Disclaimer: I do not own KKM and it's characters.

Many thanks to my wonderful beta kagomegirl2004 for putting up with me.

Chapter 2 – The hard decision

Yuuri let out a long sigh. It was absolutely safe to say he was scared out of his wits. He knew he would have to make a final decision about something, he was trying to postpone since his first arrival in this world. He knew he didn't want to lose Wolfram. That was one thing he was absolutely sure of. The rest...he didn't know.

When he met Wolfram for the first time, he truly had not liked the selfish, arrogant and overdramatic boy. However, with time, the boy slowly became someone he spent most of his time with. He became his best friend. And in a way, he learned to understand him. Everything the blond ex-prince did in front of other people was just a carefully put up facade. It took him a long time to truly recognize the difference between his 'face for others' and his real self. Wolfram in reality was quite different from what he was constantly trying to be for others. What surprised him the most was probably realization, that Wolfram probably isn't as jealous as he was trying to seem. It took him years to figure it out, but he was slowly able to recognize the situations in which Wolfram's jealousies took over and sometimes, when Wolfram had a particularly hard day, there was no passion to his tantrums. At first he thought Wolfram just lost interest in him and their engagement, but that just seemed wrong. He was still caring and, most importantly, he was just always there. When he spoke with Conrad about it, he was taken aback by his plain statement: "I was curious when you would realize that, Yuuri." He could still feel the redness marring his cheeks as if it was yesterday—the feeling of shame for not realizing something so important sooner. "Wolfram maybe is jealous sometimes, but he never acts on it. He was always proud of his composure, always wanted to be like Gwendal; so the jealous tantrums really weren't his kind of thing." Yuuri still remembered Conrad's smile back then. "You know... we were used to his tantrums, because he's a fire wielder after all, but to see him try to act jealous... It got us into a few uncomfortable situations. Though, I think, not only Yozak found it really amusing sometimes."

When now Yuuri remembered the grin that appeared on his godfathers face, he couldn't help but smile, despite the uneasy feeling the situation was causing him.

Suddenly his attention caught a noise from one of the quest rooms. The door were cracked open a bit and a light from a candle was lighting a thin line through the small opening. He came closer, just beside the near wall, still covered by shadows of the near curtains he couldn't tell the color of. But if the decoration of the rest of a castle was any clue, it was probably dark red. He could hear the hushed voices of the maids inside the room.

"...the guest rooms ready."

"No way! They are all coming? I mean, all ten?"

"From what I know, yes. That's why we have to get so many rooms ready."

Yuuri didn't recognize any of the voices behind the door.

"But why are they coming now? There isn't any special occasion nearing..."

"From what I heard it's because of his Majesty's and Lord Wolfram's engagement."

News is surely spreading fast in Blood Pledge Castle, thought Yuuri. He even noticed the use of Lord Wolfram not Lord von Bielefeld. Yup, even servants are warmer to the young blond nowadays. Years ago they would call him little else than Lord von Bielefeld. Probably is because Wolfram started to be more polite to them and not to bark at everyone he met. But that applied to people as a whole, not just servants. Wolf calmed down a lot, and everyone noticed. He had matured, and even Yuuri could see that now.

"What? Really?"

"Umm..." From the momentary silence Yuuri could only guess that the questioned maid shrugged.

"I feel sorry for Lord Wolfram..."

"Yeah, it's kind of sad."

"So you too think his Majesty is going to break the engagement?"

"I don't know, but...they're engaged for four years now and his Majesty didn't show any interest in Lord Wolfram, so..."

"I feel like crying, not only breaking the engagement will break his Excellency's heart, but... it will ruin his social standing as well."

"Yeah, politics is scary."

"What do you think will happen to him?"

"His uncle will probably take him back to Bielefeld and marry him off to some lower standing woman. If he will be able to find a woman who would like to marry him after his Majesty found him unworthy."

"Aren't you a bit cruel?"

"That's the truth, nothing else. Everyone is saying that. Lord Wolfram probably lacks something, if he isn't able to please his Majesty. Well, beauty isn't everything, I suppose."

Yuuri was frozen to the ground. He knew there were some whispers about their engagement, but he couldn't even imagine what people really said about his accidental fiance. Suddenly he felt guilty. Now he knew he let it go too far. These gossips were dangerous. What if Wolfram found out or heard? But then again, it was Wolfram and he should able to overhear the gossiping maids easily. And they had said that everyone was talking... Wolfram probably already knew. Yeah, it would be naive to think that these cruel words hadn't reached the blond's ears already. He felt like crying out in frustration. What should he do? He was aware of Wolfram's feelings for him; he wasn't blind. But it would seem he was deaf, if he didn't hear the gossips until now. Yeah, that wasn't entirely truth either. He was aware of the rumors, but he never imagined they would be that cruel. That's why he didn't pay them that much attention. Now he was sorry.

Yuuri's heart was beating so fast, he thought it will leap out of his chest. He could feel his blood heating up, and knew he had to get out of here and stop thinking about how unfair the words were to his friend, otherwise he might go into "Maoh Mode" even though he had possessed control over his powers for years now. But there was still the problem with his other side's attitude when it come to his family. And he considered Wolfram his family; he was his best friend after all.

He had to run away and so he did. It didn't matter to where, he just had to get far away from the two unsuspecting maids. He didn't want to lose control and hurt them, it wasn't their fault. It was his and he knew it. He had ignored important things for too long.

He didn't know how, but suddenly he was standing in front of the door to the royal bedchambers, breathing hard, but not because of the exertion. His physical condition was so much better compared to years ago. He was jogging with Conrad every morning since he come to this world, but Wolfram had taken over his sword training over a year ago. One day Conrad said he taught him everything he could and now he needs just hard practice, and that the best would be training with Wolfram. He was the same height and built so there wouldn't be too much difference in strength of blows, so they both can give the training their everything. And truly, from all of the soldiers, Wolfram is the only one who isn't afraid of hurting the king and who has the skills and experience to help Yuuri improve.

He didn't have so many lessons with Gunter anymore, either, which gave him spare time to do his work, spend time with Greta, or train. And because doing his work still wasn't exactly his favorite activity of the day and Greta had grown up by now, and had since outgrown a constant need for her daddies, he often found himself training with Wolfram and his troops. He got to know all Wolfram's men and he became friends with them. Long hours of hard training under Wolfram's command and watchful gaze did that to people, but he also learned that Wolfram insisted on doing all the training with his troops. Every lap around the Castle they had to run, he ran with them; every sit-up they had to do, he did alongside them. And his men respected him for that. Yes, Wolfram is hard, but he is equally hard to everyone. Everything they have to do, he does first. Yuuri come to understand Wolfram more since he began to actually spend time with him rather than constantly running from him.

He wasn't even aware when Wolfram's constant presence in his bed stopped bugging him.

He silently opened the door, not even acknowledging the two of his soldiers standing guard on each side of the door. He was too deep in his own thoughts.

When the door closed behind him, he thought about lighting the candle, but trying to light it up with his magic could end up in burning the whole castle. How he wished to be as good with fire as he was with water, or at least with wind and earth. But he just seemed not able to understand the fiery element. He started to learn about the three remaining elements two years ago. He was really good with earth and didn't have many major problems with the wind, either. But as easy as the water came to him, the troubles that fire gave to him matched in intensity. He didn't know where the problem was. Wolfram was always so natural with the element, and he wasn't even able to light a candle without setting the curtains aflame.

Well, since he didn't want to wake half the castle by starting the fire again, he was left with the moonlight barely lighting the room.

He didn't feel like going to bed just yet and so he crossed the room to the table and sat into one of the chairs. His eyes started slowly adjust to the darkness and he was able to recognize the dark lump in his bed. He sighed. Well, this is going to be a long night. Serves me right. What I tried to put off for so long had just come to haunt me, and not only in my sleep. What am I gonna do? How to make everything work again? I don't want to hurt him, but how? We're friends. Best friends. But why didn't I annul the engagement before? Because he was always shouting about his pride and that breaking it would cost him it? Pride... But what good his pride brought us? Nothing. Yes, it's all his fault! Why should I pay for something he caused? Yuuri's thoughts were swimming wildly in his mind. He couldn't put them in any order or make any sense.

Yuuri covered his face with his hands. "This is so frustrating." He sighed. And when he heard Wolfram shifting uncomfortably in his bed, he realized his mistake. He fell silent and didn't move a muscle for fear the blond would wake up if he made any more sounds. To his relief, Wolfram didn't wake up. After a while he stood up and silently escaped the room. He wasn't in any mood to talk to Wolfram now.

Yuuri was still angry and sad when he came to the Royal gardens. His legs instinctively took him to a place that calmed him. To where all the different flowers were. He liked them all. Ceri certainly had a talent for breeding flowers.

He knew he was angry at the wrong person. Wolfram really wasn't at fault in this. He was being selfish. He didn't want to lose a friend, so he continued to treat their accidental engagement as if nothing was going on, as if it all never happened. And all because he didn't want to lose a friend. He was selfish. At first he was afraid of Wolfram's anger towards him if he were to annul the engagement. But after getting to know the blond better, he was afraid that Wolfram would never forgive him if he ended it. Yes, he was selfish, childish, and self-absorbed.

If he could blame the whole situation at anything, it was his own indecision. The one thing that his advisors were blaming on him just an hour before.

The moon was shining brightly tonight, even though it would be the new moon in just a few short days. He could see the flowers in the garden swaying slightly in the gentle breeze. The moonlight covering the multicolored petals in the same blue-gray color. He found the view magical. He waved his hand and the petals of the flowers were covered by crystal clear droplets of water. Now, that was magical. The flowers shining in the moonlight.

If the maids were right, then there wasn't really any other opinion. If he broke the engagement, he would lose Wolfram, possibly forever. His best friend would be taken from him, along with their daughter and his makeshift little family. There had to be something, anything they could do, to save Wolfram's social standing and stop him from leaving and marrying someone he doesn't love.

But would marrying Wolfram really be that bad? Nothing had to change. Everything could stay as it was. And he never really thought about being with anyone since becoming the Maou; there simply wasn't any time for thoughts like that. That was actually another reason for not thinking about the engagement: there was always so much to do, to learn, to see, that the unimportant things just somehow slipped his mind. And the girls he met here sure were nice, but not one of them really ever caught his attention to the point of thinking about dating her, let alone marrying her. And he didn't feel that Earth was his home so much anymore; the girls there weren't even a possibility (and even that was if they could get over the whole "traveling to a different world to be the king of the Mazoku" thing).

Somewhere between his anger, guilt, and understanding that there wasn't any time left, he realized, he didn't want to lose Wolfram, nor he didn't want to hurt him.

He couldn't return to his chambers anymore. If he did, right now, he knew he would do something he should think over first. He would tell Wolf that he would marry him immediately, the moment he saw him. But guilt wasn't the right reason to marry someone. Moreso if the person you intend to marry is your (male) best friend. Wolf doesn't deserve to be married to someone who feels sorry for him. He had to calm down first; then he could think it over and came to the right decision.

Yuuri sat at the bench and looked at the thousands of shining stars. He had always been drawn to the stars and sky, ever since he was a child. His older brother Shori even wanted to give the moon to him to make him happy. Every time he looked at stars he had to think about Wolfram. They reminded him of the fiery blond in a way. They were beautiful and elegant at the sight, but hot and livid in reality.

"You know, Conrad, I think everything will be alright."

"You knew I was there," his godfather stated and stepped out of the shadows of the garden. He then slowly came to his godson, to sit beside him. Yuuri didn't take his eyes from the midnight sky.

"Yeah. You know, Wolfram's training actually paid off." Smiled the young maou. "How did you know where to find me?"

"One of your soldiers stationed in front of your chambers informed me that you were not inside when I was checking in on them."

"They're too afraid that something will happen to me. And so are are." Yuuri turned to look pointedly at the soldier that had, staying discreetly in shadow, followed him ever since he left his chambers. Ever since the attack a year ago, his advisors decided it is necessary for him to have a guard everywhere he goes. He had taken the news about being watched every minute of the day better than Wolfram. Which he found highly unfair since the blonde only had to be watched while sleeping and he had to deal with them all the time.

Conrad just smiled. They had gone over this many times already.

"What did you mean, everything will be alright?" asked the tall soldier.

Yuuri looked at him and after a moment said "Me... and Wolfram. I just have a feeling that everything will work out in the end."

"You made the decision, didn't you?"

"Truly...I don't know yet. My mind is telling me something and my heart is telling me something else. It's not a different thing, just a different point of view. I just want to be emotional and do what I feel like doing right now, when I'm angry and sad, but I know it's not the right reason to do this. I'm afraid I will regret it later."

They sat in silence for a while. Then Yuuri started again. "You once told me that I'm like the Sun. That my soul shone as brightly as it does. But I think Wolfram's soul is shining even more brightly, like the stars on the new moon, when there's nothing else. He's changed so much since I met him. He's impressive." Yuuri stopped when he saw his godfather shake his head.

"No, Yuuri. He really didn't change that much since you two met. Though he come through some changes as years went, all of them thanks to you." And Yuuri knew which change his godfather was the most grateful for. "I think you come to understand him more through the years. I'm glad you figured out for yourself that he isn't a jealous type of person at all. You know him probably better than anyone else now."

"Maybe..."

"I just want you to know it is your decision in the end, and no one can push you into anything. And no matter what you decide in the end, no one will be upset with you. It is your life and you have the right to do with it what you want. In limitations of course. You are the Maou, after all," Conrad added and chuckled.

"Thank you, Conrad."

"You're welcome, Yuuri." Conrad smiled brightly.

They sat there for a long while, each trapped in his own thoughts, until Yuri broke the silence again. "Say Conrad, I want to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the answer sincerely. What will happen to Wolfram if I end the engagement?" Conrad visibly hesitated and Yuuri got the impression that his godfather didn't want to talk about it. "Conrad," Yuuri warned gently. He only wanted to make the point. Everyone was always trying to hide unpleasant things from him, but he wasn't a child anymore. He's the king of Shin Makoku and he needed his subjects not to sugarcoat everything for him.

"Well...there's no outline to how the things will unfold. Waltorana will probably take him back to Bielefeld."

"He can's stay with us in here?"

"It would be disrespectful to you. He will have to keep a low profile for a while."

"What about his status?"

"The title will stay to him, as will the properties."

"What about the people...how will they take him?"

He didn't need Conrad's answer...He saw it in his godfathers eyes the moment he asked. That was it—he had decided. "Thank you, Conrad," he sighed. "For everything. I'm going to bed now." He stood up. "Good night." He smiled brightly.

"Good night then, Yuuri."

Yuuri waved to him before he turned and left towards the Royal Chambers.

"Just tell me, Yuuri. Why did you say that Wolfram reminds you of stars?"

"I don't know. It just feels like it, I can't really explain it. But you know, if you think about it... The Sun and the stars are one and the same, just with a different naming. My star is just named Sun."

Conrad just nodded in acknowledging at Yuuri's words.

"Goodnight Conrad, see you in the morning." Yuuri turned away from his godfather again and as he was disappearing between shadows, he heard Conrad whisper, "Sleep well, Your Majesty."

The walk to his chambers seemed like eternity to him even thou it was hardly more then fifteen minutes. When he opened the heavy wooden doors, he was met with gentle light from the lone candle at his side of the bed, right next to the one that had already burned out. Wolfram had to have woken up sometime during his absence and lit a new candle. But now he was asleep again, curled up cutely, breathing lightly. His fair hair covering part of his pale face. Yuuri took his clothes off and put on his blue-black pajamas. Then he slipped under the covers on his side and gave his best friend one last look before blowing out the candle.

***Yuuram***

The morning came sooner than Yuuri had wished for. He came to bed well past midnight. He was tired and fell asleep almost immediately, but the sleep was restless and filled with bad dreams. Dreams of his and Wolfram's future, ten nobles and whispering maids, soldiers and other common people.

He woke before sunrise, covered in sweat and with only sporadic images from his dreams, from what his subconsciousness was trying to tell him. All the dreams had one thing in common, and that was Wolfram's departure. Everytime it happened in a different way, but everytime he was left alone in a big cold bed and with everyone around him telling him lies. He knew now, when he was willing his hazy mind to start to function again, that these were all just a dreams and others would never lie to him like that, or at least not maliciously. But he also knew that Wolfram was the only one he could be sure of, who wouldn't sugarcoat things for him. His mind maybe inflated everything into a huge proportions, but it was clear that it still held some truth.

He started to get out of bed, careful not to wake Wolfram up. He crossed the room and peaked trough heavy curtains from the window. The night was still everywhere, darkness covered everything, but in the distance on the horizon, there was a thin line of lighter color, the dark bloody red of a raising sun. He loved the sunrises here in Shin Makoku, they were always special to him. Watching the Sun rise above his land, his people, people he cared for, the land he ruled. He sighed, but smiled. He was aware of the small shift in Wolfram's Maryoku, which probably meant the blond was waking up, so he wasn't surprised when a warm hand leaned at his shoulder comfortingly and squeezed gently.

"Is everything alright, Yuuri?" asked the green eyed demon.

"I'm not sure." Yuuri didn't want to lie to Wolfram; they always told each other the truth, and he wasn't about to stop now.

"What happened? You were up late yesterday."

Yuuri sighed heavily. "Last night... Gwendal, Gunter and Conrad told me the ten nobles are coming today."

"The ten nobles? Why so suddenly? There isn't any special occasion nearing. Could there be an emergency?"

Yuuri just shook his head and watched Wolfram's brow furrow, through the reflection in the window, as he tried to figure things out.

"Why do you look like it's all your fault?" Wolfram accused and broke the line of Yuuri's thoughts. Then Wolfram's eyes widened in understanding. "So it's finally come..." he murmured.

Wolfram's warm hand disappeared from Yuuri's shoulder. He felt cold immediately. He turned to Wolfram and looked him in the eyes.

"Wolf, everything is going to be alright."

"No, Yuuri. I knew this day will come eventually. I was with you for as long as I could and..."

"They can't separate us, Wolf. I won't be ordered around like that."

"They can, and they will. If you won't marry me, they will annul the engagement and even if they don't have that power over you, they certainly have that power over me. Even if you don't like it, once they annul the engagement, there is nothing even you can do. It would be official even if neither of us wanted it. But that's not true, isn't it?" Wolfram paused and looked at him. "You still regret slapping me."

"It's not true, Wolfram. It's just..."

"Then you shouldn't worry about it, Yuuri."

"Wolfram I... I just don't want to lose you."

"You're not gonna lose me. I will find a way to stay here and if I can't... well, I won't be gone forever. I will always be here for you. I'm your best friend after all." Wolfram said bitterly and Yuuri cringed at how resigned it sounded. But he couldn't tell him he already decided. He wasn't exactly proud of his reasons and he could only imagine what Wolfram would say to that. He was doing it for Wolfram. He owed it to him for everything Wolfram ever did for him.

"So I guess the trip to White Manor is postponed?"

Yuuri couldn't even smile now. "Yeah, I guess. But I promise, we will go as soon as all is sorted out."

Wolfram just nodded at that.

They were all supposed go on a trip to White Manor. The place belonged to Blood Pledge Castle and to the current king. Yuuri wanted to go there as soon as he learned about it, but with his busy schedule, the chance didn't come till a few weeks ago. It should have been a well deserved holiday for them all. And they were supposed to go today, but not anymore. Not with the nobles coming.

They both just silently stood in front of the windows watching the Sun rise, each lost in their own thoughts.

-TBC-