Hello everyone. It's been so long. Exactly two months. Wow! Well, I finally got this chapter written out. I hope you all enjoy it. I promise, we'll be out of the hospital/clinic thing soon. Hopefully by chapter 20 we'll be back in Blood Pledge and trying to get the bastard. You know who! Anyway, let's get on with this. WE HAVE EPICNESS TO READ.

Whispers in the Dark

Chapter 18

Heavy Heart

With the gentle breeze whisking away at his blonde locks, Saralegui waited impatiently on the deck of his ship as he watched for the edge of the Demon Kingdom to show itself on the horizon. The sun, already high in the sky, indicating that it was around noon. Saralegui could hardly stand it.

He wanted to see him. He wanted to see Yuri for himself, alive and well. He wouldn't rest until he did. And he has kept that promise he made to himself, refusing to sleep at nightfall when they left port. How could he? No one could sleep with the stress and anxiety of wanting so desperately to see someone you care for after something as terrible as this has happened.

Saralegui walked over to railing and gripped his hands tight around the cold surface. His eyes sharp as he waited for their destination to come into sight. Yellow eyes behind purple spectacles watched as the tide came up in waves, breaking apart at the seams as his large vessel sailed its way through.

It was only a matter of time until they finally stopped. And only a matter of time before they returned to Shin Makoku to see King Yuri.

As the old saying goes, "Shinou be damned".

"Your Highness..." Saralegui kept his gaze locked on the rippling ocean waters. He knew it was Conrart. "Why not come inside? The ocean breeze will make you fall I'll at this rate."

"That doesn't matter to me! What does is getting to Yuri." Saralegui retorted. "I appreciate the concern, however,"

Conrart smiled, Saralegui knew not of it as he did not look back at him to see. "You're most welcome. However, I must urge you to come inside! We shall be arriving momentarily."

"I would like to see that with my own eyes." Saralegui said.

"And you can," Conrart moved closer to the Small Cimaron king. "From your quarters." Conrart saw Saralegui's patience running out. "I don't mean to sound rude, but you will fall ill at this rate. You want to see his majesty, don't you?"

Saralegui tightened his grip on the railing, turned to face Conrart and sighed. "Yes. I suppose you're right."

"Good." Conrart said, his voice gentle and soft.

Saralegui turned back to face the water one last time. He watched as the high noon sun made the surface sparkle and shine. He smiled aimlessly. He felt happy that he was finally going to see Yuri once more, still feeling partially responsible for what happened, but also angry, because he didn't know who was behind it. Naturally, he hid his anger. He wanted to act accordingly, not on impulse or personal feelings. He had a responsibility as king to keep his kingdom and its people safe. He refused to be like those before him, fighting in war after war. He promised Yuri, through their alliance, that they would stick together and keep everything at a peaceful level.

"Yuri…" Sara thought to himself.

"We've arrived."

As Conrart made the announcement, Saralegui could see the coastline coming into view more clearly. He closed his eyes, smiled. He released the railing and walked away, towards Conrart, back inside the large ship to get ready to disembark. Conrart followed in suit.

Neither said a word.

"We can't just ignore this, Gwendal!" Anissina cried. She slammed a fist down on the desk and glared at the gray haired individual in front of her. She was grateful that the hospital had allowed them to discuss this issue in an office in a more vacant area. She could get loud when angered. "This is a serious issue. His majesty will have to deal with it immediately, but he isn't in the proper condition. You'll only stress him out, causing him to get worse. Do you want that pressure placed onto you?"

"I don't care what you think! And for that its none of your business, Anissina! His majesty will get back to his duties as soon as he can, even if that may be the day he returns back to Blood Pledge. I am no longer running this country. That is his responsibility." Gwendal shouted in argument.

"You're crazy!" Anissina cried out. She placed her hands over her face and paced back and forth where she stood. She then removed her hands and looked back at Gwendal, she tried to calm herself. "His majesty has been through torture, neglect, and quite frankly, almost death! And yet you expect him to return to active duty as king right away! Gwendal he is a child! He may not be a child around here, but he is still human as well. He's said this time and time again. He cannot control a country in this condition!" Anissina refused to stand down. She would fight for his majesty.

Gwendal rubbed his fingers between his nose, a headache forming. "Listen to me." Anissina loosened her shoulders. She hated seeing Gwendal so stressed out. "His majesty will go back to doing his job when he's capable of it, the same goes for Wolfram. Those two are useless the way they are now." Anissina's glare returned at that insult to his majesty but said nothing. "However, we need to make sure they have a country to return to, one that is at peace and ease." Gwendal leaned against the desk, his arms crossed. "Not to mention, we still have to learn who it is that kidnapped his majesty and Little Lord Brat."

Anissina crossed her arms as well. "Yes. He is also a problem. But, can we even guarantee that his majesty was able to identify him?"

"It's a long shot!" Gwendal admitted. He kept his gaze away from Anissina. "However, with his majesty, he's capable of getting such information."

"You seem to have put your faith in him!" Anissina pointed out.

"We have to put our hope somewhere." Gwendal mumbled.

Anissina smiled. "You're right!" She stepped away from the desk and walked around the office, stretching her legs. She looked out the small window and peeked around. "His majesty has always been a ball of hope for us. He's changed this world for the better. And somehow along that road, it has led him here. Some awful person took him away and almost killed him." Anissina felt her blood boil at the thought. "His majesty is a very kind man. He will recover and he will stop whoever is doing this!"

"I have to agree." Gwendal said. "However, I have a feeling that his majesty will find a way to mess up and then we will have to be the ones to fix it. That is how this usually goes!"

"Teamwork is key! It shows around here!" Anissina said.

"That seems to be his majesty's style." Gwendal said in agreement.

"So," Anissina looked back at Gwendal. "What's the plan? Do we wait for his majesty? Or do we make a move?"

Gwendal said nothing for a moment. He stood up from against the desk and started towards the door. "We'll discuss this later. We have other things to worry about right now."

"You mean his majesty." It wasn't really a question. It was a statement.

Gwendal said nothing to respond to her accusations. He walked out of the room. Anissina followed after him, hoping to finally see his majesty.

Greta walked out of her father's hospital room, she had a small, sad smile on her face as she leaned against the door. Yuri was okay for the most part. He was awake, alert, functioning! He seemed fine. Like he hadn't been shot in the head with an arrow. However, he was still recovering. He was weak. He was…

Different.

Greta didn't know what about him was different but it was there. She just couldn't point it out. Yuri was still her papa, no matter what. It could be that she didn't want to see anything wrong with Yuri. That she wanted to see him as he always was.

But she couldn't avoid the obvious, that something was wrong with Yuri. She just didn't know what it was.

"Yuri…" Greta mumbled to herself. She removed herself from the door and looked around. She was alone. Her uncle Shouri stayed behind to talk to Yuri. He seemed really upset so she decided to leave so they had privacy. She knew that Murata or even Lady Cecilie would be waiting in the waiting area and she didn't have far to go, so she would be fine.

Greta walked away from the door and started for the waiting area. As she walked, she felt something inside of her bubbling. Excitement. Happiness. With her head hung low in thought, Greta walked down the hall to where the waiting area was. She heard voices. Loud voices. Familiar voices. Quickening her pace, Greta hurried down the hall until she made it to the end, her hand against the wall as she looked around.

"It's you!" Greta said.

When he looked over at her, Greta pushed herself off the wall and over towards the blonde. She wrapped her arms around his thin frame and buried her face in his chest. His frame was stiff. She could feel it. But she didn't care. She felt like crying right now just seeing his face.

"Lady Greta?" Saralegui said with concern.

"Where have you have been all this time?" Greta cried. She sniffed and sobbed into his chest, never once did she let go. "After I heard that Wolfram was taken away…" She looked up at Saralegui, her eyes filled with tears. "I thought something bad had happened to you too."

Saralegui felt his heart breaking at the sight of his best friend's daughter breaking down in front of him. He was hesitant to move his arms down towards her and wrap them around her trembling frame. So, he opted to placed them on her shoulders. He pushed her away as gently as possible and had her look up at him.

"You are a brave girl, Lady Greta." Saralegui wiped her tears away with his thumbs and smiled at her. "I'm sorry I made you worry." He bowed his head. "I'm also apologize for breaking my promise to you."

Greta lowered her head now, looking at her shoes. "You mean, when you said that you would make sure I helped save Yuri?"

"Yes." Greta looked up at Saralegui who refused to meet her gaze. "I'm sorry. However, I was also no help in finding Yuri either."

"You're wrong!" Saralegui finally met Greta's gaze, a look of surprise, shock in his eyes. "You did everything you could to find Yuri. That's plenty of help. Just because it wasn't you who found him doesn't mean-" Greta was unable to finish her statement as she was pulled into a powerful embrace. Saralegui appreciated all of Greta's kind words.

Cradling Greta's head, holding her close, Saralegui felt comfort. Greta treated him just as Yuri would. "Thank you."

Greta said nothing, she only sunk into Sara's embrace. She didn't want to think of anything right then.

But she did. She remembered the images of Wolfram from memory of his attack on her. She knew he was being controlled, but it still scared her.

He wouldn't be in this condition. He wouldn't have been controlled. All of it could have been avoided...if Saralegui took better control on the situation and had watched Wolfram better.

Tears threatened to fall, anger and hurt flowed through her veins. She removed her arms from around Saralegui and brought them in front of her, still locked in the embraced, she weakly threw her fists on his chest.

"Why?" Greta cried softly. "Why did you let Wolfram go?"

"Lady Greta?" Saralegui questioned in concerned.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU KEEP PAPA WOLFRAM SAFE?" Greta shouted as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Saralegui could see the hurt and the pain and released the girl from his hold. He felt as if he no longer had the right to touch her.

"I apologize." Saralegui said. He stepped back and bowed to her. "I didn't want this to happen. I wanted to find Yuri just as much as Wolfram. I shouldn't have suggesting a split up. I'm sorry."

"I don't care." Greta sobbed. Greta felt all of her bottled up emotion coming through. She wanted to bottle it up once more, but couldn't.

She was taking her pain, and unleashing it onto Saralegui.

"Because of you, Papa Wolfram is like this too. He's in pain...all because of you."

"I understand that-" Saralegui tried to explain but Greta cut her off.

"You don't. You don't understand." Greta shouted back. "No one understands."

Conrart stepped up and placed a hand on Greta's shoulder. Greta looked up at him, sniffling and wiping her tears away. "That's enough, don't you think?" Conrart looked over at the blonde king, his eyes pleading a silent apology, then looked back at Greta. "Let's get some air."

Greta said nothing, she walked along with Conrart, her small hand in his, outside.

Meanwhile, Saralegui kept his head down. Purple spectacles sliding off his face, he made no move to fix them.

Berius stood by his king. "Are you alright?"

Saralegui looked up at Berius, a sad smile present on his lips. He looked normal. But his eyes showed all the pain. "I'm fine. I understand that Lady Greta is in a lot of pain right now. I won't hold anything against her." Saralegui pushed up his spectacles so that they lay directly in front of his golden eyes, once again making the illusion that they are purple once more. "Besides, everything that she said was true. There is no harm in truth, only the guilt of it."

"I understand." Beries replied.

Saralegui straightened his attire. "Never mind that. We have other things to worry about."

Walking out of the now barren waiting area, Saralegui made his way to his first stop. Yuri's room.

He kept his hope low that Yuri would even be conscious. The words written to him by Gwendal and his men stuck with him. He didn't expect Yuri to be awake for a while.

As he walked down the corridors, Saralegui felt the eyes If many doctors and patients on him. Some even bowed to him, being a common courtesy it was expected. He was a king after all, it happened more often than not.

However, Saralegui was not here for them. He was here to see Yuri.

As he neared the end of this hall, Shouri stepped out from Yuri's room, wiping tears away from his glasses. Shouri noticed Saralegui from the corner of his eye and turned to face him.

"Saralegui." Shouri mumbled to himself. When Saralegui stopped in front of him, Shouri knew just what was happening. "You want to see my little brother."

"Yes. If I'm still capable." Saralegui replied.

Shouri stepped aside from the door but told Saralegui one thing. "You can see him, but he's resting. He's on some really powerful medications, so he'll be out of it for a while. Keep quiet and don't wake him up."

Saralegui replied with a bow. "I'll make a note of that." He stood tall again and Shouri walked away. Saralegui looked over at his uncle and guard. "Please keep watch here. Alliance or not, Yuri's life is still in danger. I want you to make sure no one else comes in."

"Yes, your majesty." Berius replied.

He took his stand beside the door and Saralegui walked inside.

"My poor baby!" Lady Cecilie lulled as she ran her fingers through Wolfram's greasy hair. She made mental note to request that someone wash his hair. Lady Cecilie always made sure her sons had proper hygiene.

"Lord Bielefeld will recover before long." Murata said, hoping to help calm Lady Cecilie.

It didn't.

"Who would do something like this? It's terrible!" Lady Cecilie cried. She wanted to hold her son. But she knew she would not be able to until he's able to move again on his own.

"There are plenty of people in this world who can still harbor hate towards demons. It's not an impossible theory." Murata said.

"Are you saying that Wolfram was brought into this intentionally? That they planned this?" Lady Cecilie asked.

Murata shook his head. "I think Wolfram's involvement in this was expected by them, but was not guaranteed." Murata said, voicing his view on this situation.

Lady Cecilie placed her knuckles to her son's face and ran them softly across his cheek. His skin was so pale. He looked lifeless covered in all of the bruises and the bandages.

"Wolfram has always been one to act now and question later." Lady Cecilie said. Cupping her son's cheek, she smiled faintly down at him. "He would do anything for Yuri. This proves it!"

"I will suffer the pain you feel, you will feel my own." Murata recited a quote he had heard a long time ago. "It is common in those who were to wed or being wed, to say a vow to suffer together through any pain. This reminded me of that vow."

"That's a very beautiful vow." Lady Cecilie replied. "Being a seeker of love, it makes me appreciate the little things like that, but this isn't about me. This is about Wolfram and his majesty." Lady Cecilie placed her hand on Wolfram's forehead. She listened to his slow breathing. "Wolfram, he really loves King Yuri."

"It's obvious as day that he does." Murata replied. He grabbed Wolfram's hand and gave it a squeeze. "That's why we can't let him die. He's fine for now, but anything can happen." Murata watched Wolfram's chest rise and fall. "Yuri would be devastated if he were to perish this way. Trying to save him!"

Lady Cecilie nodded in agreement. She didn't want that to happen, for both Yuri's sake and her own.

"Get well soon, Wolfie. There's no rush!" Lady Cecilie said. She stood up from his bedside and walked to the door. Murata stayed put. He wanted to stay just a little longer. Lady Cecilie said nothing to Murata and walked out of the room and went to go find Gwendal.

Meanwhile, Murata kept his gaze on the blonde. He removed his hand from atop of Wolfram's and looked at his fingers. Bandages wrapped around his fingertips and the sides of his hand. The scratches on his hand still stung from when Wolfram attacked him with the scissors. He remembered the pained look in the blonde's eyes as he held those scissors. It looked like he was screaming from the inside for his own body to stop.

"You really got me good." Murata said to himself. He pulled up his sleeve. Another large bandage was wrapped around his arm. It was the same for his left. The fire attack that Wolfram threw at him just barely burned him. It was minor since the flame had just barely missed his skin, but the heat was still intense enough to scorch his skin. It was red and blistered and irritated. The doctor said with help from the healers, it should heal quite nicely. "You're stronger than you look!"

Wolfram didn't respond. It was obvious why. Murata smiled to himself. "Get well soon."

The door opened again and Murata looked over his shoulder. Shouri walked inside and shut the door behind him. "God, he looks awful!"

"What kind words." Murata mumbled. He knew Shouri was being honest and his reaction was normal, but it also sounded a bit rude.

"Sorry. But he does look awful with all of those burns and the bandages." Shouri said.

He sat across from Murata, where Lady Cecilie had been before. He watched the blonde closely.

"Look," Shouri sat back in his chair and looked over at Murata who refused to meet his gaze. "we're going to get the bastard that did this. I just know it."

To Murata, Shouri's statement was generic. Like those people who tell grieving parents who have lost children who were murdered.

"I know we will. With Shibuya and everyone looking for him, he will be caught before long." Murata replied.

Shouri crossed his arms over his chest. "Still, I can't believe that someone managed to get their hands on my little brother."

"We were caught off guard." Murata said.

"You let my brother get captured while I wasn't there!" Shouri shouted.

"What can I say? We were ill prepared for this. I'm sorry." Murata said.

"Sorry! You're sorry! My brother was almost killed!" Shouri shouted again. He shot up from his chair, hit foot hitting the legs causing it to be forcibly pushed back. "How am I supposed to trust you people with my brother's life if something like this happens!?"

"I am not his guard or his guardian. I was supposedly this Great Wise Man, but I'm still Murata Ken, a human with flaws. I have no special powers and I was no where near Shibuya when this happened. If you want to yell at someone, go talk to Gwenda or Conrart." Murata shouted back this time.

The two stayed silent. Murata took a deep breath and sank back down into his chair. He removed his glasses and began to clean them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout." Murata placed his glasses back on and looked back at Shouri who was sitting down once more. "However, you had no right to scream at me?"

Shouri ran a hand over his face in guilt. "I get it. I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"Upset about your brother." Murata said. Shouri looked at Murata. "I get it."

"I just...I almost lost him." Shouri said. He placed his head in his hands and felt all of the pain washing over him. "The thought of losing my little brother is just too much."

"We're lucky that he's alive." Murata said. "That arrow could have killed him. There were so many elements that could have caused for a bigger tragedy. We're just lucky that fate seemed to have other ideas."

"You mean Shinou?" Shouri asked. You could hear the anger in his voice.

Murata understood why Shouri would be angry, but, "Shinou doesn't control others anymore. He's stepped down from that role once Yuri aged to sixteen. Maybe even sooner than that. He doesn't tell me everything."

"So Shinou didn't take any control to make sure my little brother stayed alive?" Shouri asked, doubting that what Murata says is true.

"I'm positive. Shinou said he doesn't want anything to do with fate anymore. He's been around for 4,000 years and he said he wants to "enjoy whatever time he has left"." Murata replied.

Shouri shook his head and took a deep breath. "Well, no matter how it happened, all that matters is that everyone is okay."

"I have to agree." Murata stood up and looked at Wolfram one last time. "I'll be leaving for now. If Lord Bielefeld awakens before I get back, tell I stopped by."

"Will do." Shouri replied.

Murata walked out of the room and Shouri sat back in the chair. It was really quiet. Almost too quiet.

"Wake up already, Wolfram."

The heart monitor beeped and beeped. It's sound loud and irritating, but also comforting knowing that there was life connected to that machine. It meant that his heart was still beating. That he was alive.

Saralegui walked over to Yuri's bedside and sat down in the chair. He watched as Yuri slept. His chest rose and fell. Saralegui looked over Yuri's body. He saw bandages and bruises all over his body. From what he could see there were bandages on his head, his arms and possibly many more. A wave of guilt, dread and anger ran through Saralegui at the thought of what Yuri had to go through.

The pain.

The torture.

The horror.

Saralegui had no clue of any it. It was all unknown to him. He wanted to know. He wanted to know what kind of pain Yuri had go through. What the bastard behind this made him do. What Yuri was forced to say. How this all happened. He wanted to know.

He wanted to know how he was foolish enough to allow this to happen.

Saralegui still believed that Yuri being kidnapped was partially his fault. It was his men that were taken control of for this plot to take motion. If his men had been more prepared for something to the likes of this, he would have done so. But they weren't and this happened!

Saralegui grabbed Yuri's hand. He gave it a squeeze and lifted the heavy limb to his forehead and left it there. Saralegui could feel the warmth of Yuri's skin on his. It was such a comforting feeling.

"Yuri…" Saralegui said to himself. He felt tears forming and spilling from his cheeks. He hadn't remembered the last time he cried. It's been so long. "I'm sorry, Yuri."

The heart monitor continued to beep. Saralegui listened to it. He listened to his own heartbeat along with it. His was beating frantically. Yuri's was calm, beating steadily.

Sara smiled down at the white sheets of Yuri's hospital bed. He squeezed Yuri's hand again. It feels like its been years since he's seen black haired mazoku. He wanted to spend this time with Yuri forever. He didn't want it to end.

"It's good to see you again, King Yuri."

Just then, said king's eyes began to scrunch in discomfort. A moan escaped his lips as he started waking up. Saralegui felt his hand being squeezed by Yuri and smiled. Yuri opened his big black eyes and blinked as he tried to wake himself up.

"What's going on?" Yuri asked himself. He looked over to his left and saw Saralegui sitting at his side. "Sara?"

"It's good to see you again, King Yuri." Saralegui repeated.

Yuri smiled at his blonde haired friend. "It's good to...see you too." Yuri hissed in pain, holding his head. The medication was beginning to lose its effects. "Ah, that hurts."

Saralegui stood up from his chair and gazed upon Yuri with concern. "Are you okay, Yuri? Do you need me to get a doctor?"

"Sara I-" Yuri started but Saralegui cut him off.

"I'll get Berius." Saralegui said as he made his way to the door. Yuri grabbed his wrist, yanking him to a stop. Saralegui looked back at Yuri who had a pained expression on his face. "Yuri?"

"It's okay, Sara." Yuri said. He faked a smile to his friend and sat back against his pillows. "I'll be fine."

"But Yuri-" Sara said but stopped himself. He trusted Yuri's judgement. He sat back down in his chair at Yuri's bedside. "I understand."

"It's been a long time, Sara." Yuri said. Yuri had yet to realize that he still had Saralegui's wrist in his hold and has yet to let go. "It's good to see you."

Saralegui smiled at Yuri. "I have already said how I feel, Yuri." Yuri smiled at him. "But it's good to see you, too."

Yuri grinned at his friend, but that soon turned to hisses of pain as he held his head. Pounding in his skull was all he felt, like an intense migraine. He wanted it to end.

Saralegui, his face lit with concern, placed a hand on Yuri's cheek, rubbing his temple and the his cheek bones with the pad of his thumb. Yuri's face slowly began to soften, the evident pain washing away. Yuri placed his hand atop of Saralegui's and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing, Sara?" Yuri asked.

"You're hurting, Yuri. You need rest." Saralegui replied.

Yuri gazed into Saralegui's eyes. He knew Saralegui well, and he knew that Saralegui would fit him on this, continue to push him until he listened. It was the same with his mother. So Yuri knew to obey him.

He lied down in his bed, he felt his bandages rubbing against his stomach.

"I'll have Berius retrieve a doctor. The pain is too much for you in that condition."

"Thank you." Yuri replied as he sunk his head into the pillows.

Saralegui stood up his chair and walked to the door to inform Beries.

As Yuri lied there, staring up at the white ceiling. Something began to churn inside of him. He felt sick. His shoulders heavy. His heart pounding. He turned his direction back to Saralegui, who sat down beside him once again.

He had to ask. Saralegui had to know.

"Sara," Yuri had grabbed Saralegui's attention. "Where is Wolfram?" ,

Saralegui fell silent. His eyes widening and then sharpening in guilt. Yuri noticed this and grabbed Saralegui by the wrist once more

"Sara! Where is Wolfram?" Yuri repeated, louder and stern.

Saralegui remembered Greta's face as she cried, screamed at him. He remembered the hurt and the pain in her eyes. All because of him. Because of Wolfram's condition.

"He's fine. He's recovering in another room." Saralegui replied.

'I can't see another person in pain because of my actions. I hating lying to you, Yuri. For your own protection!'

"He's okay...?" Yuri asked in conformation.

"Yes." Saralegui replied.

'I'm sorry, Yuri.' Saralegui thought to himself.

The nurse walked in just after that. And nothing else was brought up on Wolfram's condition since.