Author's Note: Hehe, I'm back! Miss me? Lol. Anyway, just for the record, I got a grand total of 3 reviews on the last chapter, most I ever got. (Okay, I'm quite new to fanfic, so sue me.) So I thought we'd celebrate a bit. With what? A new playful chapter! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Kyou Kara Maou or its characters. But the OC and Plot are mine… xD sliver lining…

Chapter 9

Shinou watched as the double black mazoku departed down the hill. He knew that even though he warned her, she wouldn't heed his words.

He sighed as he thought about what he planned to put her through. He shook his head. As if the youth hadn't been through enough already.

Shinou had given his course of action careful thought. He had gone through every single detail, no matter how small, to make sure it was flawless.

Even now, Shinou knew he debated with himself, trying to find another way to do it and still receive the same effect but he had yet to come up with one.

No, there was no other way. And even if he did think of one, it'd be too late to change his plot now. He could only pray that the young woman would make it through unhurt, both physically and mentally.

Thinking also of the heavy burdens he had placed on Suzanna Julia von Wincott's shoulders, he slowly faded away.

Ysabel walked back towards the castle in a steady pace. Even though she didn't have a hood enclosed around her head, she felt not much need for panic. The city was still asleep and word of her arrival had, no doubt, spread from within the walls out into the population.

If Shinou didn't want her to save Julia from her fate, then what was she doing here in this time? Was there some other major event that would happen? Pushing her concerns to the back of her head for now, she carried on towards the palace. All she wanted to do now was curl up in her bed.

As she neared the castle, she turned her head as she felt an urging feeling to go left. Well, her sixth sense hadn't gotten her into any trouble so far.

She surveyed the area as she strolled down the path headed to the back of the fortress. Nothing really out of the ordinary, she absently wondered why she felt such an impulse to come this way.

Slowly, she saw long stretches of shrubs, indicating that she was now on the castle grounds. She raised an eyebrow. "Where are the guards?" she mused aloud. Surely, they wouldn't leave an area with no way to keep unauthorized people from coming in and out unguarded. She'd have to talk to Conrad about this sometime but now, she just wanted to know why she came in this direction.

She rounded the corner and a beautiful structure entered her view. Six detailed pillars held up a dome like roof. Stairs could be seen from its northern and southern end. Curious, she sauntered forward.

She was awed as she climbed the short steps into the structure. It was so simple and yet so beautiful. The floor was practically big enough to be a dance floor!

She spread the arms wide and turned in circles. Almost immediately, she felt like a child again. On one turn, she lost her footing and fell… into a bench.

A tiny 'oof' escaped her lips as she made collision with the hard surface, both arms hanging over the back support of the bench. Dizzy, she let her head roll left onto her shoulder.

She was momentarily stunned when she thought she saw a blue coat hanging there. The laughter of a boy and a girl caused her to sit upright with a start. And sure enough, a young pair of youths truly stood on the floor.

"Conrad," the girl laughed. "Don't look down at your feet so much."

The boy was visibly uncomfortable. He had a somewhat determined expression on his face as he tried to concentrate on the placement of his feet. He was getting the hang of it, gradually that is…

"Sorry," he apologized.

Ysabel smiled and closed her eyes as she began to relive that moment. "One, two, three… One, two, three…" Ysabel muttered unconsciously, her eyes still closed. Slowly, she began to tilt her head from side to side according to the beat reflexively.

Soon, just swinging her head and tapping her feet wouldn't suffice her feeling. She got on her feet and started dancing with an imaginary partner. A strong feeling surged up within her being, but… but… something was still missing.

All of a sudden, her imaginary partner materialized as someone took her waist and entangled her right hand. No alarms were raised. She smiled with still closed eyes as the missing link was found.

Gisela awake with a start. She had fallen asleep while watching over her charged. She yawned as she tried to wipe away the sleepiness with her palms, then something occurred to her. Her eyes widened as she saw the bed was empty. Her patient was… gone!

Gisela quickly rose to her feet and looked around. The curtains had been thrown aside to let a steady beam of light filter through. Panic threatened to overwhelm her, surely, the Lady von Edel wouldn't… would she? She forced herself to stay calm. "I have to get Sir Weller," she said to herself.

She ran towards the door and swung it open. To her surprise, Sir Conrad Weller stood outside, poised to open the door. "Gisela?"

As her surprise subsided, she remembered her missing patient. "I'm so sorry, Sir Weller, Lady von Edel is gone!"

Conrad looked liked he'd been struck by a ton of bricks. Without a word, he turned around and headed down the corridor at a quick pace.

After he alerted the guards, he hurried for the stables. By the time he got there, the marshalling yard was in a pure frenzy. Once inside, he saddled his brown mount and headed out at a near gallop. Then he stopped. He heard something, something very, very faint. He debated with himself for awhile then finally turned his horse around and headed to the back gardens.

Somehow, Conrad thought he heard children laughing. Absurd as it might have been, he headed for the back garden, seeking its source.

Weaving his mount expertly through the undergrowth, he reached his destination in no time at all. Conrad perked his head up higher and surveyed the area. To his surprise, he found not children, but the one he was looking for.

The young double black was sitting on a bench under the roof of the makeshift dome. She cocked her head from side to side as if keeping up to beat with a song. He smiled and dismounted.

When he reached the foot of the steps, he could visibly see that she was tapping her feet and muttering to herself. Then she hoped up to her feet and started dancing with an absent opponent.

Conrad smiled. He knew she at least remembered that memory. He hesitated. He stood there debating with himself whether to join her or to silently slip back to his horse. Surely, she would come back to the castle in her own time.

As he began to retreat down the stairs, he paused. He cast one last glance back at her and stepped down the remaining steps, only to discover that his horse was gone!

Sighing, there was no way he could get back fast enough to ensure that she wouldn't notice. He raised en eyebrow, almost as if someone was telling him to get back up there. Almost laughing aloud, he ran back up the stairs and assumed his position in the waltz steps.

A woman stood nearby couching under the shelter of a pile of higher shrubs. She peeked through the leaves as she held the reins of a brown horse.

Conrad looked around in confusion for the horse the she had so conveniently removed from sight. She saw him smile and wondered if he suspected her. To her relief, he merely turned back to the building and did exactly as she wanted.

Once satisfied that both youths were enjoying themselves too much to even notice her, she stood up straight and released his horse.

Taking one last look at the pair, she brushed her hands together repeatedly and smiled triumphantly. "My work here is done," she said. She turned around, only to stare face to face with her eldest son.

Gwendal stood there with his trademark skeptic look on his face. His arms were crossed in disapproval. "Mother," he started. His voice was loud enough to be heard by his mother but he was also careful that his voice didn't reach the pair. This of course, didn't escape Lady Cecile's notice.

"What are you doing?" he inquired. Casting a sideways look to see his brother's stallion held in custody of his mother, he had a good idea of what she was doing.

"Oh," Celi said. "Nothing."

Gwendal shook his head. "The world is chaotic enough without you trying to play match-maker."

"Oh… he just needed a little push, that's all."

He sighed and escorted his mother back to the palace.

After dancing for quite some time, they lingered there. They sat on one of the benches with a respectable distance between them. For the first time, Ysabel wondered if the memories Shinou returned to her were tampered with. She decided to test it out.

"It was your tenth birthday, right?" she asked, knowing what he would answer.

Conrad nodded. "You taught me how to dance here that night."

"I remember," she said. Then she remembered one more thing that didn't occur to her until now. "Um… Conrad."

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what happened after we went back to the castle?"He nodded again, oblivious of the reason she asked. Then it hit him.

"Uh-oh," they both said in unisons.

a/n:

Okay, basically, apart from the first part of the chapter, this one was a totally random and pointless chappy. I wrote this all just for fun and I was practically debating with myself whether or not to upload it but since I was happy from the response of the last chapter, I though: What the heck.

To i love athrun: Thanks for your support! Here's a new chapter.

To Erisabeisuu: Yay, thank you so much for your review, really kept me going.

To Torana: Heh, what can I say? Whenever I see your review, it sends me into a pure bliss. Thank for your support.

To All my readers: Thanks for reading, means a lot to me. I hope I sill continue to keep up to your expectations. Reviews are welcomed as always and I hope to hear your opinions.

Okay, so just in case anybody's wondering, Edel is Dutch for 'Noble', corny? Yup, but heh, no one wanted to suggest anything.

And again, apologies if anything sounds cliché in this story so far. Remember: New writer attempting to write the hardest subject known to mankind!

So until my next update,

Forever,

Val.