Fic: Greta's Birthday Visits
Title: Greta’s Birthday Visits
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Rating|Genre: g | family/friendship
Characters|Pairing: Greta, Yuuri, Miko, Cheri and her three sons, Murata, Beatrice, etc | Conrad/Yuuri
Summary: Everybody in Blood Pledge Castle is celebrating Greta on her “birthday”, the day she was adopted. Yuuri then decides that it’s time for her to visit Earth for the first time.
Word count: 4 748
Notes: You all thought I had stopped writing fanfic, didn’t you?! Well, I wrote about 90% of this story months ago, and the last part tonight. :)
It is evening, and the whole day has been spent in celebration of Greta. It is not her birthday, but the day of her adoption. She has been Yuuri and Wolfram’s daughter for a year, and that sure is something to celebrate.
When everybody has eaten cake and candy to their heart’s content, and more, and they are beginning to think that the day has nothing more exciting to offer and that it is bedtime, at least for the little girl, Yuuri announces:
“Greta, you are not a small child anymore. In fact, you are a very clever and good girl, and you make your whole family very proud of you.”
The family - including Anissina, Günter, Gisela, and for this day; several maids, as well as Murata, Yozak, Hube, Nicola and Elle - nods in agreement, thinking that Yuuri is repeating himself. Surely they all heard this little speech, or some version of it, already at breakfast?
“That is why”, Yuuri continues, “I have decided that it is time for you to finally meet your other family. They deserve to get to know you; I know that they have been dying to meet you ever since I told them that I adopted you. Not that it was a long time ago as far as they are concerned…”
“Yuuri, are you saying what you think you are saying?” Wolfram thinks that his fiancé is too long-winded and tries to speed him up. “We’re taking Greta to Earth?”
“Yes”, Yuuri confirms with a solemn nod. “I think it’s about time.”
The adults in the room all begin to mumble and look at each other, at the child and her two fathers.
Greta doesn’t say anything, but her eyes begin to sparkle. She bits her lip anxiously, aware of the hesitation in the room.
“Is it safe? These trips have been unpredictable in the past, after all.”
It is Gwendal who says what they are all thinking, but Murata reassures them that it is going to be alright.
“Like Shibuya just said, Greta is definitely old enough to handle it. All she has to do is to hold on to his hand and she’ll land wherever he lands.”
“That’s great!” Wolfram says and hugs Greta. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the in-laws as a family!”
Yuuri suddenly looks like he’s reconsidering his plan, but when Greta breaks away from Wolfram and jumps into Yuuri’s arms with joy and excitement written all over her face, he can’t back down from his offer.
“I don’t know”, Gwendal says. “I’m not too sure about this. Conrad?”
“Hm”, Conrad says. “I don’t see why not. It’s not like we’re sending her off on her own…”
Gwendal is about to protest, when Murata cuts him off, “I think someone who’s not even a parent is a bit overprotecting!”
“Hey, you!” Gwendal snaps. He is well aware that the sage’s soul is old and wise, but that doesn’t change the fact that an authoritarian glare from him can make any young boy blush when he’s been out of line. “Somebody has to be a responsible adult around here, if the parents won’t be!”
“Gwendal, I appreciate your concern.” Yuuri tries to smooth things over. “I truly appreciate your judgment and your love for Greta, but really, it’s going to be okay. I wouldn’t let her do anything dangerous, and I’m taking her to meet my parents. You trust them, don’t you? After all, they raised me, and I survived it.”
Yuuri smiles the way only he can smile, and so it is decided. Greta gets to visit her other grandmother, who refuses to be referred to as such, and her grandfather, who out of earshot of his wife tells a delighted Greta that it’s okay to call him Grandpa if she wants to.
****
The first time they have a night out as a family, they go to a circus. Greta is only impressed by the animals and the acrobats at first. The man who juggles dangerously with swords and daggers doesn’t impress her much.
“I bet Hube can do that”, she comments. “Or even Uncle Conrad and Uncle Gwendal, if they wanted to. And Günter, for sure! Not that he would…”
Yuuri finds her comments amusing. He gets images in his head of a royal circus; it would be hilarious and it’s true that making daggers dance high up in the air would be no match for Günter… On the other hand, he thinks it’s sad that Greta instantly dismisses the idea as ridiculous. Things like daggers and swords are not for fun in the world she comes from. It’s good that she knows it, but it is very sad at the same time.
Then, when the fire-eater comes out, Greta’s eyes go wide in admiration again.
“Oooh, it comes out of his mouth… Like a man-dragon! Wolfram, can you do that?!”
Wolfram looks like he can’t believe his ears or his eyes.
“Why in Shinou’s name would I do something so utterly ridiculous? What’s the point? Besides, I didn’t know people on Earth could do such things.”
“They can’t”, Yuuri explains. “Not the way you can do it, anyway. It’s just a trick. The fire is real, but it’s not real magic.”
Wolfram rolls his eyes, but it also looks like he’s pleased to hear that anything humans can do, he can do better. It’s not like he couldn’t make fire come out of his mouth if he wanted to; it just hasn’t occurred to him before. But if it would amuse Greta…
***
It becomes a habit that Greta visits Japan almost whenever Yuuri does, and always on the day after her party.
Yuuri’s parents adapt very quickly to having a little girl in the family, and Miko almost weeps of joy at every hello, and she definitely weeps at every goodbye.
“Welcome home, my sweetie!” she says every time she’s waiting with warm towels in the bathroom. “And you too, Yuu-chan, Wolf-chan and Ken-chan.”
“I’m glad to hear the rest of us are included”, Yuuri replies drily, but in his heart, he’s very happy. No child can get too much love, and anything that makes his mother happy makes him happy.
Besides, now that his mother has Greta, there’s no more complaining about how boring it is not to have a girl in the house.
When Greta turns twelve, Miko feels like they have always been together. She takes Greta on a wild shopping-spree and the boys are free to do whatever. Murata disappears somewhere after the habitual curry, and Wolfram tries to learn to ride a bicycle.
He’s not doing very well at first, but he’s surprisingly patient and keeps trying the whole day. Yuuri pretends to be watching him, and Wolfram pretends to believe that he’s being watched. In reality, Yuuri is homesick and can’t wait for Greta and Murata to come back…
When Greta is thirteen, it has been a very long time since their last visit, at least going by Shin Makoku time, where it has been a year. Miko is quiet for an unusually long time after the initial welcome home-greetings.
She takes a long look at Greta, her son, and the man who accompanies them.
“I see things are changing over there”, she says quietly. “It makes me wish you could stay here a long, long time! Say, won’t you stay for more than a day?”
“Mom!” Yuuri shakes his head at her. “Don’t talk about saying goodbye one minute after we’ve arrived! Things change; that’s life. Besides, we’re the same as we always were. Always happy to be home.”
At this, Miko smiles a little.
“What’s wrong, Mama?” Greta asks, and even though her hair is still wet, Miko wraps her up in a tight embrace.
“Nothing, sweetie. It’s just that I can see that you’ve grown, and… Well… Also, I was surprised not to see Wolfram…”
“He is not coming anymore,” Conrad says. “My brother asked me to tell you that he sends his love and he says he’s going to miss you.”
“Miss me?” Miko nods as she gets her first hunch confirmed. “I see…”
“Are you disappointed?” Conrad asks, and it sounds like the words just slip out of his mouth.
“Oh!” Miko’s eyes turn warm and welcoming. “No, you can never disappoint me.”
Greta spends most of that day with her uncle Shouri and her Grandpa. Miko feels a strong need to catch up with her son, and Greta understands. She sort of has three daddies now, but she is already used to it and doesn’t mind.
***
In Greta’s world, time passes almost without her noticing. It’s different for Miko, but she tries not to comment anymore when she sees how Greta has grown a bit taller each time she shows up.
The two of them have formed a special bond. Yuuri and the other men roll their eyes and pretend to think that they fill their time together with nothing but clothes, hairdos and other silly ‘girly’ things. In reality, they are secretly fascinated, and although Miko perhaps understands how they feel, she rolls her eyes and pretends to believe that men are totally empty-headed and daft.
Yuuri watches them and he sort of feels that there is something more than ‘being a woman’ that draws the two of them together, but he doesn’t want to think too deeply about it.
***
It is the ‘Fifth Anniversary of Greta’s Adoption’. They prefer to call it that, rather than to refer to the fact that Greta is now fifteen years old and unable to hide it. But her world is still mostly centred on Yuuri, or that’s what it seems like. She still throws her arms around his neck to welcome him home whenever he has been away from the castle, she plays catch with him and Conrad, and she still loves cookies and kittens and bearbees.
Greta is the same as she has always been, just like they are.
She is quieter, though. Sometimes, she sneaks away where no one can find her and doesn’t come out until they’re worried. She spends a lot of time looking at her reflection in the mirror. If she were any other girl, Yuuri would tease her for being vain, but she’s special, so he pretends not to notice. Besides, she doesn’t sleep in his room anymore - she hasn’t, since he and Conrad became lovers - and he pretends that it doesn’t mean anything other than that he finally has his precious privacy.
Greta has also sometimes been seen praying at the temple.
And once, Cheri brought her a new dress and insisted that they’d try it on together. She found that Greta had been flattening her breasts with a piece of linen wrapped tightly around her chest.
Aside from those details, though, she is the same as ever, and now is her special day.
She has opened presents from almost everyone.
Gwendal hands her his gift, and she opens it to find not only one, but five stuffed animals knitted in different shapes and colors.
“They’re adorable!” she beams, refraining from guessing exactly what kinds of adorable animals they are. “And they’re so tiny! Thank you, Uncle Gwendal, you’re the best!”
“Yes, well…” Gwendal hums, after a handful of years with Greta still not entirely comfortable with public displays of affection. “They’re pocket sized, see? So you could always take one with you, if you wanted, without having to keep them where everybody can see them…”
As if Gwendal has been thinking, privately in his chamber, that a person so - dare we say it - grown up as Greta seems to be these days, perhaps wouldn’t want to decorate her whole room with her uncle’s hand-knit toys anymore…
“Open mine now”, Cheri says. “You saved it for last and I dare say it was wise, if you know what I mean…”
She winks, and Greta proceeds to open a present that is decidedly jewel box-shaped. It makes Yuuri frown and look suspiciously at the former queen. Greta is just a child; he hopes that Cheri hasn’t filled that box with anything too extravagant.
When Greta reveals to the rest of the party what’s inside the box, Yuuri doesn’t know if he should be more or less worried. It is a set of a silver necklace with matching bracelet and earrings, and it’s nothing but tasteful and very pretty.
But is it appropriate for a child?
“Do you like it?” Cheri asks. “I think it’s a good start for a decent jewel collection, something that every young lady should have.”
“Thank you so much, it’s a beautiful gift!” Greta replies and kisses Cheri’s cheek. “I’m going to love it forever and ever! And thank you, everybody!”
She looks like she is about to say something more, something difficult, but she doesn’t. She smiles again and hugs and kisses everybody, even Gwendal.
Then, Cheri goes with her to her room to help her get changed and put her hair up. Greta doesn’t wear that thing around her chest anymore. Later that evening, there’s a party for a selected few young nobles that Greta has gotten to know during the past year. Young Beatrice is also among them, the only human beside Greta. No one from the Wincotts is present; Greta did not ask to invite little Lindsey.
Just a couple of years ago, he was still an appreciated playmate, but Yuuri had a talk with his father, and since then, it’s as if Greta has never known him. She doesn’t ask, and he doesn’t tell her, but once he overheard a conversation between Greta and Beatrice after one of the von Wincott boy’s visits.
“Why do you hang out with little kids?” Beatrice asked.
“Oh, but…” Greta seemed lost for words. “I guess I haven’t thought about it that way; he’s always been a friend of mine. Or he has been for almost as long as I’ve lived here; that’s forever as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yeah, but he’s just a little kid”, Beatrice insisted. “Do you, like, babysit him or something?”
“I guess”, Greta replied. “Or… that’s not it. And he’s a Mazoku, you know. He’s actually older than us.”
“Maybe he is”, Beatrice said, “but he doesn’t talk or act like he is. As far as I’m concerned, we’re way older than he is!”
“I don’t want to talk about it”, Greta said. “Actually, I don’t feel like hanging out today.”
She stormed out of the room, leaving a perplexed Beatrice and a troubled Yuuri behind.
Yuuri didn’t know how to handle it. It had been okay when Greta was ten or even eleven, but now that she was twelve, the difference between her and a Mazoku who still looked like he was six was becoming too apparent.
He still isn’t sure if it was at all the best decision, but the course of action that he took was to protect Greta from having to see too clearly that she’s growing up, while other Shin Makoku children seeme not to. Most of the kids she hangs out with now that she’s fifteen are around sixty five or seventy years old, but it doesn’t bother any of them.
***
It is a week before Greta’s sixth party, and she comes to Yuuri with a special request.
“If it is possible”, she says, “I would like to go visit Mama and Grandpa before the usual day this time.”
Yuuri briefly reflects upon how strange it sounds when she refers to his parents that way, but it’s the way they and Greta like it, so he has no objections.
He also has no objections to her request, although he is a bit hesitant at first.
“I don’t know”, he says. “You know how unpredictable the time difference is. You wouldn’t want to miss your party by a week, would you? Or even by a single day? After all, it is a very special day for all of us.”
“I know”, she says, “but please? I’m sure it would be okay if we hurry. There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I need to talk to your mother about it just once more; it won’t even take an hour.”
Her big, pleading eyes are not the eyes of a child who is acting on an impulse. Also, she says ‘your mother’ and not ‘Mama’, as if to show how serious she is.
“What’s the matter; is something bothering you? You know you can talk to me about anything!”
Yuuri means what he says, but he isn’t surprised when Greta doesn’t want to fill him in. He has a feeling that she is far from sharing her every thought with him these days.
So he agrees. He takes her to the Shibuya family home, where loving embraces await them as usual.
Greta goes to talk with both of Yuuri’s parents, and he sits in the kitchen, unable to eat the curry. What in the worlds is going on? He can’t remember that he has ever been so nervous before, but the conversation takes much less than an hour; in fact, it barely even takes ten minutes.
“We must, of course, talk about this with Yuuri. He is your father, sweetie, and you need to tell him.”
“Tell me what?!” So many thoughts run through Yuuri’s head: pregnant and wants to keep the child, pregnant and doesn’t want to keep the child, lesbian - no, that wouldn’t be an issue, would it - aids, cancer, something else incurable, is she dying, are his parents dying, has she fallen in love with Shouri and wants his blessing…
What Greta and his parents tell him is worse than anything he could have imagined, and he can’t help it: He is seventeen, or even twenty-three years old going by Shin Makoku time, but not too old to cry. So he cries and says that he forbids it, what Greta wants.
But he can’t deny that he sees the wisdom of her plan. When he takes her hand for the short journey back, he holds it tighter than ever, tighter even than during the first time, and they come home to Shin Makoku only hours before the party. Luckily, everybody has faith in the two of them; nobody doubted that the party was going to happen as usual, so everything has been prepared even in the Maou and his daughter’s absence.
***
When all the presents have been opened and everyone has eaten cake and candy to their heart’s content or more, Princess Greta stands up and shows every sign of wanting to give a speech.
They are all very excited, except Yuuri.
“Everybody”, Greta begins, “thank you all for this wonderful day, and for all wonderful days. Yuuri always says this day is very special to him and to Wolfram because it was the day they adopted me. It is very special for me as well, for the same reason. This was the day I got a new family, and I consider this day my true birthday.”
The family and friends all nod and smile.
“But… In addition to being the day of my adoption, today can also be called my sixteenth birthday”, Greta continues and there’s suddenly a strange tension in the room. “As we all know, it is the custom of this country that on his or her sixteenth birthday, a person makes a decision for his or her future…”
The room is stirring; there’s a concerned mumble, a need to protest and say something, but Greta raises her voice, only so much that it commands them to silence, if not to calm.
“An important decision. Today, my time has come to declare what I have decided. Please, try to understand…”
Greta may be a sixteen year old princess, but she’s also just a child, and her voice breaks with emotion.
Yuuri, and others with him, stands up.
“You don’t have to do this”, he tries, but Greta composes herself and shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, but I have to. So. I’m sure you all remember that day a few years ago, when I was asked to come back to my country and grow up there, so I could rule as its queen. Thankfully, I was allowed to stay here until I was old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of such a decision.”
Yuuri, Günter, Cheri and even Wolfram are crying now, but then Greta goes on:
“I know now that I don’t want to go back to the country I was born in. Some people would probably say it’s my duty to do so, but that place can never be my home again. You know, ‘home is where the heart is’, and I know that my heart is with all of you. You are my family, all of you, and it would break my heart to leave you.”
The party guests look relieved as if they’ve just come down from an emotional rollercoaster, but Yuuri knows that it isn’t over yet.
“However”, Greta’s speech continues, “it’s time to be honest. I think we all know what kind of situation I am facing, and what I’m making you go through just by being what I am…”
“No…” Gwendal says; he breaks there, in front of everybody, and whispers with tears in his voice, “oh great Shinou, please…”
“I have prayed”, Greta says and her voice is very stern now, “and I would go live in the temple forever if I thought it helped, but you know that not even Shinou can change the fact that I am a human and not a Mazoku like you. I will grow up and die before any of you have a single grey hair on your heads. This is a fact.”
They all know that it is a fact. They have tried to deny it for as long as they’ve known and loved Greta, but now that she says it herself, they have to face the fact.
“That’s why returning to my birth country would only be a fake solution”, Greta says. “I’d still grow old before any of you do, you just wouldn’t have to watch it happen so closely and I wouldn’t have to see the looks on your faces as you watch me go through the changes of life…”
He voice dies away, and Cheri says:
“Darling child, we would love you anyway; we will always love you no matter what! Love it all that matters…”
“I know”, Greta says, “but it hurts…”
Greta is also crying now. The party is starting to feel like a funeral… Yuuri can’t have it that way.
He walks up to Greta and hugs her tightly; this girl who is almost a woman, but who is his beloved daughter.
“Oh Yuuri”, she sobs, “dad…”
He holds her, rocks her, murmurs steadily, “I love you, we all love you…”
Yuuri looks at Wolfram and beckons him closer with a nod of his head. Wolfram, once his so-called fiancé and now the friend he was always supposed to be, has his faults, but nobody can deny that also he has a father’s love for Greta.
Yuuri lets go when Wolfram is holding the girl, and he looks at the sad and shocked faces of the people he knows so well. It’s up to him now, up to him to be strong and do what’s best for his child.
“I wish it wasn’t so”, he says, “but what Greta said is true. But she spoke of a ‘fake solution’. There’s another one. Not an ideal solution, no, and some of you might think it’s a worse one, but… it is Greta’s wish, and I really do think it would be for the best.”
Conrad understands; Yuuri can see it by the way his lover’s eyes widen, and Conrad’s voice is only a whisper when he says:
“The solution is… Earth.”
Yuuri nods, and although everything happens at once, it is as if he sees it in slowmotion. He takes it all in: “No!” Wolfram cries sharply, Cheri’s face whitens and Conrad’s arm flies out to steady her, Günter wrings his hands with tears in his eyes and Anissina - something that would be comical in another situation - looks like his reflection, Yozak puts on the mask of a spy who can’t reveal his emotions but he can’t fool Yuuri, and Gwendal is shaking, as if he’s about to fall down on his knees, but he doesn’t.
Wolfram is the first one to say what they are probably all thinking:
“Conrad, don’t be absurd! Greta can’t live on Earth. Brother, talk some sense into Yuuri - Greta can’t live on Earth!”
He looks feverishly at Gwendal, who repeats:
“Greta can’t live on Earth”, but his voice is dull, as if he’s talking in his sleep and unaware of what he’s saying.
The room is full of sobs and sighs and Greta is crying in Wolfram’s arms as if the world is about to end. Yuuri can’t take it. It is too painful; whatever they do, somebody is going to end up crying, but he knows what the right thing is. If only he could find the right words; the emotions are bubbling inside of him, and he wishes he could reach for the power and magic within him, but…
“Listen, we have to consider what is best for Greta, after all.”
Cheri is the one who speaks calmly in Yuuri’s stead, and everybody looks at her.
“She has the right to decide her own future, even if that’s hard for us, but if you think about it… what it means for the future…”
Cheri’s voice dies away, but perhaps she has said enough to make her point clear.
“Mother, how could you ever endure it?” Gwendal looks at her as if he suddenly sees her in a new light. “I always knew humans and Mazoku shouldn’t be involved, but I guess I never really saw that it is because… it hurts…”
“It’s love, my dear children”, Cheri says. “Love makes it worth it, love makes us endure anything. Conrad’s father taught me that; all your fathers taught me that, each in their own way…”
“Well, but I’m still here, so could you all please stop being so depressed? You’re not making it any easier for me.”
Greta has stopped crying, and there’s something about the way she looks at them, the way she steps out of Wolfram’s embrace and the way she stands there in the middle of the room, that makes her - impossible as it is - look like she really is Yuuri’s daughter. She has his I demand that you let me have it my way look on her face.
“Of course it’s a hard decision”, she says, “but you’re all intelligent people here. It’s going to be painful and awkward if I stay here forever, even if I go to live in a human country. It’s going to be painful if I go to Earth, because I’ll be far away from you and we can’t see each other every day. But can’t you see it? Every time I come back here, I’ll be the same as before. Because of the different time zones, it’ll look like my aging process is as slow as yours. Even if that’s not true, even if a lot of things are going to happen here and I won’t be here to see it…”
“Greta is right”, Gwendal says. “Obviously, what she says is true. And… Greta, you have discussed this with Yuuri’s parents, haven’t you? I assume your plan is to stay with them? Because if not…”
“Of course I’m going to stay with them”, Greta replies. “They are also my family, you know. It’s not like I want to choose them over you guys, but…”
But it is what she has to do. There’s no way anybody can talk her out of it, and soon it becomes clear to everyone that Greta, like no other human being in their world, has a chance to get the best of two worlds. And because there’s no point in postponing the inevitable, she leaves within a week.
From that day on, Greta spends most of her time in Yuuri’s old home, and she becomes a visitor in Shin Makoku.
On the day of her adoption, though, in celebration of her true birthday and her place in their hearts, her entire Mazoku family always visits her on Earth.
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Rating|Genre: g | family/friendship
Characters|Pairing: Greta, Yuuri, Miko, Cheri and her three sons, Murata, Beatrice, etc | Conrad/Yuuri
Summary: Everybody in Blood Pledge Castle is celebrating Greta on her “birthday”, the day she was adopted. Yuuri then decides that it’s time for her to visit Earth for the first time.
Word count: 4 748
Notes: You all thought I had stopped writing fanfic, didn’t you?! Well, I wrote about 90% of this story months ago, and the last part tonight. :)
It is evening, and the whole day has been spent in celebration of Greta. It is not her birthday, but the day of her adoption. She has been Yuuri and Wolfram’s daughter for a year, and that sure is something to celebrate.
When everybody has eaten cake and candy to their heart’s content, and more, and they are beginning to think that the day has nothing more exciting to offer and that it is bedtime, at least for the little girl, Yuuri announces:
“Greta, you are not a small child anymore. In fact, you are a very clever and good girl, and you make your whole family very proud of you.”
The family - including Anissina, Günter, Gisela, and for this day; several maids, as well as Murata, Yozak, Hube, Nicola and Elle - nods in agreement, thinking that Yuuri is repeating himself. Surely they all heard this little speech, or some version of it, already at breakfast?
“That is why”, Yuuri continues, “I have decided that it is time for you to finally meet your other family. They deserve to get to know you; I know that they have been dying to meet you ever since I told them that I adopted you. Not that it was a long time ago as far as they are concerned…”
“Yuuri, are you saying what you think you are saying?” Wolfram thinks that his fiancé is too long-winded and tries to speed him up. “We’re taking Greta to Earth?”
“Yes”, Yuuri confirms with a solemn nod. “I think it’s about time.”
The adults in the room all begin to mumble and look at each other, at the child and her two fathers.
Greta doesn’t say anything, but her eyes begin to sparkle. She bits her lip anxiously, aware of the hesitation in the room.
“Is it safe? These trips have been unpredictable in the past, after all.”
It is Gwendal who says what they are all thinking, but Murata reassures them that it is going to be alright.
“Like Shibuya just said, Greta is definitely old enough to handle it. All she has to do is to hold on to his hand and she’ll land wherever he lands.”
“That’s great!” Wolfram says and hugs Greta. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the in-laws as a family!”
Yuuri suddenly looks like he’s reconsidering his plan, but when Greta breaks away from Wolfram and jumps into Yuuri’s arms with joy and excitement written all over her face, he can’t back down from his offer.
“I don’t know”, Gwendal says. “I’m not too sure about this. Conrad?”
“Hm”, Conrad says. “I don’t see why not. It’s not like we’re sending her off on her own…”
Gwendal is about to protest, when Murata cuts him off, “I think someone who’s not even a parent is a bit overprotecting!”
“Hey, you!” Gwendal snaps. He is well aware that the sage’s soul is old and wise, but that doesn’t change the fact that an authoritarian glare from him can make any young boy blush when he’s been out of line. “Somebody has to be a responsible adult around here, if the parents won’t be!”
“Gwendal, I appreciate your concern.” Yuuri tries to smooth things over. “I truly appreciate your judgment and your love for Greta, but really, it’s going to be okay. I wouldn’t let her do anything dangerous, and I’m taking her to meet my parents. You trust them, don’t you? After all, they raised me, and I survived it.”
Yuuri smiles the way only he can smile, and so it is decided. Greta gets to visit her other grandmother, who refuses to be referred to as such, and her grandfather, who out of earshot of his wife tells a delighted Greta that it’s okay to call him Grandpa if she wants to.
****
The first time they have a night out as a family, they go to a circus. Greta is only impressed by the animals and the acrobats at first. The man who juggles dangerously with swords and daggers doesn’t impress her much.
“I bet Hube can do that”, she comments. “Or even Uncle Conrad and Uncle Gwendal, if they wanted to. And Günter, for sure! Not that he would…”
Yuuri finds her comments amusing. He gets images in his head of a royal circus; it would be hilarious and it’s true that making daggers dance high up in the air would be no match for Günter… On the other hand, he thinks it’s sad that Greta instantly dismisses the idea as ridiculous. Things like daggers and swords are not for fun in the world she comes from. It’s good that she knows it, but it is very sad at the same time.
Then, when the fire-eater comes out, Greta’s eyes go wide in admiration again.
“Oooh, it comes out of his mouth… Like a man-dragon! Wolfram, can you do that?!”
Wolfram looks like he can’t believe his ears or his eyes.
“Why in Shinou’s name would I do something so utterly ridiculous? What’s the point? Besides, I didn’t know people on Earth could do such things.”
“They can’t”, Yuuri explains. “Not the way you can do it, anyway. It’s just a trick. The fire is real, but it’s not real magic.”
Wolfram rolls his eyes, but it also looks like he’s pleased to hear that anything humans can do, he can do better. It’s not like he couldn’t make fire come out of his mouth if he wanted to; it just hasn’t occurred to him before. But if it would amuse Greta…
***
It becomes a habit that Greta visits Japan almost whenever Yuuri does, and always on the day after her party.
Yuuri’s parents adapt very quickly to having a little girl in the family, and Miko almost weeps of joy at every hello, and she definitely weeps at every goodbye.
“Welcome home, my sweetie!” she says every time she’s waiting with warm towels in the bathroom. “And you too, Yuu-chan, Wolf-chan and Ken-chan.”
“I’m glad to hear the rest of us are included”, Yuuri replies drily, but in his heart, he’s very happy. No child can get too much love, and anything that makes his mother happy makes him happy.
Besides, now that his mother has Greta, there’s no more complaining about how boring it is not to have a girl in the house.
When Greta turns twelve, Miko feels like they have always been together. She takes Greta on a wild shopping-spree and the boys are free to do whatever. Murata disappears somewhere after the habitual curry, and Wolfram tries to learn to ride a bicycle.
He’s not doing very well at first, but he’s surprisingly patient and keeps trying the whole day. Yuuri pretends to be watching him, and Wolfram pretends to believe that he’s being watched. In reality, Yuuri is homesick and can’t wait for Greta and Murata to come back…
When Greta is thirteen, it has been a very long time since their last visit, at least going by Shin Makoku time, where it has been a year. Miko is quiet for an unusually long time after the initial welcome home-greetings.
She takes a long look at Greta, her son, and the man who accompanies them.
“I see things are changing over there”, she says quietly. “It makes me wish you could stay here a long, long time! Say, won’t you stay for more than a day?”
“Mom!” Yuuri shakes his head at her. “Don’t talk about saying goodbye one minute after we’ve arrived! Things change; that’s life. Besides, we’re the same as we always were. Always happy to be home.”
At this, Miko smiles a little.
“What’s wrong, Mama?” Greta asks, and even though her hair is still wet, Miko wraps her up in a tight embrace.
“Nothing, sweetie. It’s just that I can see that you’ve grown, and… Well… Also, I was surprised not to see Wolfram…”
“He is not coming anymore,” Conrad says. “My brother asked me to tell you that he sends his love and he says he’s going to miss you.”
“Miss me?” Miko nods as she gets her first hunch confirmed. “I see…”
“Are you disappointed?” Conrad asks, and it sounds like the words just slip out of his mouth.
“Oh!” Miko’s eyes turn warm and welcoming. “No, you can never disappoint me.”
Greta spends most of that day with her uncle Shouri and her Grandpa. Miko feels a strong need to catch up with her son, and Greta understands. She sort of has three daddies now, but she is already used to it and doesn’t mind.
***
In Greta’s world, time passes almost without her noticing. It’s different for Miko, but she tries not to comment anymore when she sees how Greta has grown a bit taller each time she shows up.
The two of them have formed a special bond. Yuuri and the other men roll their eyes and pretend to think that they fill their time together with nothing but clothes, hairdos and other silly ‘girly’ things. In reality, they are secretly fascinated, and although Miko perhaps understands how they feel, she rolls her eyes and pretends to believe that men are totally empty-headed and daft.
Yuuri watches them and he sort of feels that there is something more than ‘being a woman’ that draws the two of them together, but he doesn’t want to think too deeply about it.
***
It is the ‘Fifth Anniversary of Greta’s Adoption’. They prefer to call it that, rather than to refer to the fact that Greta is now fifteen years old and unable to hide it. But her world is still mostly centred on Yuuri, or that’s what it seems like. She still throws her arms around his neck to welcome him home whenever he has been away from the castle, she plays catch with him and Conrad, and she still loves cookies and kittens and bearbees.
Greta is the same as she has always been, just like they are.
She is quieter, though. Sometimes, she sneaks away where no one can find her and doesn’t come out until they’re worried. She spends a lot of time looking at her reflection in the mirror. If she were any other girl, Yuuri would tease her for being vain, but she’s special, so he pretends not to notice. Besides, she doesn’t sleep in his room anymore - she hasn’t, since he and Conrad became lovers - and he pretends that it doesn’t mean anything other than that he finally has his precious privacy.
Greta has also sometimes been seen praying at the temple.
And once, Cheri brought her a new dress and insisted that they’d try it on together. She found that Greta had been flattening her breasts with a piece of linen wrapped tightly around her chest.
Aside from those details, though, she is the same as ever, and now is her special day.
She has opened presents from almost everyone.
Gwendal hands her his gift, and she opens it to find not only one, but five stuffed animals knitted in different shapes and colors.
“They’re adorable!” she beams, refraining from guessing exactly what kinds of adorable animals they are. “And they’re so tiny! Thank you, Uncle Gwendal, you’re the best!”
“Yes, well…” Gwendal hums, after a handful of years with Greta still not entirely comfortable with public displays of affection. “They’re pocket sized, see? So you could always take one with you, if you wanted, without having to keep them where everybody can see them…”
As if Gwendal has been thinking, privately in his chamber, that a person so - dare we say it - grown up as Greta seems to be these days, perhaps wouldn’t want to decorate her whole room with her uncle’s hand-knit toys anymore…
“Open mine now”, Cheri says. “You saved it for last and I dare say it was wise, if you know what I mean…”
She winks, and Greta proceeds to open a present that is decidedly jewel box-shaped. It makes Yuuri frown and look suspiciously at the former queen. Greta is just a child; he hopes that Cheri hasn’t filled that box with anything too extravagant.
When Greta reveals to the rest of the party what’s inside the box, Yuuri doesn’t know if he should be more or less worried. It is a set of a silver necklace with matching bracelet and earrings, and it’s nothing but tasteful and very pretty.
But is it appropriate for a child?
“Do you like it?” Cheri asks. “I think it’s a good start for a decent jewel collection, something that every young lady should have.”
“Thank you so much, it’s a beautiful gift!” Greta replies and kisses Cheri’s cheek. “I’m going to love it forever and ever! And thank you, everybody!”
She looks like she is about to say something more, something difficult, but she doesn’t. She smiles again and hugs and kisses everybody, even Gwendal.
Then, Cheri goes with her to her room to help her get changed and put her hair up. Greta doesn’t wear that thing around her chest anymore. Later that evening, there’s a party for a selected few young nobles that Greta has gotten to know during the past year. Young Beatrice is also among them, the only human beside Greta. No one from the Wincotts is present; Greta did not ask to invite little Lindsey.
Just a couple of years ago, he was still an appreciated playmate, but Yuuri had a talk with his father, and since then, it’s as if Greta has never known him. She doesn’t ask, and he doesn’t tell her, but once he overheard a conversation between Greta and Beatrice after one of the von Wincott boy’s visits.
“Why do you hang out with little kids?” Beatrice asked.
“Oh, but…” Greta seemed lost for words. “I guess I haven’t thought about it that way; he’s always been a friend of mine. Or he has been for almost as long as I’ve lived here; that’s forever as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yeah, but he’s just a little kid”, Beatrice insisted. “Do you, like, babysit him or something?”
“I guess”, Greta replied. “Or… that’s not it. And he’s a Mazoku, you know. He’s actually older than us.”
“Maybe he is”, Beatrice said, “but he doesn’t talk or act like he is. As far as I’m concerned, we’re way older than he is!”
“I don’t want to talk about it”, Greta said. “Actually, I don’t feel like hanging out today.”
She stormed out of the room, leaving a perplexed Beatrice and a troubled Yuuri behind.
Yuuri didn’t know how to handle it. It had been okay when Greta was ten or even eleven, but now that she was twelve, the difference between her and a Mazoku who still looked like he was six was becoming too apparent.
He still isn’t sure if it was at all the best decision, but the course of action that he took was to protect Greta from having to see too clearly that she’s growing up, while other Shin Makoku children seeme not to. Most of the kids she hangs out with now that she’s fifteen are around sixty five or seventy years old, but it doesn’t bother any of them.
***
It is a week before Greta’s sixth party, and she comes to Yuuri with a special request.
“If it is possible”, she says, “I would like to go visit Mama and Grandpa before the usual day this time.”
Yuuri briefly reflects upon how strange it sounds when she refers to his parents that way, but it’s the way they and Greta like it, so he has no objections.
He also has no objections to her request, although he is a bit hesitant at first.
“I don’t know”, he says. “You know how unpredictable the time difference is. You wouldn’t want to miss your party by a week, would you? Or even by a single day? After all, it is a very special day for all of us.”
“I know”, she says, “but please? I’m sure it would be okay if we hurry. There’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I need to talk to your mother about it just once more; it won’t even take an hour.”
Her big, pleading eyes are not the eyes of a child who is acting on an impulse. Also, she says ‘your mother’ and not ‘Mama’, as if to show how serious she is.
“What’s the matter; is something bothering you? You know you can talk to me about anything!”
Yuuri means what he says, but he isn’t surprised when Greta doesn’t want to fill him in. He has a feeling that she is far from sharing her every thought with him these days.
So he agrees. He takes her to the Shibuya family home, where loving embraces await them as usual.
Greta goes to talk with both of Yuuri’s parents, and he sits in the kitchen, unable to eat the curry. What in the worlds is going on? He can’t remember that he has ever been so nervous before, but the conversation takes much less than an hour; in fact, it barely even takes ten minutes.
“We must, of course, talk about this with Yuuri. He is your father, sweetie, and you need to tell him.”
“Tell me what?!” So many thoughts run through Yuuri’s head: pregnant and wants to keep the child, pregnant and doesn’t want to keep the child, lesbian - no, that wouldn’t be an issue, would it - aids, cancer, something else incurable, is she dying, are his parents dying, has she fallen in love with Shouri and wants his blessing…
What Greta and his parents tell him is worse than anything he could have imagined, and he can’t help it: He is seventeen, or even twenty-three years old going by Shin Makoku time, but not too old to cry. So he cries and says that he forbids it, what Greta wants.
But he can’t deny that he sees the wisdom of her plan. When he takes her hand for the short journey back, he holds it tighter than ever, tighter even than during the first time, and they come home to Shin Makoku only hours before the party. Luckily, everybody has faith in the two of them; nobody doubted that the party was going to happen as usual, so everything has been prepared even in the Maou and his daughter’s absence.
***
When all the presents have been opened and everyone has eaten cake and candy to their heart’s content or more, Princess Greta stands up and shows every sign of wanting to give a speech.
They are all very excited, except Yuuri.
“Everybody”, Greta begins, “thank you all for this wonderful day, and for all wonderful days. Yuuri always says this day is very special to him and to Wolfram because it was the day they adopted me. It is very special for me as well, for the same reason. This was the day I got a new family, and I consider this day my true birthday.”
The family and friends all nod and smile.
“But… In addition to being the day of my adoption, today can also be called my sixteenth birthday”, Greta continues and there’s suddenly a strange tension in the room. “As we all know, it is the custom of this country that on his or her sixteenth birthday, a person makes a decision for his or her future…”
The room is stirring; there’s a concerned mumble, a need to protest and say something, but Greta raises her voice, only so much that it commands them to silence, if not to calm.
“An important decision. Today, my time has come to declare what I have decided. Please, try to understand…”
Greta may be a sixteen year old princess, but she’s also just a child, and her voice breaks with emotion.
Yuuri, and others with him, stands up.
“You don’t have to do this”, he tries, but Greta composes herself and shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, but I have to. So. I’m sure you all remember that day a few years ago, when I was asked to come back to my country and grow up there, so I could rule as its queen. Thankfully, I was allowed to stay here until I was old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of such a decision.”
Yuuri, Günter, Cheri and even Wolfram are crying now, but then Greta goes on:
“I know now that I don’t want to go back to the country I was born in. Some people would probably say it’s my duty to do so, but that place can never be my home again. You know, ‘home is where the heart is’, and I know that my heart is with all of you. You are my family, all of you, and it would break my heart to leave you.”
The party guests look relieved as if they’ve just come down from an emotional rollercoaster, but Yuuri knows that it isn’t over yet.
“However”, Greta’s speech continues, “it’s time to be honest. I think we all know what kind of situation I am facing, and what I’m making you go through just by being what I am…”
“No…” Gwendal says; he breaks there, in front of everybody, and whispers with tears in his voice, “oh great Shinou, please…”
“I have prayed”, Greta says and her voice is very stern now, “and I would go live in the temple forever if I thought it helped, but you know that not even Shinou can change the fact that I am a human and not a Mazoku like you. I will grow up and die before any of you have a single grey hair on your heads. This is a fact.”
They all know that it is a fact. They have tried to deny it for as long as they’ve known and loved Greta, but now that she says it herself, they have to face the fact.
“That’s why returning to my birth country would only be a fake solution”, Greta says. “I’d still grow old before any of you do, you just wouldn’t have to watch it happen so closely and I wouldn’t have to see the looks on your faces as you watch me go through the changes of life…”
He voice dies away, and Cheri says:
“Darling child, we would love you anyway; we will always love you no matter what! Love it all that matters…”
“I know”, Greta says, “but it hurts…”
Greta is also crying now. The party is starting to feel like a funeral… Yuuri can’t have it that way.
He walks up to Greta and hugs her tightly; this girl who is almost a woman, but who is his beloved daughter.
“Oh Yuuri”, she sobs, “dad…”
He holds her, rocks her, murmurs steadily, “I love you, we all love you…”
Yuuri looks at Wolfram and beckons him closer with a nod of his head. Wolfram, once his so-called fiancé and now the friend he was always supposed to be, has his faults, but nobody can deny that also he has a father’s love for Greta.
Yuuri lets go when Wolfram is holding the girl, and he looks at the sad and shocked faces of the people he knows so well. It’s up to him now, up to him to be strong and do what’s best for his child.
“I wish it wasn’t so”, he says, “but what Greta said is true. But she spoke of a ‘fake solution’. There’s another one. Not an ideal solution, no, and some of you might think it’s a worse one, but… it is Greta’s wish, and I really do think it would be for the best.”
Conrad understands; Yuuri can see it by the way his lover’s eyes widen, and Conrad’s voice is only a whisper when he says:
“The solution is… Earth.”
Yuuri nods, and although everything happens at once, it is as if he sees it in slowmotion. He takes it all in: “No!” Wolfram cries sharply, Cheri’s face whitens and Conrad’s arm flies out to steady her, Günter wrings his hands with tears in his eyes and Anissina - something that would be comical in another situation - looks like his reflection, Yozak puts on the mask of a spy who can’t reveal his emotions but he can’t fool Yuuri, and Gwendal is shaking, as if he’s about to fall down on his knees, but he doesn’t.
Wolfram is the first one to say what they are probably all thinking:
“Conrad, don’t be absurd! Greta can’t live on Earth. Brother, talk some sense into Yuuri - Greta can’t live on Earth!”
He looks feverishly at Gwendal, who repeats:
“Greta can’t live on Earth”, but his voice is dull, as if he’s talking in his sleep and unaware of what he’s saying.
The room is full of sobs and sighs and Greta is crying in Wolfram’s arms as if the world is about to end. Yuuri can’t take it. It is too painful; whatever they do, somebody is going to end up crying, but he knows what the right thing is. If only he could find the right words; the emotions are bubbling inside of him, and he wishes he could reach for the power and magic within him, but…
“Listen, we have to consider what is best for Greta, after all.”
Cheri is the one who speaks calmly in Yuuri’s stead, and everybody looks at her.
“She has the right to decide her own future, even if that’s hard for us, but if you think about it… what it means for the future…”
Cheri’s voice dies away, but perhaps she has said enough to make her point clear.
“Mother, how could you ever endure it?” Gwendal looks at her as if he suddenly sees her in a new light. “I always knew humans and Mazoku shouldn’t be involved, but I guess I never really saw that it is because… it hurts…”
“It’s love, my dear children”, Cheri says. “Love makes it worth it, love makes us endure anything. Conrad’s father taught me that; all your fathers taught me that, each in their own way…”
“Well, but I’m still here, so could you all please stop being so depressed? You’re not making it any easier for me.”
Greta has stopped crying, and there’s something about the way she looks at them, the way she steps out of Wolfram’s embrace and the way she stands there in the middle of the room, that makes her - impossible as it is - look like she really is Yuuri’s daughter. She has his I demand that you let me have it my way look on her face.
“Of course it’s a hard decision”, she says, “but you’re all intelligent people here. It’s going to be painful and awkward if I stay here forever, even if I go to live in a human country. It’s going to be painful if I go to Earth, because I’ll be far away from you and we can’t see each other every day. But can’t you see it? Every time I come back here, I’ll be the same as before. Because of the different time zones, it’ll look like my aging process is as slow as yours. Even if that’s not true, even if a lot of things are going to happen here and I won’t be here to see it…”
“Greta is right”, Gwendal says. “Obviously, what she says is true. And… Greta, you have discussed this with Yuuri’s parents, haven’t you? I assume your plan is to stay with them? Because if not…”
“Of course I’m going to stay with them”, Greta replies. “They are also my family, you know. It’s not like I want to choose them over you guys, but…”
But it is what she has to do. There’s no way anybody can talk her out of it, and soon it becomes clear to everyone that Greta, like no other human being in their world, has a chance to get the best of two worlds. And because there’s no point in postponing the inevitable, she leaves within a week.
From that day on, Greta spends most of her time in Yuuri’s old home, and she becomes a visitor in Shin Makoku.
On the day of her adoption, though, in celebration of her true birthday and her place in their hearts, her entire Mazoku family always visits her on Earth.