and the OVA, this fic and associated stuff of mine (With Love, White Tiger, My Beloved, and Opaline) are now officially non-canon, or rather canon only up to Season 2. Frankly, I'm not impressed with the OVA. The OVA has all the stylistic problem of the earliest episodes with the maou showing up for every problem and nothing ever being accomplished, just ceaseless adventure-a-day stories that no one cares about and which make little or no sense. Not that I demand sense from Kyo Kara Maoh, but there's a charm the OVA seems to me to miss. The new season may be interesting. I haven't seen enough to judge fully yet, but it definitely shows promise. In any case, it's definitely not in line with my imaginings. Though I seem to have nailed the "Wolfram's paternal relatives suck" angle. I'm nominating Wolfram's uncle for sketchiest character in KKM history. So henceforth, only what was true up through episode 78 holds in my KKM continuum. Unless… I happen to change my mind. There could definitely be some picking and choosing if Season 3 has something too good to pass up, but my plots are already contradicted a time or two. It's possible that when it's all aired I'll just declare this season 4 in which recent events were strangely not mentioned. Whatever. Hope no one minds. Now I stop rambling.

Yuuri froze, and Conrad and Gunter both reached for their swords, then stopped, looking very disturbed. Nope, couldn't disembowel a cataclysmic wave of solid ice and rocks. Didn't work that way. Yuuri would have laughed if he wasn't fairly sure they were all about to die.

Wolfram grabbed his arm. "Cave. Now!" Maddox was already running toward a small, dark gap in the rock face. It seemed impossible to make it in time, impossible that they'd all fit. But Wolfram and Maddox certainly knew better than the rest of them. And what other choice did they have? Yuuri could perhaps have blocked the snow by exhausting himself with the maou's power. He'd done it once before. But this way seemed viable, too.

Wolfram tugged him through, swinging Yuuri into what turned out to be a much more spacious cave than he'd expected. Conrad stumbled through after them, almost whacking his head on the ceiling. Gunter avoided that fate only by being knocked over as he entered by a rush of snow that made it inside.

Conrad helped him up. "If I don't miss my guess we're completely trapped now… If alive."

"Well, you actually miss it completely." Wolfram pointed into the back of the cave. As Yuuri's eyes adjusted to the dim light, he realized it wasn't just shadow but a tunnel.

"But that could lead anywhere," he said hesitantly. Maybe it'd be easier to crawl out through the snow. They could try melting it. Wolfram's fire would take it right out.

"Not really." Maddox snapped his fingers, glared at them, and snapped again twice before a tiny flame appeared. Wolfram rolled his eyes and summoned one to his palm with a thought, then stopped and looked rather stunned. Maddox snorted. "Yes, master sorcerer, we're all impressed. But any of the tunnels under the mountains will lead us to elves. They might take us prisoner, but we'll get through to Alapai eventually, and it'd be hell to travel out in that storm anyway."

Yuuri was getting very curious about these elves. And more than a little worried. But he agreed they shouldn't be outside if they could help it. Gunter already looked sick, and it had been very hard going even the little ways they'd walked. "Wolfram, is he right?"

"Essentially. I don't know this area very well. But eventually we'll hit at least a patrol or construction crew." Wolfram shrugged. "It'll be better to be out of the storm, and we'll find someone eventually." He leaned in a bit conspiratorially. "Besides, I think we'd better get Gunter out of the snow."

Yuuri nodded. Gunter did look very ill, and at this point it couldn't just be that he was hung over. Yuuri had never thought of him as delicate, but he seemed very ill-suited to this snow. Remembering the warm, dry hills around his home, Yuuri wasn't surprised Gunter did best in direct sunlight.

The tunnel was pretty cold itself. The lack of wind was a blessing, but with only Wolfram's small handful of fire between them and absolute subterranean darkness, the chill had a bone-deep, smothering quality. Yuuri was feeling a bit sleepy within just half an hour of walking. He kept stumbling. Wolfram kept punching him on the arm. He wasn't sure if that was supposed to help him or just keep Wolfram awake.

He was roused completely and abruptly when they rounded a corner and walked right into a bristling wall of spears and blinding light. Yuuri winced. There was a sharp metal tip in his shoulder. And right where Wolfram had been punching him, too. Now he was going to have a cut on top of a bruise, which hardly seemed fair.

"Halt!" That seemed unnecessary. No one was trying to move. Even Conrad didn't have his sword out. Yuuri didn't doubt it'd come out if needed, but Wolfram and Maddox both looked relaxed, and they had said this might happen. Gunter sneezed.

Once Yuuri's eyes adjusted to the sudden light (which was only bright compared to the rest of the tunnel), he finally got a look at the elves. Hardly the little Santa's helpers he'd envisioned. They all looked at least two meters tall. Their skin was a dark bluish-gray shade and their hair ranged from white to silvery gray or blue. All of them wore sleek, black armor. All the ones with spears were female. Three men stood in the back holding lanterns. They were a bit shorter and, Yuuri thought, less scary looking.

Wolfram stuck his nose in the air. "I am Wolfram Von Bielefeld. I have visited the Court Under the Mountain many times, as has my brother Maddox. If you contact Alapai he'll speak for me."

"No need. I recognize you, Bielefeld." A short elf in slightly more ornate armor and a helm shaped like a wolf's head set down her spear. "Any chance you're here to apologize for your father and offer restitutions?"

Wolfram winced, and Yuuri felt his pain. "What's he done now?"

"You're lucky I know you're not at home much. I'll let the prince tell you. Come on, then. All of you." She motioned and the other elves lowered their spears. "Captain Adelgonde, since you clearly don't remember me."

Wolfram might have been wincing at the brusque familiarity, actually. Yuuri wasn't very sympathetic. He needed to learn to lighten up. At least he looked suitably chagrined at forgetting the woman's name. "I apologize. Maddox you know. This is my brother, Lord Conrart Weller." Wolfram appeared not to notice that he had just willingly introduced Conrad as family. Yuuri decided not to say anything, but he smiled, and Conrad looked sort of touched. "My fiancé, Yuuri, Maou of Shin Makoku." The elves didn't bat an eyelash upon hearing his title. He liked that. "And Lord Gunter Von Christ."

Gunter bowed. Then he sneezed again. He finally pulled out a handkerchief. There were a few snickers from the elves. Adelgonde nodded to each of them in turn and began walking. Yuuri liked the elves more and more. No ceremony, no exclaiming over his titles, no etiquette.

He'd expected to come right to their destination, but the walk with the elfish soldiers was even longer than the walk before. Yuuri was absolutely freezing soon. They walked slower to accommodate the elves' armor and the fact that they were on patrol. The cold got deep and bitter and sharp. He eventually just took Wolfram's hand. At least their fingers could be warm.

They emerged from the narrow tunnel onto a cliffside overlooking a city carved from the living stone. It twinkled with a cold light, not fire from friendly torches but the same bright, steady glow that the patrol's torches gave. It made everyone and everything look ghostly. Yuuri shivered a bit from something other the cold as they picked their way down the steep, rather slippery road into the city.

He didn't feel very welcome walking the streets. There weren't many people, and the few elves out and about were as cold and ethereal as their lamps. And a bit hostile, Yuuri couldn't help but think. At least the children seemed interested in them. As far as Yuuri could tell, they were mostly talking about Wolfram's hair. Well, it was a little piece of sunlight in this subterranean world. Yuuri reached over and ruffled Wolfram's curls without thinking. He got scowled at for it, and supposed it was bolder than he should have been in public. Really, though, he just wanted to voice his agreement with their tiny elfish entourage.

They were admitted to the largest building in the city. Yuuri was pretty sure it was a castle, though it wasn't one given to grandeur, carved from the same dark gray stone as every other structure, its architecture sparse and utilitarian. Maybe Covenant Castle spoiled him, but it seemed like a grim place to hold a court.

Inside it was a little nicer. There were wall hangings and some decorations. Yuuri had a sense the ornaments were all very precious gems, unspeakably valuable and of an artistry human hands could barely aspire to, but he really didn't have the eye to tell. However fine the little statues and knick-knacks might have been, they too looked otherworldly and cold.

Throne rooms, Yuuri was beginning to believe, were the one truly universal phenomenon. There was no society in which whoever was in power didn't like to sit in a large, uncomfortable chair above everyone's head and look important.

This throne was occupied by a woman with long, silver hair clad in a coat that reminded Yuuri a bit of Gwendal's, only black. At her side was a boy Yuuri thought about his own age. Unlike most of the elves, he was actually smiling. There was even a spot of color on his clothes, a red flower carved from some stone that clasped his collar. As the ragtag party entered, he ran down from the dais, arms extended and long cloak flowing behind him.

"Wolfram!"

"Alapai!"

Yuuri told himself up until the moment it happened that there wasn't going to be a hug. At least it wasn't much of a hug. He still bristled enough that Maddox, standing next to him, laughed.

"Relax, Your Majesty. In filial terms, Wolfram considers Tall, Dark, and Spooky there to be far more his brother than he does me, or probably Conrart."

Yuuri hoped that was true. He'd already gotten in more trouble than he could take with his jealousy over Arianwyn. If he complained about this friendly elf, he'd be on the outs with Wolfram for months. So he smiled and approached the two.

Fortunately, Wolfram wouldn't let etiquette slide just because he was among elves. "Yuuri, this is Alapai, the Crown Prince Under the Mountain. Alapai, this is my fiancé, Yuuri, the maou."

"Pleased to meet you." Alapai bowed. It was a sweeping, graceful movement. The layers of his flowing robes caught whatever drafts were in the room and blew cloak and billowing hems behind him. Yuuri was reminded a little of Mael and tried to ignore it. The elf prince was otherwise nothing like Wolfram's brother, after all. His smile was warm and genuine and his eyes were kind. He spoke with a slight, peculiar accent, every consonant soft and purring. Overall, he put Yuuri in mind of a giant, sleek housecat.

"You've known Wolfram a long time?"

"All his life and most of mine. Our parents thought it wise to foster peace between our peoples. He spent almost a year living in my mother's court, and I managed some months with him."

"Only a few months?" That didn't seem exactly fair.

"Well, honestly, Yuuri, we couldn't ask him to live on the surface any longer." Wolfram scoffed. "He could only go out at night. The sun hurt his eyes and he was always too hot. He could only stay for that winter."

"Oh. I guess I didn't think." Yuuri snatched a glance at Alapai's eyes. They were almost completely white with slit pupils. He could see the prince having trouble with sunlight. "Well, thanks for looking out for Wolfram, anyway."

"I could say the same to you. He looks very happy."

"Ahem!" Wolfram abruptly whacked both of them with an open hand. "I'm standing right here. You're two of a kind in the way of rudeness." He was smiling, though. Yuuri was willing to bet he didn't mind much. Alapai stuck out his tongue in response to Wolfram's scolding.

Yuuri jumped and tried to hide it. One didn't realize how much one expected a tongue to be pink until seeing a blue one. That was more disconcerting than all the tall, oddly complexioned elves he'd seen yet.

"Wolfram!" An imperious female voice from behind them made Yuuri jump again. At least this time it wasn't rude. He turned. The lady on the throne had stood and was looking down at them. "If you're done greeting my son, I would like a word."

Wolfram bowed, nodded to Yuuri and Alapai, and hurried up the steps. Yuuri tried to think of something to say to Alapai in the meantime. He shifted and coughed a bit. "Um… what's your Mother want to talk to Wolfram about?" Wow, that wasn't a lame conversation or anything.

"It's been a difficult few months. The people are eager to blame Lord Bielefeld. He's a friend to our people only when it suits him, and he's been much less friendly with Wolfram living away from home. The mountain seems angry. There's little game for our hunting parties. More and worse storms than are usual for this time of year have hit. The beasts that usually stay far from our settlements have attacked stragglers and even small villages. All in all, we've had bad luck, and you always want someone to be responsible." Alapai shrugged. The movement made all his drapery wave.

"Bad luck?" Misfortune coming about in clusters and clouds… Wolfram had wanted to blame the disasters in the area on his father, but Yuuri saw no way to blame Evert for storms and monsters. "We came to look for a plant. It's called the Tears of El."

"I don't know all the human words for plants and animals. We usually don't see the same ones underground."

"You know this one, Alapai." Maddox strolled over. "It's the one you showed me last time I was here. The one with the dusty smell that you told me was cursed and I shouldn't approach."

The prince spoke a word Yuuri found quite unintelligible. It might have been a swear or the elfish name for the plant. "Why would you seek this?"

"Because our enemies are trying to use it against us." Conrad joined them as well. "We want to know at least as much as they do."

Alapai grunted in reply, gazing into space for a moment. "When the storm has calmed I can take you to the valley where they grow. We don't go there. It's a cursed, frightening place."

Yuuri nodded. He was ready to deal with malignant magic. "What do you think, Gunter?" He felt bad for leaving the poor man out of their conversation.

Gunter answered with a sniffle. "A wise course of action, provided it's treated with proper care. Achoo!"

Yuuri wished he had a spare handkerchief to offer, but it wasn't the sort of object he usually had on him. Alapai suddenly strode past him and took Gunter's arm with a warm smile. "I know exactly how you feel. I'm similarly wrong-footed whenever I'm stuck up on the surface."

"It's only a cold. I'll be fine."

"Of course. But no reason to take more time recovering than you need to. As soon as Wolfram's spoken to Mother why don't we all head down to the family dining chamber? I'm sure you could use a hot meal."

Yuuri watched in surprise. "Wow. What a diplomat." Gunter was smiling appreciatively and had quite forgotten to protest about how well he was doing.

"A man of many talents, as I understand him." Conrad smiled. "I've never met any elves before, but it seems the rumors were correct. If Alapai is the crown prince then he must not have any sisters and has to operate in a world he's not quite welcome to. He must feel the need to excel in every princely duty."

Yuuri had noticed the distinct matriarchy the elves displayed as well. "Well, he's pretty good at it."

"Reminds me of a few others I know." Conrad smiled innocently at Yuuri's scowl. "You could form some sort of club."

'Conrart, what are you teasing my fiancé about now?" Wolfram sniffed at him and took Yuuri's arm, hooking it with his own in a very courtly fashion. "The Queen has offered a meal and beds until the storm's over. She wants me to speak to Father. I couldn't promise anything, but she was understanding."

"At least there's one polite ruler in your life, Wolfram." Yuuri didn't duck the light punch on the arm. Alapai led them to a small cave carved out of smooth volcanic glass. It was sort of hard to walk and not very comfortable on the stone benches even with cushions, but the effect was very beautiful.

Servants brought bread, soup, and tea, all hot and delicious. Yuuri carefully didn't ask what was in the soup or what they made bread out of. He had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer. Gunter fell asleep at the table fifteen minutes into the meal.

Yuuri was getting concerned. "Maybe we should leave him here while we go look for the Tears."

"That would break his heart. Besides, we're only getting some plants." Conrad looked almost fondly at Gunter.

"Don't be so cavalier about it. Strange things happen in that valley." Alapai took a long sip from his tea. "…Gunter isn't quite as I imagined him."

"Well, you mostly heard about him from Gwendal." Wolfram shrugged. Yuuri had a sense he'd missed something. "What kinds of strange things?"

"When the smell of the herbs is strongest, in late spring, it's known to be an inauspicious time of year. Our people never make bets or launch campaigns in that month. Those who venture into the valley directly have often come back changed, chased by nightmares. Just going long enough to pick up a few plants should be alright. Prolonged exposure would worry me, as would a large load of the leaves, but your intentions are modest. …I hope?" He raised an eyebrow. Yuuri immediately nodded.

"We probably only need one for a sample. Anissina made it sound like that was enough to work with."

"Anissina's involved?" Yuuri had never seen someone look relieved when that woman's name was mentioned, but Alapai smiled. "That should be alright, then. You should all get some rest if you're done eating. Unless it's very cloudy out I won't be able to go aboveground until after nightfall, and the snow will probably keep falling at least until sunset anyway. You've had a very long day."

"Thank you!" Yuuri smiled politely. Alapai led them to what the elves called guest rooms. Each one was a single, small cave. The elf held the door for Yuuri and then winked at Wolfram. The blond blushed and stepped hurriedly into the room.

As the door swung closed, one of the coldly glowing orbs on the wall blinked to life. Yuuri walked to the bed. "Hey, Wolfram?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry it worked out that way with your father." Yuuri sighed. "I almost wish we hadn't said anything."

"I should have let her sink her claws into my fiancé?" Wolfram made a catlike hissing sound and glared at Yuuri. He had no one else to glare at.

"Oh, come on, Wolfram. You know I wouldn't have done anything with that witch. Not when I have a beautiful fiancé I love so much." Yuuri grinned at the look on Wolfram's face. He was clearly about to start scolding again when Yuuri stole the words right out of his mouth. He looked confused for a moment, then sat down next to Yuuri and hugged him tightly.

"It isn't your fault."

"Maybe. But I'm not making it any easier. I'd hate to be estranged from my family the way you are. And I'm really sorry." He kissed Wolfram's temple softly.

"With a family like yours, of course you wouldn't."

"Well, maybe Shori could use a little estrangement…"

"What upsets me most is that I didn't even breach the subject of a dowry. I can't ask Mother and Stoffel to shoulder the entire burden, and I've got absolutely no fortune of my own yet. I can't ask Gwendal. It isn't his job." Wolfram sighed and looked away.

"It really doesn't matter to me. I mean, I'm the maou. It's not like I'll ever be hurting for money, right?" Yuuri had a sudden thought. "And why do you need a dowry, anyway? On Earth, at least, that custom developed because it was an inducement to marry a girl from a rich family and would go to support her because she wouldn't be working."

"I hope you were planning to look up how a wedding ceremony goes before we get married!" Wolfram whacked Yuuri with a pillow. "You proposed to me. We're certainly in a position that the gifts I present you can be mostly symbolic, but I don't have the funds even for a grand gesture…"

"How about you just tell me how the wedding goes?" It seemed like a decent chance to hear this without Gunter's interjections.

Wolfram rolled his eyes, but after a moment of looking put-upon he nodded. "The parts are determined by who proposed. There are a few extra steps because you're the maou, of course. In a normal noble wedding, the one who proposed waits at his or her front door to receive the one whose hand has been requested. You'll use Covenant Castle. I'll be brought riding a white horse by two members of my family. Ideally my mother and father, but of course that's not always possible. I was planning to ask Gwendal to take Father's place. The dowry is presented before we enter the house. One gift for past, present, and future. You'll give me a robe in your colors and I give you a robe in mine. We go inside and we'll be in front of the waterfall where you had your coronation ceremony. That's where we exchange vows. I don't know them by heart. We'll learn them together. Then we walk into the water together and it's over."

"Into?"

"Well, really we just both put our hands under the flow. Otherwise our wedding clothes would get ruined. I've already got one of the gifts planned."

Yuuri already felt a little silly about Wolfram giving him presents, but if it was that much part of the traditional ceremony, his fiancé would kill him for trying to get rid of it. "It sounds nice. I like it better than the ones I'm used to seeing on Earth." Not that he'd been to many. His aunt had gotten married when he was eight in a very over-the-top Western-style ceremony at a fancy hotel. The was his clearest memory of any wedding.

"I guess we should start getting ready then. I mean, we'll have to get the robes made up…" He was trying very hard to think pragmatically. It might impress Wolfram. More importantly, it might keep Yuuri's mind off the fact that he was actually intending to get married, a fact that he hadn't quite let sink in yet.

"Oh, no, those get passed down through families. I'll have no choice but to borrow it from Father. And it's not going to suit you at all. It's mostly in yellow. Only the trim is blue. Really, there's no one it flatters. The maou's wedding robe is in the treasury, though, waiting for you. Mother showed it to me once when she was considering getting married again a few years ago. You'll like it. It's very plain and elegant."

Yuuri didn't usually care about elegance much, but at least it wouldn't be adorned with, say, a giant rock and a section of purple carpet. "You'll still outshine me as usual."

"Well…" Wolfram suddenly blushed. He'd looked a little flustered the whole conversation, but he now took on the distinct mien of chagrin. "The Daikenja already said I could use the original consort's robe…"

Consort. Yuuri know that Wolfram's official title as his husband would be Prince Consort. So that made sense. But what did Ken have to do with it? "Huh?"

"He was a bit taller than I am, so it might fit a little oddly. Still, pins applied properly can take care of that. Mother's good at that kind of thing."

"Wolfram? You've lost me. What might fit oddly?"

"The robe that the Daikenja wore when he married Shinou, of course! It's ancient, of course, but it's been carefully kept up and is in pretty good shape."

"Muraken was married to Shinou?" Since when? Yuuri realized only then that his jaw had dropped.

"Do you ever pay attention to history? The wedding followed the binding of Soushu almost immediately. Honestly, Yuuri." Wolfram bopped the side of his head. "I really… I just want to wear it. It's beautiful and well made. And it's this wonderful dark gray. I'd usually only be allowed trim that dark, but for a wedding day… It looks like a storm cloud spun into a hundred thin layers of cloth!"

He looked so dreamy for a moment Yuuri couldn't bring himself to say anything. Finally he managed putting his arm around Wolfram and kissing him. "You'll be beautiful." Wolfram smiled and nestled against Yuuri. They stretched out and curled up under the soft elfish blankets. Yuuri didn't get to sleep for a while despite how tired he was. Ken and Shinou? He knew there'd been a lot of intervening lives, but… Wow.

Yuuri was mercifully roused by a dream about Ken in a fluffy, white wedding dress by a knock at the door. "Wolfram! Yuuri! The storm's died down and it's well after dark." It was Alapai's voice. "We should have a quick supper and then get going."

Wolfram sat up rubbing his eyes. "Alright. We're coming." He got up and primped for a few moments in the room's silver mirror. There was no special reason for it. He just felt the need to put his curls back in place, it seemed. Yuuri eventually took his hand and led him out.

The castle was a lot busier than when they'd gone into their rooms. Yuuri wondered if the elves were nocturnal. Though what would be the point when they lived underground? Had they all been out in scouting parties? Gunter joined them after a moment. He looked a little better for the rest.

"Feeling refreshed, Your Majesty?" He bowed to Yuuri. "What a fascinating place. I've wanted to visit an elfish city since I was a child. The culture and customs here are fascinating." His eyes sparkled the way they usually did only when faced with a good book. Or, even better, a chance to tell Yuuri all about a good book.

"You seem almost more elf than mazoku," Alapai said with a smile as he returned, Conrad in tow. "Or at least you look it. You don't have any elf in your background do you?"

"Oh, that's just silly." Gunter laughed politely.

"Not necessarily. Interbreeding's rare, but it's quite possible. I know a girl in the city who's half human."

Yuuri smiled at that. The elves seemed so insular. It was nice to think of them as being more accepting, the way he wished humans and mazoku could be.

There was entertainment with dinner, three dancers in swirling black even more flowing than Alapai's clothes and adorned with silver spangly things. They were accompanied by a very young elf on a lute-like instrument. Yuuri found them hypnotic, a mass of twirling black and silver that looked like the night sky, only spinning. The room smelled like herbs. He was beginning to get sleepy and caught himself leaning on Wolfram's shoulder.

Then, abruptly, it was over. The dancers and musician left and Alapai got up to open a vent on the wall. The herby smell was gone. Suddenly Yuuri was uneasy. "What was that about?"

"Hopefully it will protect you from the effects of the valley. We have no specific method for dealing with the plants, but that's part of a general enchantment to bring good fortune. I'm hoping it will cancel out the plants' effect."

"Oh." Yuuri still didn't like it. "Please tell me next time you're doing magic on you."

"That's Alapai for you. He's as bad as Anissina sometimes." Wolfram shot the elf a look. "They aren't used to it."

"I apologize. Are you ready to go?" He nodded to a maid and she picked up their dishes. "We'll be heading through the city up to the passage to the surface. There'll also be a short walk up on top of the mountain. We don't have a direct route to that cursed place. So everyone better bring their warmest clothes. There's been a snowstorm all day."

There was a brief scramble for winter coats. Wolfram put Yuuri's hat on for him and tied it under his chin, making the maou blush while Conrad smirked and Gunter, well, Gunter sniffled. His handkerchief was looking overworked. Yuuri made him put a scarf on.

The city, like the castle, was more lively as they walked toward the tunnels. Yuuri thought the elves all looked a bit subdued. They were all thin and sort of quiet. He redoubled his resolution to stop the spread of the malignant influence he was chasing. It was hurting everyone, not only humans and mazoku. He even felt sorry for the animals attacking settlements against their natures.

The tunnel they walked through to get to the surface was much smaller than the one they'd taken into the city. It was rougher as well and didn't look like maintenance was very closely tended to. Yuuri was a little afraid it was going to fall in. He could swear he saw bones in some of the tiny side-tunnels coming off it.

"This place is about as spooky as they get," he whispered to Wolfram, who called him a wimp but looked like he agreed.

The sky was very clear outside. The moon was almost full and every star was visible up in the mountain air away from any cities. The cold light from the heavens illuminated an incredible view. Yuuri was glad he had a head for heights. It was beautiful, but everything looked sharp, even the drifts in the snow. The world was carved out of ice and moonlight and ready to slice the unwary. And the snow was waist deep.

Alapai hopped up on what Yuuri thought was a rock for a moment, but he took several steps and it was suddenly clear he was walking on top of the freshly fallen snow.

"Showoff," Wolfram said with a snort. Conrad stepped in front of him.

"Lead the way, and I'll see if I can carve a path for the less gifted among us," he said gently. Alapai had the decency to look a bit chagrined. "Is it very far?"

"I'm not sure. I've never had to break through snow." He sighed. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking. I don't often travel with anyone but elves. We'll go slowly."

"I think we'd better go as fast as we can." Yuuri looked back at Gunter. He was already looking ill again. "Conrad, I'll help you clear a path."

"Unnecessary. If I get too tired, I'll trade with someone, but we only need room for one person to pass." Yuuri rolled his eyes, annoyed at how sensible Conrad was being. Arguing with him would have made this miserably snowy slog a little more tolerable.

The beauty of the night and the mountains got a lot less appealing and a lot more irritating as they walked on. Conrad, Yuuri thought, was starting to look tired, but he grunted and brushed off any offer of help from Yuuri or Wolfram. Gunter, at least, had the sense not to try. He was mostly occupied with coughing anyway.

Yuuri was starting to be ready to give up for the night when Alapai stopped dead beside him. The wind picked up abruptly, cold and bitter. It carried the scent of dust after rain, the scent of an office where no one went and the books just decayed, a musty sepulcher that never received visitors, the house of an old man waiting to die. It was a very sad smell, now that Yuuri was experiencing it without being distracted by his betrothed bleeding in his arms.

Beside him, Wolfram bit his lip. He must have been thinking about the same thing.

"We're here, aren't we?" Gunter's voice was muffled through his scarf, but it was firmer than Yuuri expected.

"Yes. And I don't like it already." Alapai sighed. "It's stronger than it should be this time of year. The valley is protected. There shouldn't be too much snow. But even so, I'd expect enough to bury normal growth."

"Let's just get in and get out." Yuuri didn't want to get any closer to the source of that smell. It was the scent of death and he was afraid, but he couldn't admit that after going through so much to get it. "I know I don't want to spend extra time here."

"Right. We'll head through that cracked boulder." Alapai pointed to a massive rock that had split in the middle untold ages ago so the crack was worn smooth. "It's very steep on the other side. Everyone be careful."

"Is it hard for you?" Conrad grumbled as he forced his way through the snow. "Well, then we're all going to fall straight to the bottom." His mood was definitely sour. Yuuri didn't blame him, but he wished Conrad would be the pillar of sense and pacific calm he usually was.

Through the crack in the boulder was a slope that went almost straight downward. There was little snow, most of it blocked by an ominous rock overhang that also kept out the light of the moon and stars. At least it wasn't too slippery with ice, but even in the best weather the slope would have been hard to climb. Yuuri and Wolfram went down side by side, suggesting handholds to each other.

Yuuri didn't want to move so much as a foot from Wolfram all of a sudden. His fiancé seemed to feel the same way. They were both jumpy and couldn't stop glancing over their shoulders.

"What are you looking for?" Wolfram finally asked.

"I don't know. But you're looking, too." His foot slipped further down the slope than he liked and he felt a rush of panic that continued to make his stomach churn after he'd righted himself. He was frozen for almost a minute before Wolfram nudged Yuuri with his elbow. He nodded and continued down.

"This place is really cursed," Yuuri said as hs feet found the solid floor of the valley. "I… does anyone else feel horrible?"

"Like I just woke up from a bad dream," Wolfram assented, looking pale.

"It's like the moment before a battle, but extended forever." Conrad squinted. "I see the plant, I think."

"I'll get it. I've seen Anissina's diagrams. Wouldn't want to pick some weed by accident." Gunter pulled down the scarf around his neck to speak. His eyes looked haunted to Yuuri, and the maou guessed that he felt the strange influence of the valley worse than any of them.

Gunter walked into the gloom. Yuuri hesitated a moment, then followed, grabbing Wolfram's hand and pulling him along. He didn't think they should split up. "Gunter?"

"I've found one. Just let me get it into the sample jar Anissina gave me."

Yuuri could faintly make out the white shape that was Gunter crouched over a low, scrubby plant that looked very lively, considering the snow. There was something ominous in the picture, even knowing the ghostly figure was his good friend. He moved closer to Wolfram and was raising an arm to put around his shoulders when Gunter's knife flashed too brightly in the gloom (where had the light come from?) and there was a sudden, silent shock that knocked Yuuri off his feet.

Author's Note: Ha, new cliffhanger for the next two months! No, I'm not that evil. I hope. Still… ha!