Chapter 3
"Wolfram, are you alright?!" Yuri exclaimed. Wolfram scoffed and clutched his left arm, which had been slightly burned when they reached the other side of the statues.
"I'm fine, you stupid wimp. This is nothing compared to how bad it could have been. Come on, there's a stairway up ahead. Just don't let your guard down." he said, standing up. Yuri frowned, but followed Wolfram up the staircase nonetheless.
{Maybe I should've come by myself. I mean, I know he said it's not that bad an injury, but...the only reason Wolfram came along is because I wanted to come. How many more times...is he going to get hurt because of me?} he thought, looking down.
"Hey, Yuri! Quit lagging behind or you'll get yourself hurt!" Wolfram called over his shoulder. Hearing the blonde's voice snapped the demon king out of his thoughts and he ran to catch up with the other teen.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he said. However, when he placed his hand on a certain stone, it pressed inward like a switch and activating yet another trap. This time, there were two separate dangers. The first was an axe swaying back and forth at the top of the stairs. The second...spikes coming up out of each step, and they were making their way up to the duo rather quickly.
"That's just great! Come on, we don't have much time. When we get to the top, wait for the axe to swing one way, then get ready to jump through that way when it starts swinging in the other direction. Think you can handle it, Wimp?" Wolfram asked as they began to run up the rest of the steps.
"Yeah...and stop calling me that!" Yuri replied shortly. Wolfram dove through first and made it just fine. But at the moment Yuri made his jump, spikes had come up from the step and pierced his foot. Not all the way through, but enough to make it hard to walk...and hurt like a b*****.
"Yuri! What happened?! Are you okay?!" Wincing in pain, Yuri nodded.
"Y-yeah. Not much worse than stepping on a nail, I guess." he said, getting to his feet. However, the pain was too much, and he fell again. Wolfram sighed.
"Jeez, you really are a wimp." he then turned so his back was facing Yuri and crouched down.
"Come on," he said, "We've come this far, and we're going to see this through even if I have to carry you AND the bow when we get out of here." he said.
"..."
xx
"Wolfram, are you sure it's okay to be carrying me on your back like this with an injured shoulder?" the blonde scoffed.
"Are you still worried about that? I told you, Yuri. I'm fine. I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. You know that." Yuri looked down and sighed.
"Still...I'm sorry. I know it wouldn't have done any good against the traps, but I might've been a little more useful during all of this if I had at least brought Morgif into town with me today...or...would it be yesterday? You know come to think of it, I have no idea how long we've been in here."
"Does it matter? If you're worried about Gunter freaking out and sending a search party out for you, you know as well as I do, that it wouldn't matter if you were gone for two hours or two minutes. He'll still have a panic attack." Wolfram muttered.
xx
"WHAT?! His Highness went WHERE?!" Gwendal sighed and shook his head in annoyance at Gunter's outbursts.
"I should have known this would be an inconvenience." he said. Turning to the merchant who had sold Yuri and Wolfram the book, he asked,
"Tell me, did they actually mention searching for this temple?" the merchant nodded and explained that the red haired young man (Yuri in disguise) seemed quite excited about it.
"Oh what shall we do?!" Gunter wailed. Gwendal sighed.
"It's quite obvious. We need to go get Conrart and find a way up there to get His Majesty and Little Lord Brat out of there before they get themselves killed." he stated bluntly.
"Oh! What horrible perils they must be facing! Your Highness, why did you not tell your faithful servant about your noble quest, so that I may be at your side to protect you?! Your Highness!"
"Gunter, calm down. As long as Wolfram is with him, the King will most likely be just fine. All the same, as I said we must return to Covenant Castle and retrieve Conrart so we may go and get them just to be sure."
xx
"Wolfram, I should be okay to walk now. It really isn't that bad an injury." Yuri insisted.
"Don't be rediculous, Wimp. You're heavy, but not THAT heavy. And besides, it looks like we won't have to dodge any more traps. This door looks like the one portrayed in the book. I think this is where the bow is being kept." Wolfram replied. "However, I am going to need to set you down temporarily so I can get the door open."
"Fine by me."
xx
"...Did you find it?" Wolfram blinked and looked up at Mira.
"Hm?"
"When you set King Yuri down and opened the door, was the bow there?" she asked. Wolfram looked down and nodded, closing his eyes.
"It was. But...that's not all we found."
xx
"What the heck ARE those things?!" Yuri exclaimed. Wolfram drew his sword and readied for battle with the fierce monsters.
"The book said there would be guardians protecting the bow, remember?!" he replied, dodging an oncoming attack from one of the monsters.
"I know, I just didn't think they'd be this huge!" Yuri said, ducking when one of them attempted to attack him.
He wasn't exadurating, either. The beasts were indeed massive. There were three of them, and each was almost tall enough to touch the ceiling in the room. Their bodies were long and slender like snakes, and they were blood red in color. What made them unsual (and quite frightening) to Yuri was not their intimidating size, but the fact that their heads did not match their serpent like bodies. Instead, they had crimson lion heads with pitch black manes and not one, but THREE rows of razor sharp teeth.
"Yuri, these are Giant Lion Vipers! As if their venom and squeeze power aren't bad enough, be careful not to look at the third eye located on their foreheads, or you'll be turned to stone!" Wolfram warned, jumping out of the way of another strike. However, one of the other vipers whipped its tail and threw him into a stone wall from behind while he was in midair.
"WOLFRAM!" Yuri cried. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that.
Wolfram got up, but when he got an opening to attack one of the serpents full on, his blade was shattered on the diamond hard scales covering it's body. Yuri tried to figure out a way to help somehow, but between his injured foot and the fact that he didn't have Morgif with him...there was nothing he could do. Each time one of the serpents made to attack him, Wolfram was there to push them back. But the blonde's strength was waning. Yuri tried to tell him to forget about the bow and that they could escape if they tried now. But Wolfram insisted that they had come too far to give up, and that he could defeat the monsters.
It was at that moment that he got bit, and the pain from the poison was so great that he passed out from it.
If Yuri had not gone full-on demon mode and put up a barrior around himself and Wolfram, they would have both died then and there. Using another portion of his power, Yuri killed the beasts in his rage, Still in 'full on demon king' form, he picked Wolfram up carefully and proceeded to carry him outside, leaving the bow behind.
Just as Yuri was exiting the building, Conrad, Gunter, and Gwendel had arrived.
"What's wrong with Wolfram? What happened?" Conrad questioned.
"...Lion Viper poison. We must get him back to the castle at once." Yuri replied. He too lost conciousness shortly after that order.
xx
"Wait, so according to what Gwendal told you...Yuri just left the bow there after you almost DIED to get it? Well, I'm glad he put you first, but were you mad that he did that after all the trouble you went through for him so he could have it? Did-"
"Damn it, Mira, if you keep interrupting me, I'm not gonna tell you anything else and you can just go ask Gunter or someone else about it!" Wolfram stated impatiently. Mira bit her bottom lip.
"...Sorry. I won't do it again, I promise. Please continue."
"...Good. Now, as I was saying..."
xx
When Yuri came to, he sat up in realization.
"Wolfram! Where is Wolfram?!" Wasting no time, he jerked the covers back and all but launched himself out of bed and dashed out of the room and down the corridor.
The Demon King hadn't been running long when he bumped into Gwendal...literally.
"So you're awake. We need to talk. I want you to tell me everything that happened up until Wolfram was bitten." Gwendal said somewhat coldly. After Yuri had explained, he sighed.
"I should have known. So even though you kept telling him it wasn't worth him risking his life over and dropped many subtle hints up to that point that the two of you should have left before then, he insisted that you may as well go through with it. Yes, that certainly sounds like Wolfram. Well, you needn't worry. Wolfram is being given medical care by the best doctor in the demon kingdom. He should be awake anywhere from three to seven days from now." he said. Yuri breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness." he said. "Um...would it...do you think it'd be okay if I go see him, Gwendal? I know you said it would be three to seven days until he woke up, but..."
"But as his fiance, you wish to see him, nonetheless. He's being taken care of in his room." Gwendal replied, walking past Yuri.
xx
Yuri looked down at Wolfram. He seemed like he was sleeping peacefully enough, but still. He could have been killed. And for what? All for Yuri's stupid idea to go get that stupid piece of junk up in that temple. No item, no matter how powerful, was worth the life of someone he cared about! But...because of him...Wolfram...
{Damn it!} Yuri thought in remorse, {I should have at LEAST thought to go back and ask Conrad to come along with us! Maybe then...}
Maybe then Wolfram wouldn't be in this state. Exhaling, Yuri sat in the arm chair next to Wolfram's bed.
"I...I don't know if you can hear me, Wolfram, but...but please don't die, okay? I know Gwendal said you would wake up in a week or so, but still...that's a long time to wait, you know? I'm...I'm so sorry about this." his voice began to crack slightly. "If it weren't for my stupidity, you wouldn't have ended up like this. I wish I hadn't gone into town at all yesterday. If I hadn't found that damn book..."
xx
Yuri opened his eyes and sat up. Ever since Mira's visit, his mind kept wandering back to that event.
"..."
xx
For the entire seven days that Wolfram was unconcious, Yuri remained by his side, doing whatever he could to ensure that Wolfram's condition would improve. Sure enough, the blonde opened his eyes on the seventh day. And who else would be the first person to greet him but Yuri.
"Wolfram, thank goodness!" The blonde's emerald eyes widened in surprise as Yuri hugged him tightly.
"H-hey, Yuri! What the heck is up with you?!"
xx
Sure, Wolfram was okay, and (to Yuri's silent disapproval) Conrad had even gone back for the bow since the two teens had gone through the trouble of finding it, and now it was in the royal treasury with the other rare items.
But since that day, Yuri had never stopped blaming himself for it, and his mind would constantly go back to how distraught he felt at the thought of losing Wolfram. At losing...his fiance. Since that time, he began to slowly realize just how much Wolfram meant to him.
xx
"Wow. So...Yuri was with you for the entire week you were unconcious?" Mira asked in amazement. Wolfram scoffed and nodded.
"That's what Gwendal told me. What a wimp. He gets worried over little nothings like that all the time." he said. Dispite his blunt tone, Mira couldn't help but fight a smile. She could see the red hue dusting his cheeks.
"...I don't know. I kind of think it's romantic. Wolfram...can I ask you something? Again, haha."
"...I guess. What is it this time?"
"This is a question I want you to answer with your heart. Not your mind, and certainly not your pride. But...are you in love with Yuri? I mean really in love with him? I know you say you are, and that you do a lot of things just for him, but...do you do this because Yuri holds your heart? Or is it because your pride won't allow you to think otherwise?"
"...Yuri...is my fiance. No one loves him more than I do, understand?" Looking into his eyes, Mira nodded, satisified.
"I see. Well, I think I've pestered my best friend enough for the time being. For now, I'm going to go see if Gwendal needs help with anything."
"By the way," Wolfram said, catching Mira's attention, "Are you ever going to tell the guy you want to persue how you feel? It's been what, seven years now? I don't approve of you loving a guy like him, but if it'll make you happy, then... stop wasting time, already! If you don't do something now, you won't be able to." Mira smiled.
"...I'll keep it in mind. See you later, Wolf."
xx
"Yuri, you're back!" Yuri laughed and hugged his 'daughter' as she ran over to greet him.
"Yes, I'm back. I'm sorry to keep jumping back and forth between worlds like this, Greta." he said.
"It's about time." Yuri set the red haired child down and smiled in greeting at his fiance.
"Wolfram, hi. Sorry. I know it upsets everyone when I go back to the other world unexpectedly. Believe me, it's an inconvenience to me when it happens without warning, too. Hey Greta, I have something for you." he said, pulling off the backpack he had and taking a doll out of it. The doll was plastic and had long red hair. She wore a pastel green dress and had eyes to match.
"I'm sorry she got kind of wet. I wish I could get here through something besides water, but..." Greta smiled.
"I love her! Thank you so much, Papa!" she said, hugging the doll. "I'm going to go show her to Miss Annisina!"
After Greta was gone, Yuri turned to Wolfram.
"I um...have something for you, too." Wolfram blinked.
"Huh? For me?" he asked. Yuri nodded a light blush dusting his cheeks.
"Yeah. I mean, you are my fiance, after all. And well...there's this holiday in my other world coming up called Valentines Day. And..." after a brief summary of what Valentines Day is, Yuri took out the pens and tin of chocolates.
"Sorry they're not wrapped. I didn't think there'd be any point in it wrapping them since the paper would just get wet on the way here. This is just a tin of chocolates. I know it's cliche, but it's the thought that counts, right? And these," he held up the pen set, "Are stationary pens. They have ink already inside them, so you don't need to use a quill. I've noticed you writing in some kind of journal or something quite a bit lately, so I thought these might be good to write with." Wolfram took the gifts hesitantly. After a moment, he said,
"Come on."
"Huh? Where're we going?" Yuri asked.
"I'm going to put these away and then we're going into the town."
"How come?"
"Just shut up and come on!"
xx
Yuri blinked a few times and turned to Wolfram.
"What? You brought me into town to get me something?" he asked. "How come?"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm your fiance! And if this Valentines Day thing is important to you, then I should follow the tradition and get you something, too. So pick something. Anything you want." he said, blushig lightly.
Yuri looked around. He didn't really expect Wolfram to go through the trouble of doing this. But he knew Wolfram well enough to know he'd be offended if his fiance told him this venture wasn't necissary, especialy since he was going out of his way to do this.
"...Hey Wolfram, can I ask you something?"
"Dejavu..." Wolfram mumbled. Yuri blinked.
"Huh?"
" Nothing. Ask away." Wolfram said. Yuri looked up at the sky.
"Why is it...you stay loyal to me even after what happend that day? I mean, you almost died because of MY decision to go looking for that stupid bow."
"Oh will you shut up about that already? You stupid wimp! Did it ever occur to you that what happened to me was possibly my doing and not yours? I knew we were in for more than we could probably handle. I knew that we should at least go back for your sword even if we didn't tell anyone else what we were doing, but I chose not to say anything to you." Wolfram said heatedly. Yuri gasped in shock.
"Wh-what? Wolfram...why...why didn't you say anything if you knew something bad might happen?"
"..."
"I believe I can answer that one." The two teens turned to see Mira walking up to them. Turning to Yuri, she said,
"Your H-...Yuri...sorry, I keep forgetting...the reason Wolfram decided not to mention taking anyone with you up to that temple is because...he wanted it to be just the two of you. He wanted to spend a little alone time with you, Yuri. And I'm sorry, Wolfram, but if he has to ask why you wanted to spend time with him...then maybe you two aren't meant for eachother. Well, I've got some shopping to do, so if you'll excuse me." without waiting for either of them to respond to her statement, she walked away.
xx
"I thought Conrart asked you not to meddle." Mira sighed.
"What, no 'welcome back'? Sheesh, it's always straight to the point with you, isn't it, Gwendal? Sometimes I wonder why..."
"Why what?" Gwendal inquired. Mira smiled and shook her head.
"Oh, nothing. And for your information, I was not meddling." she said. "All I did was find out what their feelings are for eachother to make sure each of them is in good hands." Gwendal scoffed.
"And your verdict, Mirette?" Mira smiled and winked.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out."
"Gwendal! There you are!" Gwendal tensed and turned to see a certain red haired woman running towards him and Mira.
"...Annisina..."
"Gwendal, I just invented a new magical device that can show a person who their true love is, but I need a guinee pig."
"Annisina-" Gwendal began. Mira interrupted.
"Actually Lady Annisina, Gwendal has some work to do. But...I'm free to help you if you'd like." she volunteered cheerfully. Annisina beamed.
"You'd do that? Mira, you're a lifesaver. Come on, let's not waste any time."
"R-right!"
As the two women rushed off, Gwendal's relief turned once again to tension. Whenever Mira ran off so eagerly with Annisina, it meant that she was up to something and needed the red haired woman to act as her accomplice. Sighing, he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Why do I have a feeling that something horrible is about to happen?" he grumbled. "I swear that girl can not be controlled..."
"Hm? Gwendal, is something wrong?" Gwendal turned to the lavender haired man.
"I suppose it's only right to forwarn you...you're darling niece just ran off with Annisina." he said. Gunter's eyes widened in panick.
"What?! Mirette just went with Annisina?! Oh no! Who knows what trouble she's going to get into! What shall we do?!" he exclaimed. Gwendal sighed.
"Calm down. We can't make blind assumptions just yet. For now, let's just keep an eye out for any troublesome activity from the two of them." he said. Though with Annisina involved, there wasn't really much they could do about it, anyway...
"What I don't understand...is that yesterday she said she was leaving for Francia tonight. If she's plotting with Annisina, it means she's obviously staying at Covenant Castle for a while longer. But I wonder what's so important that she would delay a vacation that she seemed to look forward to so much?" Gunter pondered.
xx
"Mirette Elisianna VonLunis." Mirette paled. The only time Gunter was brave enough to storm into Annisina's lab...and the only time he ever addressed her by her full name...was when he was mad at her for something.
"Um...Y-yes, Uncle?" she asked timidly. Hey, dispite his usual demeanor, she knew Gunter wasn't someone to be messed with.
"I believe both Conrart and Gwendal asked you not to intervene in their younger brother's love life. You should be especially considerate of this request since Wolfram's fiance is His Highness." he said sternly. Mira sighed and looked down.
"Uncle, I-"
"Mira, I want no more of this nonsense. I understand that you are worried about both Wolfram and His Highness, but Wolfram at least is older than you are, and is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. The same goes for His Highness. You are their friend, not their mother." Gunter scolded gently. Inwardly Mira scoffed.
{You're acting so mature, Uncle, but you're worse than I am when it comes to the king.} However, instead of voicing this, she said,
"I understand, Uncle. It won't happen again." Gunter smiled approvingly.
"Good. Now, I shall leave you ladies to your...whatever Annisina is working on right now. Good day." after he was gone, Annisina smirked.
"You're...not actually planning on keeping out of this, are you?" she asked. Mira gave a nervous laugh.
"Well...it would be more reassuring if they would voice their feelings to eachother once in a while." she said mischievously. Annisina smiled.
"So then...what's our plan of attack?" she asked. Mira smiled back and pulled a notebook out of her satchel.
"I'm glad you asked."
xx
Wolfram blinked.
"That's what you want?" he asked. Yuri nodded and Wolfram examined the object. It was a simple thing, really. Nothing near as pricey and extravagant as he thought Yuri might choose. The item was actually two; a matching pair. Pendants made from a simple piece of twine with a shard of blue glass cut in the shape of a crystal hanging from them.
"Say what you want, but I think they're neat." Yuri said.
"You have a good eye, sir. These pendants were made as good luck charms. I sell them in pairs because they're meant to protect lovers and bind them together for eternity." The girl running the shop said. This seemed to catch Wolfram's interest.
"Is that so? Well, while I don't normally make it a point to believe such superstitious nonsense, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try them out. We'll take them." he said, paying her. As soon as the two got back outside, Yuri took the pendants and slipped them around his and Wolfram's necks.
"There. Now no matter what, we'll always be connected." he said. Wolfram scoffed, but there was a trace of a smile on his lips as he said,
"You're such a sap, Yuri."
"...Hey Wolfram?"
"What's up?"
"...Let's go riding together tomorrow." Yuri suggested with a smile.
Unbeknownst to the two, a certain pair of mischeivous females were watching the whole scenario not to far away.
"Wow. I guess I had nothing to worry about. Looks like things will be just fine between them. Their love is obvious, even if they don't voice it." Mira said quietly.
"Unacceptable! Their love cannot be expressed properly unless they voice their feelings! Oh you poor dear, you know nothing about romance."
"Annisina..." Mira said warningly. "...It doesn't matter if they've voiced their feelings or not. I can tell their love for one another is strong. ...Listen, I'm going to Francia to rende...I-I mean on holiday for a while. Do not do anything to get me yelled at by my uncle or Wolf's brothers while I'm gone, okay?" before the red haired woman could turn and reply, the other girl was already gone.
Annisina sighed before looking back to Yuri and Wolfram, a determined glint in her eyes.
"Mira has never had a lover in her life, so she has no idea the importance of vocal declaration of one's love to their soul mate. Love needs communication to survive! Oh well, I shall have to help these two young men declare their love for one another myself! Time to get to work!" she said.
(A/N: Uh oh! Looks like Mirette has no idea what she's just set loose on the poor unsuspecting demon couple! How far will the cra...I mean, overly-enthused Annisina go to complete this 'mission' of hers? And who is it Mira is going to meet up with... in Human territory of all places? And how will Wolfram and Yuri's date go? Tune in next time to find out! ^^ Chapter 4 will be up soon!)