Gwendal woke up slowly and stretched. Yuri had wore him out yesterday. Not in the mad, passionate sex way. Gwendal blushed at the thought. Yuri had decided that the now three months engaged couple needed a day off. They'd gone hiking, swimming, fishing, and made some sort of absolutely delicious food called Bar-Bee-Kyoo. Such a weird name for a wonderful food. Then as they were watching the sunset, Gwendal kissed Yuri. The king had responded... very... well. The general blushed deeper when he remembered the look of longing on Yuri's face.
Gwendal felt movement beside him. He was out of bed and at his sword before he remembered that he caved in and let Yuri sleep in his bed last night. Yuri looked over at him groggily.
"Gwendal, is there a problem?"
"No, Heika." Old habits die hard.
Yuri scowled. "Then come back over here. You were keeping me warm."
Gwendal looked at the adorable, sleepy face and he couldn't resist. The kingdom could wait for their Maou and general for a little while longer.
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
Gwendal woke up to the sound of someone beating on his door. He growled a response before untangling himself from Yuri's arms and moving towards the door. A note slipped under. Gwendal picked it up, read it, then bolted from the room without bothering to put on a shirt. The maids in his path fainted and his guards stood with their jaws hanging open. The general had never been seen with a stray hair out of place, let alone half naked. Gwendal didn't notice any of this. He only had his mind on getting the note to Conrad.
Long before Gwendal found him, news of his older brother's state of undress had reached Conrad. He stood outside the office and waited patiently, though not calmly. He could think of one thing that would make his brother run around half naked: Yuri. He didn't have to wait long. A minute or two had passed before Gwendal was grabbing the front of his jacket, dragging him into the office, and slamming the door. Gwendal waved the note in front of his face before he could ask what was wrong.
"Conrad, someone got into the castle and left this note this morning! They're threatening to take Yuri if I don't expose myself to the whole country."
Gwendal dropped heavily into the nearest chair. Conrad could only pat his brother on the shoulder to comfort him. He was only one of what he had previously thought to be only three people that knew Gwendal's secret. He knew who "they" were and knew also that "they" would most definitely keep their promise. On the other hand, revealing himself would destroy him and possibly destroy the Maou's credibility.
"Gwendal, we'll just have to guard him closer. I can pull together a team of my best men and we'll set up a 24 hour watch. It'll work."
Gwendal shook his head. "I don't want any of this to get to Yuri. If we increase his number of guards, he's sure to get suspicious and start asking questions that I'm not prepared to answer."
"I, well I didn't think about that. Yuri Heika is not a stupid person by any means. He would of course figure out that something is wrong, though I doubt he'd ever guess the secret you're hiding from him."
Gwendal leaped to his feet and shoved Conrad away from him. "It's for his own good. He doesn't need to know about... this."
"But Gwendal, you're engaged to him. I think you owe my godson some sort of explanation."
"He'd hate me," Gwendal whispered.
"Then you don't know our Heika very well at all if you think that. It's not in his nature to hate the people he loves." Conrad paused to let that sink in. "Stay here. I'm going to get you some clothes. You scared the life out of the maids and guards."
Conrad shook his head and gave his brother a small smile before heading out the door. He was halfway to Gwendal's bedroom before an idea struck him. He started to chuckle. It would be only too easy to convince Yuri that it was a good idea. Once he won Yuri over, Gwendal would follow like a puppy.
He had his mind working out the details and didn't notice a small yelp when he threw open the door to what he thought was his brother's empty room. He had gathered half of Gwendal's uniform before noticing that Yuri was standing in front of the window, completely embarrassed. A very obviously naked Yuri, Conrad thought, seeing as his godson's hair was completely wet and only a towel kept him from being indecent. A thought floated through Conrad's head and he blushed, quickly pushing out of his head. He did not need a mental image of his older brother and his godson together in bed.
"Hei- uh Yuri. I didn't know you were in here."
"Heh, yeah, I... Oh God!! It's not what you think! We only slept in here. Nothing else. I just got back from the bath. My clothes were in here, so..."
"Yuri, you do not need to explain yourself to me. It's none of my business what you do with your fiancée. I just came in here to grab Gwendal's uniform. He went to the office without it."
"He never forgets his uniform. What's wrong, Conrad?"
"Well, we were discussing plans for a getaway for the two of you. I was thinking maybe the hot springs? That Houseki shield should keep Gwendal from getting sick."
"When can we leave?" Yuri nearly hopped in his excitement.
"Well, that's the thing. You have to try to convince Gwendal that he should go. He's afraid that you might not want to go anywhere with him. He's still new to the whole "somebody truly loves me" thing."
Yuri looked thoughtful for a second. "Conrad, we'll just let him think it's my idea to go to the hot springs. I know he can't resist when I put on my cute face."
Conrad couldn't keep a smile from his face. Too easy. He turned his back so Yuri could get dressed. When he was done, they both gathered the rest of Gwendal's uniform and headed for the general's office. Yuri chattered on happily. From what Conrad could tell, the royal couple was going to wait a few months before tying the knot. They were happy to have their feelings out in the open finally, so there was no rush. Yuri told him all about the previous day's events. He started laughing, not able to picture his too serious brother excited over catching a fish. Yuri really was good for him.
When they arrived at the office, Gwendal was talking quietly to Yozak. The spy looked serious and deep in thought. Upon noticing the Maou and Conrad, Yozak straightened and smiled.
"Hey, boyo, Captain. How are things going? I see you brought Lord von Voltaire his clothes. Honestly, running around the castle half naked? What else is going to go crazy around here?"
Yozak started laughing. One look at Gwendal's face, though, and he knew it was time for him to start his new mission. He grinned one more time before waltzing out of the room.
Yuri had been right about Gwendal. After only a couple of minutes of begging, Gwendal caved. His inability to resist cute things was only part of the reason. He knew that the guards could be increased without raising the king's suspicion. Gwendal could see that Conrad knew it as well by the smirk on his face. Yuri excused himself a few minutes later to start lessons early with Gunter. He knew his advisor would be distraught to be left behind, but if Yuri spent extra time on his lessons, Gunter would feel much better. The brothers watched the king leave and shut the door behind him, waiting a few minutes before speaking.
"This was your idea, wasn't it?"
Conrad smirked. "What can I say, the more guards the better."
"And you think this trip would be safer than keeping him here?"
"They made it inside to your bedroom and back out again unnoticed. This trip couldn't be any worse than that."
Gwendal visibly relaxed and nodded.
TTTTTTTTTT
They set out bright and early the next morning. If Yuri was suspicious of the extra guards, he hid it very well. Gwendal had the carriage brought out for Yuri but, much to his chagrin, Yuri insisted that if Gwendal was going to be on horseback, then he would be as well. The seriously determined face let everyone know that to argue with him would be disastrous.
They made camp three times before reaching the borders of Caloria. Yuri chattered away, oblivious and happy to be with his two favorite men. Gwendal and Conrad, however, knew that they were being followed. On three separate occasions, Conrad's men found tracks. The third time, the tracks ventured a little too close for comfort. Conrad whispered this to Gwendal who nodded for Conrad to check it out. He himself would find some way to distract Yuri from the soldier's missing presence.
"Heika, how was you mother the last time you visited her?"
The poor Maou shuddered. "She made me strip so she could see if I'd sprouted any wings. Dad tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't be stopped. She hadn't seen me in three months, so..."
Yuri let the sentence hang. Gwendal looked over at him. "Is something bothering you, Heika?"
"No, not really." Yuri sighed. "It's just that after me, everyone figured mom wouldn't have any more kids and well, apparently the time before this that I visited her, she was a month along. Now she's about five months. She is clumsier than I am, so I'm a little concerned."
"Heika, your mother will be fine. She has Shori-Heika to watch over her and whenever she goes into labor, we can go there and be by her side."
"We? Gwendal, you'll go with me?"
"I would think of nothing else but to be there for the birth of my Heika's younger sibling."
"Thank you Gwendal." Yuri smiled at his fiancée. Then an almost evil glint flashed in his eyes and Gwendal leaned back, shocked. "By the way, you know how I've told you to call me Yuri and not Heika any more." He waited for Gwendal's confused nod before continuing. "Well, if you call me Heika again, I'm going to kiss you so passionately in front of everybody that you will NEVER doubt my feelings for you EVER again."
Gwendal's jaw fell open. Yuri simply smiled. The general could tell Yuri really hoped that he messed up. He was even more shocked to find that he wouldn't be too upset if he did. He blushed at the thought and watched as Yuri blushed too.
"I, ahem, I'll try to remember. Yuri."
Just then, rustling sounded in the trees behind them. At first Gwendal though that Conrad may have returned. He paused when he smelled something wrong on the wind. Then a faint cry came from the direction of the rustling. Gwendal growled low in his throat and pulled Yuri closer to him, not daring to turn around just yet.
Deep, sinister laughter echoed behind the couple. Gwendal spun, pulling Yuri behind him. He crouched slightly and growled a little louder this time. Yuri had never seen Gwendal act like this before. It had him terrified of the older mazoku.
"Well, well, well. This is interesting. You've been holding out on us," the voice seemed to echo all around them. Gwendal pulled Yuri closer to his back. "Your younger brother took all the credit as the Lion of Lutenberg, but no one said there was a wolf in the family as well."
Gwendal growled louder in response, crouching a little lower. Yuri touched his shoulder.
"Gwendal, what does he mean?"
"Oh my. My goodness. You mean to tell me that your betrothed has no idea about you? This is just too much. No worries. I can stand here while you explain. This will be fun to watch."
Gwendal's face burned in shame as he turned to Yuri. The Maou's confused expression was too much for the general. He collapsed to his knees burying his face in his hands. Yuri knelt in front of the man he loved dearly. Concern and love covered his face as he reached out to him.
"Gwendal?"
"Yuri, I..."
"Well, get on with it," the voice growled impatiently out of the darkness. Gwendal growled louder this time, then shook his head as though to clear it.
"I, my... father... he came from a long line of a special race of people. My mother knew it at the time, but ever the romantic, she didn't care that she might have a son that would be... special. I... ended up being more like my father than anyone knows. He was... I am a-"
"Too long. Time's up."
A form leaped out of the trees and landed in front of Gwendal. Yuri yelped. It was a wolf and the wolf seemed to be... smiling? He watched in shock as Gwendal's body shimmered and then he too turned into a wolf. He was intrigued at the same time. Gwendal looked at him and Yuri could almost see shame on the hairy face. The king reached out and scratched Gwendal behind his ear.
"This changes nothing. I still love you and we WILL be married. Make no mistake about that."
If it could be possible on a wolf's face, Gwendal seemed to gather confidence from Yuri's statement. The other wolf, angry at being ignored, growled and lunged at the couple. Gwendal jumped in the air and rammed his head into the other wolf's chest. Both fell to the ground with a thud. Yuri stumbled back a couple of steps, not wanting to get in the way. By doing so, he saw that there was not one wolf but about twelve. He started to holler at Gwendal when one of the wolves knocked him to the ground and the last thing he saw before he went unconscious was the other eleven wolves leaping on Gwendal at the same time.
So, there we have it. Gwendal's little secret. I thought it seemed fitting. Thank you for your reviews so far and for being patient. Work, school, and family ties up a lot of time. I do however have the next chapter started, so it should not take long at all. Let me know what you think so far. I always appreciate tasteful reviews!!