A Little Help from the Fairies
Title: A Little Help From the Fairies
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Rating|Genre: pg-13 | fluff, slash, romance
Characters|Pairing: Conrad, Günter, Yuuri, Greta, Wolfram, Murata | Conrad/Günter
Summary: By making a mistake that upsets Günter, Yuuri and the other youngsters get to hear (carefully selected parts of) a story about how he and Conrad once found a precious old book.
Word count: 6 003
Spoilers|Warnings: No real spoilers but references to the information revealed in ep 88. | No.
Notes: These sort of fairy-like beings are just something I took the liberty to add to this world. :) I also posted this on ff.net, but some friendly concrit made me rethink the ending, so this is slightly different and possibly more realistic. Many thanks to FlatPanda for that. This might be continued in the future… for now, though, my thoughts are a little too much all over the place…
Conrad had been out that morning and when he came back he was met by an unusual sight in the garden. Greta admired a big butterfly on a flower, Wolfram was lying on his back in the grass and Yuuri studied a big, ancient looking book, while Günter was nowhere in sight.
Since when was Yuuri studying without Günter, by his own free will?
The next moment, Günter showed up.
“Conrad! I’m so glad to see you; I simply cannot find His Majesty! I wonder where he has wandered off to this time. Why doesn’t he ever take his studies seriously?”
Günter’s lips were pressed tightly together and he was wringing his hands, but he was more annoyed than worried. Disappointed, maybe. Conrad was glad that the situation could be settled easily this time.
He nodded to his left and Günter looked where he was indicating.
“It seems to me like Yuuri is quite studious today, Günter. Hey, what are you reading over there?”
Yuuri and Greta both looked up; they had been so focused on their respective fields of study that they seemed surprised to see anyone.
“Oh, hi!” Yuuri looked pleased to see them, though. “It’s such a beautiful day, but I knew Günter wanted me to read this book so I decided to take it outside. This garden is pretty good for a classroom, don’t you think?”
Günter’s reaction was not, however, the expected one at the sight of a sweetly smiling Yuuri with a book.
“Your Majesty! Oh, no, no, no! You have to be more careful with things like this!”
He rushed forward and snatched the book from the young boy and clutched it to his own chest. He was almost shaking and Conrad hurried to his side to put a calming arm around his shoulder.
Günter didn’t want his arm around him; he broke free and quickly retired to the shadow under a tree with wide branches, and there he took off his coat and wrapped it gently around the book.
“What’s the matter?” Conrad and Yuuri asked in chorus.
“Don’t you know?” Günter looked at Conrad. “You of all people should recognize this book.”
“Well, it’s kinda hard”, said Conrad, “to take a good look at it since you do your best to hide it from everyone.”
“This book is thousands of years old.” Günter took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “It’s written before Shinou’s time. You can’t take a book like this out in the sun.”
“Oh”, Conrad said and read the look on Günter’s face. A smile formed on his face. “It’s that book…”
“Geez”, said Wolfram who had woken up because of all the commotion and followed them into the shadow, “if it’s that fragile, why don’t you keep it at the temple?”
“Well, maybe because it just never occurred to me that anybody would be that foolish.”
“I’m sorry, Günter.” Yuuri looked apologetically at his teacher. “I did not think that far. I’m not used to being around books that old. I know that’s not an excuse…”
Not even Gwendal could always resist those big puppy eyes, so Conrad was not surprised to see that Günter softened immediately.
“It’s not your fault, Your Majesty. I should have told you beforehand. Please, don’t worry about it… but try to remember to ask me first next time you want to take a book out.”
Yuuri nodded and promised solemnly. Günter was no longer upset, now that the book was out of the sun, and they all sat down in the shadow. Günter began to suggest going inside - despite the lovely weather - but Wolfram protested.
“Wait, tell me something first! What’s with that book? Why did you say Conrad of all people should recognize it? Did you make him study it, too?”
“Well, it’s just that it is unique, and your brother and I went through a great deal of trouble once to find it and save it.”
“What is this book you’re talking about?” said a voice behind them.
“Murata!” Yuuri turned around. “Now that you’re here, I don’t see why I have to read that book at all. You can just tell me about what it was like back then.”
“Don’t be stupid!” Wolfram poked Yuuri hard with his elbow. “He hasn’t been around that long; didn’t you hear that Günter said it’s ancient?”
Yuuri’s friend simply laughed and plopped down on the grass beside them.
“Oh…” Yuuri looked disappointed. “It’s just that I prefer to go straight to the source. Instead of reading about, say, Shin Makoku’s dealings with Caloria, I prefer to just go to Caloria and see for myself…”
“I know that’s Your Majesty’s favorite way of learning things,” Günter said, “and that’s, um, very admirable in many ways, but when it comes to history…”
“Yeah, and I know that as the Maou it’s my duty to know about history and stuff, but it’s just that I don’t even know all there is to know about this country’s recent history…”
“I need to learn a lot of things, too.” Greta cuddled up against Yuuri. “Because I’m so young. And that means that we’ll learn together, Yuuri. Isn’t that great?”
Günter nodded his approval, but Wolfram still wasn’t satisfied.
“Where does it come from, this book of yours? What kind of ‘trouble’ did you go through to find it?”
“Well, eh…” Günter fidgeted and looked at no one in particular. “That’s, uh, that’s a long story…”
“Yay, a story!” Greta cheered and clapped her hand. “Tell us, please, tell us!”
Yuuri and Wolfram looked excited too, and Conrad said he saw no reason not to tell them.
“I don’t know”, Günter said, “if it’s a story for this particular audience…”
“Why not?” Wolfram demanded to know. “Now you’ve made us curious, we want to know!”
Conrad shrugged and leaned back against the thick trunk of the tree, saying that he could tell the story.
He liked to think about it, after all… and no one would know which details he kept to himself.
“It’s no big deal”, he said, and Günter’s grip around the wrapped up book tightened.
“Alright. Tell them, if you must.”
“It was Yozak”, Conrad begun, “who first heard a rumour about the existence of the book. I’m sure you know that this book contains some tales you’d normally find in a story book for children; the kind of stories we’d call legends. A story is called a legend because there is no reliable source to verify or falsify it, to determine if it really happened or not; right, Günter?”
Günter nodded.
“Right, but a written source that is contemporary with the events it describes, that’s something else. And that’s why Günter wanted the book. So when Yozak heard that there was a village far, far away from here, in the mountains, with a library of sorts that was so old that it was going to fall apart any moment, Günter wanted us to go there to save what could be saved from the soon-to-be ruins.”
“When was this?” Wolfram interrupted. “Why haven’t I heard about it?”
“It was quite a while ago”, Günter replied. “I believe you were somewhere with mother and your uncle at the time.”
“Why”, Yuuri wanted to know, “were the villagers willing to let their books be destroyed? Why didn’t they improve the building, or move the books somewhere else?”
“Good question”, Conrad said. “The thing is, the village was so cut off from everything that it was dying. Only a few people remained there, and they were old. They did not have the strength to fix anything, and what was the point anyway, if they were going to be gone soon?”
“But that’s… that’s so sad!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Your compassion never fails to shine like a candle in the darkness, and perhaps you would have been able to help them. However, I had never heard of this place before and not even Yozak was positive it truly existed… but I talked Conrad into accompany me on this quest, and my loyal former student agreed.”
“I did”, Conrad said, “because if nothing else it sounded like a useful excursion into the more unknown parts of the country.”
And also because he liked the company of his former teacher, although they rarely found themselves alone together. But now, with no fellow students, no family, and no war to distract them… why not take the opportunity to spend some time together?
The first part of the journey had been uneventful, but although it did nothing to provide him with stories to tell curious kids, it allowed him and Günter to share their own stories with each other. Conrad told the older man about his father, and he talked about his brothers - Wolfram had been such an affectionate boy as a child but was growing into a most unruly teenager who sniffed scornfully at everything his half-blood brother said - and Günter talked about Gisela and about his past.
They talked very little about the academy, hardly at all about the question Günter once asked him there, and they didn’t say a single word about the sudden sparks of warmth when their hands accidentally brushed together when they built a fire or when one of them handed the other a bottle… Sometimes Günter was lost in thoughts and Conrad just sat in silence, observing every detail of his face in the light of the camp fire.
But that was not something he wanted to include in the official story.
“The village was marked on a map”, Conrad said, “that Yozak had given us, and he in his turn got it from a man who supposedly grew up there. The problems started when we realized that we were approaching the spot; according to the map, we should have gotten there already, but we simply couldn’t find it.”
“Don’t tell me you were lost?!” Wolfram stared at his older brother in disbelief.
“Yes, we were”, Conrad admitted. “We were very, very lost, in the deep and wild forest; the paths we followed looked like they were made by animals rather than by men, and even many of the plants and herbs were unfamiliar to us. We were in the middle of untouched wilderness and the nights were filled with strange sounds.”
“Oh”, Greta whispered wide-eyed, “that sounds scary. Did you see ghosts? Were you afraid?”
“Nah”, said Conrad. “It was scary, alright, but we weren’t that afraid.”
Günter looked at him, not oblivious to how pleased it made him to have caught the youngsters’ attention so quickly with his story, and Conrad could see it in his eyes that he remembered.
“It is strange”, Günter commented, “to talk of these things on a sunny day like this, in the comfort of our beautiful and familiar garden…”
“Yes. It’s quite a contrast. You guys can’t even imagine… On the one hand, sure, it was just a forest. On the other hand, the place was strangely eerie, as if there was something intangible in the air that warned us… about something.”
“About what?”
“We didn’t know yet. But of course, Günter did not want to go back. We had to get to those books at all costs!”
Wolfram’s expression was still rather unimpressed, but Greta and Yuuri seemed taken by Günter’s bravery. They were so used to seeing him getting emotional over things - over Yuuri, mostly - and Yuuri was so used to leaving him behind in the castle that perhaps this determination was surprising.
Conrad did not add that both of them felt increasingly uncomfortable because of the uncanny atmosphere of their surroundings, and for each night they had to stay there they slept a little closer to each other - not touching, but close enough to make it possible.
“For many days”, he continued, “we saw no one else. But then one day something happened. Greta, do you remember when Lindsey came to play with you, and you thought Shinou was a fairy because he had to make himself very small to be able to leave the temple?”
Greta nodded excitedly and Günter made a sort of tormented noise. The incident Conrad was referring to was exactly the kind of thing he didn’t like to be reminded of.
“I’m bringing that up to help explain what kind of creatures we met.”
“Wait a minute”, Yuuri said, “do you really have fairies here? Back on Earth, fairies are just… well, fairytales. Murata, did you know about this?”
“Yeah, of course. Although technically I suppose your average Earth fairy isn’t quite the same thing. Tinker Bell and all that… And even here, I think they’re almost extinct by now. I didn’t know they still existed. And they aren’t quite as small as you would expect, and they don’t have wings.”
“No, but they travel through air”, Conrad filled in, “and they can make themselves invisible because they are almost spirits. They have bodies, but they are… weak, fragile. That is why they are drawn to humans and Mazoku, they are intrigued by our physical shape, our… solidness, I guess.”
“They don’t sound like the Tinker Bell kind of fairy at all”, Yuuri said, his tone of voice reflecting the disappointment on Greta’s face. “Are they dangerous?”
“I guess they can be?” Conrad looked at the boy with the glasses for confirmation. “But that was the first time I ever met one, and they did not appear to be a threat at all. They helped us.”
“Why?” Wolfram asked. “What was in it for them?”
“Always so suspicious”, Conrad smiled. “They helped us because they took a liking to Günter. They found him very beautiful. They get energy from Mazoku and humans…”
The strange little beings thrived on sexual energy, to be precise - not that Conrad was going to say it, but Günter cut him off quickly just in case.
“My hair”, he said. “All they took was a big chunk of my hair. And when we asked for directions, they told us the reason why we couldn’t find the village was that it was purposely hidden, concealed by some ancient magic spell that actually overpowered me. But these… creatures were unaffected by it.”
There was a slight tone of disgust in Günter’s voice, not that Conrad could blame him. The small creatures - there had been about five of them - were almost transparent but not quite, their bodies were half-naked and they didn’t appear to be the least bit embarrassed by it. There were both males and females, and although both Conrad and Günter had been admired by people before, these strange beings were a little too touchy-feely for Günter’s comfort - and it was Günter who was their main target; maybe because of his maryoku or maybe because they simply liked him better.
They giggled and laughed and talked with sing-song voices, and they ruffled the travelers’ hair, sat behind them on their horses or sat on their shoulders. They ran their little fingers through Günter’s hair or kissed his cheeks, tried to touch him wherever they could reach, and he couldn’t get rid of them because they needed the guidance.
The worst part of it was perhaps the fact that the fairies made them… giggly, as if they were a little drunk or if they had eaten some non-childproof substance. They began saying this like ‘You were the most attractive student I ever had’, ‘You were totally the best teacher ever!’, ‘You have amazing eyes’ and ‘Would you like to hold my hand?’, and while these things weren’t harmful or unpleasant - Conrad actually would like to hold Günter’s hand, and to do more than that - it was embarrassing to be so out of control, to be played with.
“Why did they want your hair?” Yuuri asked.
“I don’t know”, Günter said. “Probably for some kind of magic potion. I never got a sufficient answer to the question, but even so it seemed a reasonable price for getting to the village - but it was trying, very trying, to have them surrounding us. And then…”
“Then what? What?” asked the three boys and the little girl. Günter looked at Conrad to let him take over the story again.
“It wasn’t over yet”, he said, and he smiled at the attentive audience who were all sitting a little closer to him by then, even the Great Sage and Wolfram, as if they were afraid to miss a word.
“Dark clouds began to cover the sky and the treetops began to wave in the wind, bowing down to earth. The wind was getting stronger and the wind was sighing heavily in the branches. It was obvious that a storm was quickly creeping up on us. The fairies said it was part of the protective shield that surrounded the village and I have to say it was pretty effective. Very soon, the rain was pouring down so heavily that it was difficult to move on. The lightning could have struck and made a tree fall over us… Most people would have wanted to turn back eventually but we had the fairies on our side. They could not make it stop, but they could take us to a cave - remember this was in the mountains.”
“They were awfully friendly for just a few strands of hair”, Yuuri commented. “What’s so funny, Murata?” he added when his friend tried to stifle a giggle.
There was a knowing glint behind those round glasses.
“Oh dear”, Günter mumbled, “they look so alike that sometimes I forget that His Eminence is not just an innocent young boy like King Yuuri…”
“Go on with the story”, Wolfram demanded. He had been groping about in the grass as he listened but not so randomly as it first looked like; he was making a chain of daisies and forgive-me-nots, and Greta was probably going to get a long floral necklace before the story was finished.
Funny, Conrad thought, that both my brothers can create things… But of course he knew that there were some things he could do with his hands, too. Things admired by Günter, if no one else.
“Well”, he said, “once we were in the cave, we… just stayed there for the night. With the fairies, who enjoyed being close to us - like I said, that’s what they like.”
They stayed for the night - that was all he was going to say. Not that he could have retold all the details even if he had wanted to because he couldn’t remember them; a side effect of the fairy-induced intoxication they experienced, he supposed. All he remembered was a few details and the, well, general idea.
The rain had almost drenched them and they were dripping when they entered the cave, where there were dry herbs and grass enough to make semi-comfortable beds. Günter provided light and warmth. And then he said something like: ‘You’re soaking wet. Let’s get you out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold.’
Conrad remembered the dizziness, the tingling sensation in his skin that grew stronger and stronger. He thought - or maybe it was an afterthought that hadn’t hit him until later? - that perhaps the spirit-like beings did them a favour by making them lose their inhibitions. He could vaguely remember what it had felt like to be undressed by Günter - his eyes had seemed so big and deep in the dark cave filled with a flickering light - and to feel his slender and surprisingly warm hands on his bare chest. He sort of remembered the soft and excited laugher from their unwanted but necessary company, and Günter’s hair had been wet under his fingers. He did not remember how Günter got naked, if their bodies collided before their lips met, if one of them had said anything to the other, or what happened before something else, but things had happened and they had been good.
Next morning he woke up with the sunshine coming in through the opening of the cave. He saw Günter looking at him, smiling a bit shyly and Conrad didn’t know what to say. He just smiled back and rested his head against Günter’s chest. They did not kiss, they did not talk, but the silence was not as awkward as it could have been, had there not been anything between them to begin with…
“The next morning”, Conrad said with the most natural tone of voice he could manage, “our clothes were dry and the sun was shining. The fairies said the spell wasn’t strong enough to keep the bad weather around for long. So we kept going and they promised we should reach the village very soon.”
“I’m surprised”, said Murata, “that they let you go after just one night. If I remember correctly, they usually want to… hang out” - he winked at Günter, who blushed - “for quite some time if they get the chance. But maybe your maryoku is too strong for them. They are drawn to it - that’s why they prefer Mazoku over humans - but they are also not very powerful.”
“Well, yeah, maybe you’re right.” Conrad cleared his throat and wondered how he could steer the black-haired little tease away from the subject without making the others more interested in it. “I didn’t exactly ask them to explain themselves. We just kept going toward the village. However… we were attacked!”
Greta gasped and Conrad moved forward quickly to catch her, “They were this fast”, he said, “and we had to fight hard.”
Greta shrieked with laughter as he tickled her.
“Yuuri, help me! Save me, Wolfram!”
“Oh, Wolfram won’t save you”, Conrad said, remembering how he had tickled his brother when he was very young; Wolfram had reacted exactly like Greta.
“Don’t be so sure of yourself!”
Wolfram clearly wasn’t afraid to be tickled now that he had a little girl to defend; he threw himself on his brother and Conrad declared himself powerless when caught between Wolfram and Greta. Yuuri laughed so much that his eyes got teary and Günter - once he had moved out of reach - smiled.
Then when they all had calmed down, Conrad went on with the story.
“We were attacked by a group of seven armed men. They had armours and swords and they knew how to use them. Now, normally, a small crowd like this would be no match for Günter - you have seen him fight, haven’t you? He was an instructor at the military academy for a reason.”
“Oh”, Günter replied with a small smile, “the Lion from Rutenberg isn’t too bad himself.”
“Here they go again”, Wolfram sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Hey!” Yuuri poked the other boy. “It’s not a bad thing to show appreciation of your friends’ talents.”
“Are we all gonna hold hands and sing songs now?” Wolfram smacked his fiancé’s head. “You’re such a wimp.”
“Don’t call me that!” Yuuri smacked him right back.
“Here they go again”, Greta said, rolling her eyes.
The guys who were not busy quarrelling with each other laughed out loud, and for a while everything was chaotic.
“What?!” Greta cried, “What’s so funny?!”
“Nothing”, Conrad quickly said and tried to get himself together. “It’s just cute how you take after Wolfram, that’s all.”
“Well”, Wolfram said as if nothing had happened, “that’s only natural. Tell us more about the fight, how long did it take you to kill those guys?”
“We didn’t”, Conrad said. “That’s the thing. No matter what we did, they seemed indefatigable. It was incredibly strange - and then they just vanished into thin air. That’s when we realized they weren’t real. Or, they were real, judging by the way the blades of their swords rattled against ours… but still not quite real.”
“You mean”, Yuuri said, “they were something like those doll-like things that attacked us before? Or were they fairies, too?”
“Neither,” Conrad said. “Or at least, that was what our fairies told us. They were another effect of the spell, meant to keep intruders away. But it seems no part of spell was strong enough to hold off people with our endurance and good luck. And after that, the passage was open to the village.”
“What happened? Were the villagers very angry and hostile? They seem to have spent a lot of effort on magical protection.”
Conrad thought back on what it had been like. The small village was like any other place where people lived in the forested mountain area, except that it was very quiet and many of the houses were in desperate need of maintenance. The inhabitants - most of them very old, and not any children as far as he could see - looked at them with suspicion mixed with curiosity.
“They weren’t hostile”, he said, “more like surprised and maybe a little scared. They weren’t used to visitors.”
“But why?” Wolfram asked. “I don’t understand why they were hiding like that.”
“The war”, Günter said, “someone strong in maryoku and skilled in the use of ancient spells set up the protection during the early days of the war. They had two reasons for this. As you know, both sides suffered great losses, and there were so few people in this remote village that were fit for fight, that they wanted to avoid attention, so that no one had to join the army. Another reason was that they didn’t want any visits from human so-called heroes and adventurers.”
“But the plan kind of backfired”, Conrad added. “They were protected, but also completely isolated. No more children were born. When we got there they didn’t even know the war was over, so naturally they were suspicious at first. But when we explained who we were and what our intentions were, they warmed up considerably.”
Once people got over their initial fear they overwhelmed Conrad and Günter with questions and hospitality. They were given plenty of food and everybody wanted to take them in for the night - they ended up staying in opposite parts of the village and for the first time in weeks they were able to sleep comfortably in real beds.
But it was depressing, too. The people had so little hope for the future, and a couple of women looked at them with sadness and wistfulness in their eyes. The woman who was the unmarried daughter of Conrad’s kind old host even hinted that quite a few of them wished the two strangers had arrived years ago, when not all of the women were past their childbearing age.
Conrad did his best to respond politely - he found it best not to inform her that he was half human - with an appropriate amount of regret, but could not help that he felt relieved that the woman didn’t actually try to seduce him. He could understand the village’s predicament but the thought of fathering a child under such conditions made him quite uneasy.
Also, while he wasn’t completely indifferent to female charm - Günter, he believed, probably was - his thoughts were kind of preoccupied at the moment…
“We stayed there a few days”, he said, “and helped them with some repair work, and they were grateful, but there was really little else we could do for them. Don’t think we didn’t offer them to come back with us to the capital where they could end their days in more comfort… but they didn’t want to leave their homes.”
“Gisela and some others went there later”, Günter added, “and helped them out with a few things. After that, a couple of them actually let the village, but most of them did not.”
“I can’t help but thinking it sounds sad”, said Yuuri.
“You’re right”, Conrad nodded. “And to be honest, the place was already kind of like a ghost town. I suspect that by now it’s more or less overtaken by wilderness.”
They all sat in silence for a moment, until Wolfram remembered to ask about the book - the reason for the story.
“Oh, the book!” Günter had put it down beside him on the grass - still protected by his coat - and he patted it affectionately. “Yes, all the books they had there were in desperate need of rescue, because the roof was about to give in and there was actually a big hole in it. Some of the books were beyond rescues.” He shuddered. “But the good thing was that the man in charge of the library was more than forthcoming. It turned out that he feared for the future of his books so he was more than happy to let me take anything I wanted from there. I found a few precious gems, including the one we have here.”
“Now that I know more about it”, Yuuri said, “it will be a great pleasure and an honour to read it.”
Conrad smiled; the boy had really learned a thing or two about keeping his teacher’s spirits up.
“So”, he said, “all is well that end well. I helped them repair the roof of the library for the future protection of the books Günter left behind, and when we had done all we could there, we said our goodbyes and left.”
“And the little fairies?” Greta still believed they were pretty and sweet, and maybe that was just as well, for the time being. “Did they help you find your way home?”
“No”, Günter said, and Conrad could hear the unspoken ‘good riddance!’ in his voice. “They considered their mission fulfilled once we reached the village and we did not see them again.”
“It didn’t matter”, Conrad said, “because we didn’t need them anymore. The spell was broken and the map was reliable; we didn’t have any problems getting back home.”
They had left the village early in the morning - trying not to show how happy they were to get out of there - with plenty of food and drink, and with one extra horse. It was given to Conrad as a thank you gift for all the work he had done, and it was carrying all of Günter’s new books.
The sky was clear and they left in a good mood. A thought hit them both at the same time: It was the first time in quite a while that they were alone together. Conrad looked at Günter and Günter looked at Conrad, and they both laughed.
‘Maybe I wouldn’t have said this back home at the castle’, Conrad said, ‘but I think I’m just going to say it…’
‘Your biggest regrets in life’, Günter replied, ‘tend to be what you don’t say.’
‘Those silly creatures… what they did to us - what they made us do… I’m not sorry they did it.’
Günter looked like he was truly happy Conrad had spoken.
‘Neither am I, my friend.’
They had reached the place where that cave was located; it was not in the middle of their way but Conrad was pretty sure he could find it. On the other hand, it was still early in the afternoon and according to the map they should be able to find a village with a good inn well before nightfall…
To Günter’s left they could see that the branches on bushes and small trees were still broken where their horses had struggled to get through during the wild storm one week earlier.
Günter moved first.
‘Shall we?’ he smiled over his shoulder, and Conrad followed him.
The cave was shadowy but there was no darkness and rain, and most importantly, there were no impertinent half-spirits. It was just the two of them. Alone, with their heads clear and their wills free; there was nothing between the two of them and their want for each other.
Unlike the first night, Conrad never forgot anything that happened between them that time.
“That was a good story”, Greta smiled and forced his thought back to the present where he and Günter were not the lovers he might have wanted them to be. “Thanks for telling us about your adventure, Uncle Conrad! I’m hungry now… I think we’ve missed lunch!”
“Yeah”, Yuuri said and got up from the grass. “Why don’t we go and see if there are cookies or something in the kitchen? Come on, Murata, Wolfram!”
The boys were all for cookies. Wolfram let Greta ride on his back and all of them scurried away across the lawn.
“Hey, Günter!” Yuuri turned around. “I promise to study later, okay?”
Günter didn’t reply, he just waved, and then he slowly stood up, stretching his arms a little. He picked up the book and then he extended an arm to Conrad, who took it and got up too.
“So”, Conrad said, “what are you going to do now?”
“Well…” Günter still held his hand and for one short, brain melting moment, Conrad thought the other man was going to kiss him.
But he did not. He let go of Conrad’s hand and instead he looked down on the book.
“I’m going to do what the young ones said and grab some food, but first of all I need to put this book back where it belongs.”
Of course. Book first, food next, intimacy… nope.
For some reason, nothing more ever came of their strange adventure in the remote corner of the kingdom. As they both were a little embarrassed about the sudden outburst of passion between them. They were both so caught up in their respective duties anyway, there was no time for more than friendship, and they never even talked about it.
Sometimes, though, their eyes met, and Conrad could almost swear he saw something - longing? love? - in Günter’s violet eyes. Sometimes, when Günter handed him some document when Conrad was sitting at a table, his hair brushed against Conrad’s cheek and he was reminded, again, of the hours they had spent in that cave.
Now he thought that if he had been more like Yozak, he could have grinned and asked: ‘Wanna go somewhere when you’re done?’ but it wasn’t really his style…
But it was Günter who had been the first one to allude to the incident by implying that Conrad should recognize the book. Now, with the story retold, could it be relived?
While Conrad pondered the possible changes they could make in their relationship, already filled with mutual respect and, yes, affection, Günter had turned away from him.
“You know”, Günter suddenly said, “it would have been highly inappropriate of me to think of you as more than a student while we were at the academy. It was impossible - you understand that, right?”
“Yes”, was all that Conrad could reply. Never before - except during their search for the book - had Günter hinted that he had, in fact, thought of him as more than that.
“And later”, Günter added, “it was… difficult.”
“Yes”, Conrad agreed again. Günter didn’t need to explain. It wouldn’t have been quite as inappropriate, but with Günter’s position at the court, and their differences in status…
“But maybe it wouldn’t have to be that impossible now, though”, he dared to add.
It was a strange conversation - it caused butterflies to roam about in his stomach and it was unusual and a little upsetting; perhaps it was wrong to disturb the balance by digging up the past?
Turn around, he begged silently, and to his great surprise, Günter did turn around and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Conrad”, he said quietly, “don’t think that I had forgotten. But we have King Yuuri to think about now.”
The reminder was gentle and not reproachful but it was highly relevant none the less.
“Our young Maou needs us to be fully focused on our duty”, Conrad said, and with that, Günter turned away again and began walking toward the castle.
Conrad knew that everything Günter had hinted about the obstacles was true in theory. But at the same time, talking about it was one step in… a new direction, and when Conrad slowly followed in the wake of his friends he couldn’t stop a small hopeful smile from settling on his face.
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Rating|Genre: pg-13 | fluff, slash, romance
Characters|Pairing: Conrad, Günter, Yuuri, Greta, Wolfram, Murata | Conrad/Günter
Summary: By making a mistake that upsets Günter, Yuuri and the other youngsters get to hear (carefully selected parts of) a story about how he and Conrad once found a precious old book.
Word count: 6 003
Spoilers|Warnings: No real spoilers but references to the information revealed in ep 88. | No.
Notes: These sort of fairy-like beings are just something I took the liberty to add to this world. :) I also posted this on ff.net, but some friendly concrit made me rethink the ending, so this is slightly different and possibly more realistic. Many thanks to FlatPanda for that. This might be continued in the future… for now, though, my thoughts are a little too much all over the place…
Conrad had been out that morning and when he came back he was met by an unusual sight in the garden. Greta admired a big butterfly on a flower, Wolfram was lying on his back in the grass and Yuuri studied a big, ancient looking book, while Günter was nowhere in sight.
Since when was Yuuri studying without Günter, by his own free will?
The next moment, Günter showed up.
“Conrad! I’m so glad to see you; I simply cannot find His Majesty! I wonder where he has wandered off to this time. Why doesn’t he ever take his studies seriously?”
Günter’s lips were pressed tightly together and he was wringing his hands, but he was more annoyed than worried. Disappointed, maybe. Conrad was glad that the situation could be settled easily this time.
He nodded to his left and Günter looked where he was indicating.
“It seems to me like Yuuri is quite studious today, Günter. Hey, what are you reading over there?”
Yuuri and Greta both looked up; they had been so focused on their respective fields of study that they seemed surprised to see anyone.
“Oh, hi!” Yuuri looked pleased to see them, though. “It’s such a beautiful day, but I knew Günter wanted me to read this book so I decided to take it outside. This garden is pretty good for a classroom, don’t you think?”
Günter’s reaction was not, however, the expected one at the sight of a sweetly smiling Yuuri with a book.
“Your Majesty! Oh, no, no, no! You have to be more careful with things like this!”
He rushed forward and snatched the book from the young boy and clutched it to his own chest. He was almost shaking and Conrad hurried to his side to put a calming arm around his shoulder.
Günter didn’t want his arm around him; he broke free and quickly retired to the shadow under a tree with wide branches, and there he took off his coat and wrapped it gently around the book.
“What’s the matter?” Conrad and Yuuri asked in chorus.
“Don’t you know?” Günter looked at Conrad. “You of all people should recognize this book.”
“Well, it’s kinda hard”, said Conrad, “to take a good look at it since you do your best to hide it from everyone.”
“This book is thousands of years old.” Günter took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “It’s written before Shinou’s time. You can’t take a book like this out in the sun.”
“Oh”, Conrad said and read the look on Günter’s face. A smile formed on his face. “It’s that book…”
“Geez”, said Wolfram who had woken up because of all the commotion and followed them into the shadow, “if it’s that fragile, why don’t you keep it at the temple?”
“Well, maybe because it just never occurred to me that anybody would be that foolish.”
“I’m sorry, Günter.” Yuuri looked apologetically at his teacher. “I did not think that far. I’m not used to being around books that old. I know that’s not an excuse…”
Not even Gwendal could always resist those big puppy eyes, so Conrad was not surprised to see that Günter softened immediately.
“It’s not your fault, Your Majesty. I should have told you beforehand. Please, don’t worry about it… but try to remember to ask me first next time you want to take a book out.”
Yuuri nodded and promised solemnly. Günter was no longer upset, now that the book was out of the sun, and they all sat down in the shadow. Günter began to suggest going inside - despite the lovely weather - but Wolfram protested.
“Wait, tell me something first! What’s with that book? Why did you say Conrad of all people should recognize it? Did you make him study it, too?”
“Well, it’s just that it is unique, and your brother and I went through a great deal of trouble once to find it and save it.”
“What is this book you’re talking about?” said a voice behind them.
“Murata!” Yuuri turned around. “Now that you’re here, I don’t see why I have to read that book at all. You can just tell me about what it was like back then.”
“Don’t be stupid!” Wolfram poked Yuuri hard with his elbow. “He hasn’t been around that long; didn’t you hear that Günter said it’s ancient?”
Yuuri’s friend simply laughed and plopped down on the grass beside them.
“Oh…” Yuuri looked disappointed. “It’s just that I prefer to go straight to the source. Instead of reading about, say, Shin Makoku’s dealings with Caloria, I prefer to just go to Caloria and see for myself…”
“I know that’s Your Majesty’s favorite way of learning things,” Günter said, “and that’s, um, very admirable in many ways, but when it comes to history…”
“Yeah, and I know that as the Maou it’s my duty to know about history and stuff, but it’s just that I don’t even know all there is to know about this country’s recent history…”
“I need to learn a lot of things, too.” Greta cuddled up against Yuuri. “Because I’m so young. And that means that we’ll learn together, Yuuri. Isn’t that great?”
Günter nodded his approval, but Wolfram still wasn’t satisfied.
“Where does it come from, this book of yours? What kind of ‘trouble’ did you go through to find it?”
“Well, eh…” Günter fidgeted and looked at no one in particular. “That’s, uh, that’s a long story…”
“Yay, a story!” Greta cheered and clapped her hand. “Tell us, please, tell us!”
Yuuri and Wolfram looked excited too, and Conrad said he saw no reason not to tell them.
“I don’t know”, Günter said, “if it’s a story for this particular audience…”
“Why not?” Wolfram demanded to know. “Now you’ve made us curious, we want to know!”
Conrad shrugged and leaned back against the thick trunk of the tree, saying that he could tell the story.
He liked to think about it, after all… and no one would know which details he kept to himself.
“It’s no big deal”, he said, and Günter’s grip around the wrapped up book tightened.
“Alright. Tell them, if you must.”
“It was Yozak”, Conrad begun, “who first heard a rumour about the existence of the book. I’m sure you know that this book contains some tales you’d normally find in a story book for children; the kind of stories we’d call legends. A story is called a legend because there is no reliable source to verify or falsify it, to determine if it really happened or not; right, Günter?”
Günter nodded.
“Right, but a written source that is contemporary with the events it describes, that’s something else. And that’s why Günter wanted the book. So when Yozak heard that there was a village far, far away from here, in the mountains, with a library of sorts that was so old that it was going to fall apart any moment, Günter wanted us to go there to save what could be saved from the soon-to-be ruins.”
“When was this?” Wolfram interrupted. “Why haven’t I heard about it?”
“It was quite a while ago”, Günter replied. “I believe you were somewhere with mother and your uncle at the time.”
“Why”, Yuuri wanted to know, “were the villagers willing to let their books be destroyed? Why didn’t they improve the building, or move the books somewhere else?”
“Good question”, Conrad said. “The thing is, the village was so cut off from everything that it was dying. Only a few people remained there, and they were old. They did not have the strength to fix anything, and what was the point anyway, if they were going to be gone soon?”
“But that’s… that’s so sad!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty. Your compassion never fails to shine like a candle in the darkness, and perhaps you would have been able to help them. However, I had never heard of this place before and not even Yozak was positive it truly existed… but I talked Conrad into accompany me on this quest, and my loyal former student agreed.”
“I did”, Conrad said, “because if nothing else it sounded like a useful excursion into the more unknown parts of the country.”
And also because he liked the company of his former teacher, although they rarely found themselves alone together. But now, with no fellow students, no family, and no war to distract them… why not take the opportunity to spend some time together?
The first part of the journey had been uneventful, but although it did nothing to provide him with stories to tell curious kids, it allowed him and Günter to share their own stories with each other. Conrad told the older man about his father, and he talked about his brothers - Wolfram had been such an affectionate boy as a child but was growing into a most unruly teenager who sniffed scornfully at everything his half-blood brother said - and Günter talked about Gisela and about his past.
They talked very little about the academy, hardly at all about the question Günter once asked him there, and they didn’t say a single word about the sudden sparks of warmth when their hands accidentally brushed together when they built a fire or when one of them handed the other a bottle… Sometimes Günter was lost in thoughts and Conrad just sat in silence, observing every detail of his face in the light of the camp fire.
But that was not something he wanted to include in the official story.
“The village was marked on a map”, Conrad said, “that Yozak had given us, and he in his turn got it from a man who supposedly grew up there. The problems started when we realized that we were approaching the spot; according to the map, we should have gotten there already, but we simply couldn’t find it.”
“Don’t tell me you were lost?!” Wolfram stared at his older brother in disbelief.
“Yes, we were”, Conrad admitted. “We were very, very lost, in the deep and wild forest; the paths we followed looked like they were made by animals rather than by men, and even many of the plants and herbs were unfamiliar to us. We were in the middle of untouched wilderness and the nights were filled with strange sounds.”
“Oh”, Greta whispered wide-eyed, “that sounds scary. Did you see ghosts? Were you afraid?”
“Nah”, said Conrad. “It was scary, alright, but we weren’t that afraid.”
Günter looked at him, not oblivious to how pleased it made him to have caught the youngsters’ attention so quickly with his story, and Conrad could see it in his eyes that he remembered.
“It is strange”, Günter commented, “to talk of these things on a sunny day like this, in the comfort of our beautiful and familiar garden…”
“Yes. It’s quite a contrast. You guys can’t even imagine… On the one hand, sure, it was just a forest. On the other hand, the place was strangely eerie, as if there was something intangible in the air that warned us… about something.”
“About what?”
“We didn’t know yet. But of course, Günter did not want to go back. We had to get to those books at all costs!”
Wolfram’s expression was still rather unimpressed, but Greta and Yuuri seemed taken by Günter’s bravery. They were so used to seeing him getting emotional over things - over Yuuri, mostly - and Yuuri was so used to leaving him behind in the castle that perhaps this determination was surprising.
Conrad did not add that both of them felt increasingly uncomfortable because of the uncanny atmosphere of their surroundings, and for each night they had to stay there they slept a little closer to each other - not touching, but close enough to make it possible.
“For many days”, he continued, “we saw no one else. But then one day something happened. Greta, do you remember when Lindsey came to play with you, and you thought Shinou was a fairy because he had to make himself very small to be able to leave the temple?”
Greta nodded excitedly and Günter made a sort of tormented noise. The incident Conrad was referring to was exactly the kind of thing he didn’t like to be reminded of.
“I’m bringing that up to help explain what kind of creatures we met.”
“Wait a minute”, Yuuri said, “do you really have fairies here? Back on Earth, fairies are just… well, fairytales. Murata, did you know about this?”
“Yeah, of course. Although technically I suppose your average Earth fairy isn’t quite the same thing. Tinker Bell and all that… And even here, I think they’re almost extinct by now. I didn’t know they still existed. And they aren’t quite as small as you would expect, and they don’t have wings.”
“No, but they travel through air”, Conrad filled in, “and they can make themselves invisible because they are almost spirits. They have bodies, but they are… weak, fragile. That is why they are drawn to humans and Mazoku, they are intrigued by our physical shape, our… solidness, I guess.”
“They don’t sound like the Tinker Bell kind of fairy at all”, Yuuri said, his tone of voice reflecting the disappointment on Greta’s face. “Are they dangerous?”
“I guess they can be?” Conrad looked at the boy with the glasses for confirmation. “But that was the first time I ever met one, and they did not appear to be a threat at all. They helped us.”
“Why?” Wolfram asked. “What was in it for them?”
“Always so suspicious”, Conrad smiled. “They helped us because they took a liking to Günter. They found him very beautiful. They get energy from Mazoku and humans…”
The strange little beings thrived on sexual energy, to be precise - not that Conrad was going to say it, but Günter cut him off quickly just in case.
“My hair”, he said. “All they took was a big chunk of my hair. And when we asked for directions, they told us the reason why we couldn’t find the village was that it was purposely hidden, concealed by some ancient magic spell that actually overpowered me. But these… creatures were unaffected by it.”
There was a slight tone of disgust in Günter’s voice, not that Conrad could blame him. The small creatures - there had been about five of them - were almost transparent but not quite, their bodies were half-naked and they didn’t appear to be the least bit embarrassed by it. There were both males and females, and although both Conrad and Günter had been admired by people before, these strange beings were a little too touchy-feely for Günter’s comfort - and it was Günter who was their main target; maybe because of his maryoku or maybe because they simply liked him better.
They giggled and laughed and talked with sing-song voices, and they ruffled the travelers’ hair, sat behind them on their horses or sat on their shoulders. They ran their little fingers through Günter’s hair or kissed his cheeks, tried to touch him wherever they could reach, and he couldn’t get rid of them because they needed the guidance.
The worst part of it was perhaps the fact that the fairies made them… giggly, as if they were a little drunk or if they had eaten some non-childproof substance. They began saying this like ‘You were the most attractive student I ever had’, ‘You were totally the best teacher ever!’, ‘You have amazing eyes’ and ‘Would you like to hold my hand?’, and while these things weren’t harmful or unpleasant - Conrad actually would like to hold Günter’s hand, and to do more than that - it was embarrassing to be so out of control, to be played with.
“Why did they want your hair?” Yuuri asked.
“I don’t know”, Günter said. “Probably for some kind of magic potion. I never got a sufficient answer to the question, but even so it seemed a reasonable price for getting to the village - but it was trying, very trying, to have them surrounding us. And then…”
“Then what? What?” asked the three boys and the little girl. Günter looked at Conrad to let him take over the story again.
“It wasn’t over yet”, he said, and he smiled at the attentive audience who were all sitting a little closer to him by then, even the Great Sage and Wolfram, as if they were afraid to miss a word.
“Dark clouds began to cover the sky and the treetops began to wave in the wind, bowing down to earth. The wind was getting stronger and the wind was sighing heavily in the branches. It was obvious that a storm was quickly creeping up on us. The fairies said it was part of the protective shield that surrounded the village and I have to say it was pretty effective. Very soon, the rain was pouring down so heavily that it was difficult to move on. The lightning could have struck and made a tree fall over us… Most people would have wanted to turn back eventually but we had the fairies on our side. They could not make it stop, but they could take us to a cave - remember this was in the mountains.”
“They were awfully friendly for just a few strands of hair”, Yuuri commented. “What’s so funny, Murata?” he added when his friend tried to stifle a giggle.
There was a knowing glint behind those round glasses.
“Oh dear”, Günter mumbled, “they look so alike that sometimes I forget that His Eminence is not just an innocent young boy like King Yuuri…”
“Go on with the story”, Wolfram demanded. He had been groping about in the grass as he listened but not so randomly as it first looked like; he was making a chain of daisies and forgive-me-nots, and Greta was probably going to get a long floral necklace before the story was finished.
Funny, Conrad thought, that both my brothers can create things… But of course he knew that there were some things he could do with his hands, too. Things admired by Günter, if no one else.
“Well”, he said, “once we were in the cave, we… just stayed there for the night. With the fairies, who enjoyed being close to us - like I said, that’s what they like.”
They stayed for the night - that was all he was going to say. Not that he could have retold all the details even if he had wanted to because he couldn’t remember them; a side effect of the fairy-induced intoxication they experienced, he supposed. All he remembered was a few details and the, well, general idea.
The rain had almost drenched them and they were dripping when they entered the cave, where there were dry herbs and grass enough to make semi-comfortable beds. Günter provided light and warmth. And then he said something like: ‘You’re soaking wet. Let’s get you out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold.’
Conrad remembered the dizziness, the tingling sensation in his skin that grew stronger and stronger. He thought - or maybe it was an afterthought that hadn’t hit him until later? - that perhaps the spirit-like beings did them a favour by making them lose their inhibitions. He could vaguely remember what it had felt like to be undressed by Günter - his eyes had seemed so big and deep in the dark cave filled with a flickering light - and to feel his slender and surprisingly warm hands on his bare chest. He sort of remembered the soft and excited laugher from their unwanted but necessary company, and Günter’s hair had been wet under his fingers. He did not remember how Günter got naked, if their bodies collided before their lips met, if one of them had said anything to the other, or what happened before something else, but things had happened and they had been good.
Next morning he woke up with the sunshine coming in through the opening of the cave. He saw Günter looking at him, smiling a bit shyly and Conrad didn’t know what to say. He just smiled back and rested his head against Günter’s chest. They did not kiss, they did not talk, but the silence was not as awkward as it could have been, had there not been anything between them to begin with…
“The next morning”, Conrad said with the most natural tone of voice he could manage, “our clothes were dry and the sun was shining. The fairies said the spell wasn’t strong enough to keep the bad weather around for long. So we kept going and they promised we should reach the village very soon.”
“I’m surprised”, said Murata, “that they let you go after just one night. If I remember correctly, they usually want to… hang out” - he winked at Günter, who blushed - “for quite some time if they get the chance. But maybe your maryoku is too strong for them. They are drawn to it - that’s why they prefer Mazoku over humans - but they are also not very powerful.”
“Well, yeah, maybe you’re right.” Conrad cleared his throat and wondered how he could steer the black-haired little tease away from the subject without making the others more interested in it. “I didn’t exactly ask them to explain themselves. We just kept going toward the village. However… we were attacked!”
Greta gasped and Conrad moved forward quickly to catch her, “They were this fast”, he said, “and we had to fight hard.”
Greta shrieked with laughter as he tickled her.
“Yuuri, help me! Save me, Wolfram!”
“Oh, Wolfram won’t save you”, Conrad said, remembering how he had tickled his brother when he was very young; Wolfram had reacted exactly like Greta.
“Don’t be so sure of yourself!”
Wolfram clearly wasn’t afraid to be tickled now that he had a little girl to defend; he threw himself on his brother and Conrad declared himself powerless when caught between Wolfram and Greta. Yuuri laughed so much that his eyes got teary and Günter - once he had moved out of reach - smiled.
Then when they all had calmed down, Conrad went on with the story.
“We were attacked by a group of seven armed men. They had armours and swords and they knew how to use them. Now, normally, a small crowd like this would be no match for Günter - you have seen him fight, haven’t you? He was an instructor at the military academy for a reason.”
“Oh”, Günter replied with a small smile, “the Lion from Rutenberg isn’t too bad himself.”
“Here they go again”, Wolfram sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Hey!” Yuuri poked the other boy. “It’s not a bad thing to show appreciation of your friends’ talents.”
“Are we all gonna hold hands and sing songs now?” Wolfram smacked his fiancé’s head. “You’re such a wimp.”
“Don’t call me that!” Yuuri smacked him right back.
“Here they go again”, Greta said, rolling her eyes.
The guys who were not busy quarrelling with each other laughed out loud, and for a while everything was chaotic.
“What?!” Greta cried, “What’s so funny?!”
“Nothing”, Conrad quickly said and tried to get himself together. “It’s just cute how you take after Wolfram, that’s all.”
“Well”, Wolfram said as if nothing had happened, “that’s only natural. Tell us more about the fight, how long did it take you to kill those guys?”
“We didn’t”, Conrad said. “That’s the thing. No matter what we did, they seemed indefatigable. It was incredibly strange - and then they just vanished into thin air. That’s when we realized they weren’t real. Or, they were real, judging by the way the blades of their swords rattled against ours… but still not quite real.”
“You mean”, Yuuri said, “they were something like those doll-like things that attacked us before? Or were they fairies, too?”
“Neither,” Conrad said. “Or at least, that was what our fairies told us. They were another effect of the spell, meant to keep intruders away. But it seems no part of spell was strong enough to hold off people with our endurance and good luck. And after that, the passage was open to the village.”
“What happened? Were the villagers very angry and hostile? They seem to have spent a lot of effort on magical protection.”
Conrad thought back on what it had been like. The small village was like any other place where people lived in the forested mountain area, except that it was very quiet and many of the houses were in desperate need of maintenance. The inhabitants - most of them very old, and not any children as far as he could see - looked at them with suspicion mixed with curiosity.
“They weren’t hostile”, he said, “more like surprised and maybe a little scared. They weren’t used to visitors.”
“But why?” Wolfram asked. “I don’t understand why they were hiding like that.”
“The war”, Günter said, “someone strong in maryoku and skilled in the use of ancient spells set up the protection during the early days of the war. They had two reasons for this. As you know, both sides suffered great losses, and there were so few people in this remote village that were fit for fight, that they wanted to avoid attention, so that no one had to join the army. Another reason was that they didn’t want any visits from human so-called heroes and adventurers.”
“But the plan kind of backfired”, Conrad added. “They were protected, but also completely isolated. No more children were born. When we got there they didn’t even know the war was over, so naturally they were suspicious at first. But when we explained who we were and what our intentions were, they warmed up considerably.”
Once people got over their initial fear they overwhelmed Conrad and Günter with questions and hospitality. They were given plenty of food and everybody wanted to take them in for the night - they ended up staying in opposite parts of the village and for the first time in weeks they were able to sleep comfortably in real beds.
But it was depressing, too. The people had so little hope for the future, and a couple of women looked at them with sadness and wistfulness in their eyes. The woman who was the unmarried daughter of Conrad’s kind old host even hinted that quite a few of them wished the two strangers had arrived years ago, when not all of the women were past their childbearing age.
Conrad did his best to respond politely - he found it best not to inform her that he was half human - with an appropriate amount of regret, but could not help that he felt relieved that the woman didn’t actually try to seduce him. He could understand the village’s predicament but the thought of fathering a child under such conditions made him quite uneasy.
Also, while he wasn’t completely indifferent to female charm - Günter, he believed, probably was - his thoughts were kind of preoccupied at the moment…
“We stayed there a few days”, he said, “and helped them with some repair work, and they were grateful, but there was really little else we could do for them. Don’t think we didn’t offer them to come back with us to the capital where they could end their days in more comfort… but they didn’t want to leave their homes.”
“Gisela and some others went there later”, Günter added, “and helped them out with a few things. After that, a couple of them actually let the village, but most of them did not.”
“I can’t help but thinking it sounds sad”, said Yuuri.
“You’re right”, Conrad nodded. “And to be honest, the place was already kind of like a ghost town. I suspect that by now it’s more or less overtaken by wilderness.”
They all sat in silence for a moment, until Wolfram remembered to ask about the book - the reason for the story.
“Oh, the book!” Günter had put it down beside him on the grass - still protected by his coat - and he patted it affectionately. “Yes, all the books they had there were in desperate need of rescue, because the roof was about to give in and there was actually a big hole in it. Some of the books were beyond rescues.” He shuddered. “But the good thing was that the man in charge of the library was more than forthcoming. It turned out that he feared for the future of his books so he was more than happy to let me take anything I wanted from there. I found a few precious gems, including the one we have here.”
“Now that I know more about it”, Yuuri said, “it will be a great pleasure and an honour to read it.”
Conrad smiled; the boy had really learned a thing or two about keeping his teacher’s spirits up.
“So”, he said, “all is well that end well. I helped them repair the roof of the library for the future protection of the books Günter left behind, and when we had done all we could there, we said our goodbyes and left.”
“And the little fairies?” Greta still believed they were pretty and sweet, and maybe that was just as well, for the time being. “Did they help you find your way home?”
“No”, Günter said, and Conrad could hear the unspoken ‘good riddance!’ in his voice. “They considered their mission fulfilled once we reached the village and we did not see them again.”
“It didn’t matter”, Conrad said, “because we didn’t need them anymore. The spell was broken and the map was reliable; we didn’t have any problems getting back home.”
They had left the village early in the morning - trying not to show how happy they were to get out of there - with plenty of food and drink, and with one extra horse. It was given to Conrad as a thank you gift for all the work he had done, and it was carrying all of Günter’s new books.
The sky was clear and they left in a good mood. A thought hit them both at the same time: It was the first time in quite a while that they were alone together. Conrad looked at Günter and Günter looked at Conrad, and they both laughed.
‘Maybe I wouldn’t have said this back home at the castle’, Conrad said, ‘but I think I’m just going to say it…’
‘Your biggest regrets in life’, Günter replied, ‘tend to be what you don’t say.’
‘Those silly creatures… what they did to us - what they made us do… I’m not sorry they did it.’
Günter looked like he was truly happy Conrad had spoken.
‘Neither am I, my friend.’
They had reached the place where that cave was located; it was not in the middle of their way but Conrad was pretty sure he could find it. On the other hand, it was still early in the afternoon and according to the map they should be able to find a village with a good inn well before nightfall…
To Günter’s left they could see that the branches on bushes and small trees were still broken where their horses had struggled to get through during the wild storm one week earlier.
Günter moved first.
‘Shall we?’ he smiled over his shoulder, and Conrad followed him.
The cave was shadowy but there was no darkness and rain, and most importantly, there were no impertinent half-spirits. It was just the two of them. Alone, with their heads clear and their wills free; there was nothing between the two of them and their want for each other.
Unlike the first night, Conrad never forgot anything that happened between them that time.
“That was a good story”, Greta smiled and forced his thought back to the present where he and Günter were not the lovers he might have wanted them to be. “Thanks for telling us about your adventure, Uncle Conrad! I’m hungry now… I think we’ve missed lunch!”
“Yeah”, Yuuri said and got up from the grass. “Why don’t we go and see if there are cookies or something in the kitchen? Come on, Murata, Wolfram!”
The boys were all for cookies. Wolfram let Greta ride on his back and all of them scurried away across the lawn.
“Hey, Günter!” Yuuri turned around. “I promise to study later, okay?”
Günter didn’t reply, he just waved, and then he slowly stood up, stretching his arms a little. He picked up the book and then he extended an arm to Conrad, who took it and got up too.
“So”, Conrad said, “what are you going to do now?”
“Well…” Günter still held his hand and for one short, brain melting moment, Conrad thought the other man was going to kiss him.
But he did not. He let go of Conrad’s hand and instead he looked down on the book.
“I’m going to do what the young ones said and grab some food, but first of all I need to put this book back where it belongs.”
Of course. Book first, food next, intimacy… nope.
For some reason, nothing more ever came of their strange adventure in the remote corner of the kingdom. As they both were a little embarrassed about the sudden outburst of passion between them. They were both so caught up in their respective duties anyway, there was no time for more than friendship, and they never even talked about it.
Sometimes, though, their eyes met, and Conrad could almost swear he saw something - longing? love? - in Günter’s violet eyes. Sometimes, when Günter handed him some document when Conrad was sitting at a table, his hair brushed against Conrad’s cheek and he was reminded, again, of the hours they had spent in that cave.
Now he thought that if he had been more like Yozak, he could have grinned and asked: ‘Wanna go somewhere when you’re done?’ but it wasn’t really his style…
But it was Günter who had been the first one to allude to the incident by implying that Conrad should recognize the book. Now, with the story retold, could it be relived?
While Conrad pondered the possible changes they could make in their relationship, already filled with mutual respect and, yes, affection, Günter had turned away from him.
“You know”, Günter suddenly said, “it would have been highly inappropriate of me to think of you as more than a student while we were at the academy. It was impossible - you understand that, right?”
“Yes”, was all that Conrad could reply. Never before - except during their search for the book - had Günter hinted that he had, in fact, thought of him as more than that.
“And later”, Günter added, “it was… difficult.”
“Yes”, Conrad agreed again. Günter didn’t need to explain. It wouldn’t have been quite as inappropriate, but with Günter’s position at the court, and their differences in status…
“But maybe it wouldn’t have to be that impossible now, though”, he dared to add.
It was a strange conversation - it caused butterflies to roam about in his stomach and it was unusual and a little upsetting; perhaps it was wrong to disturb the balance by digging up the past?
Turn around, he begged silently, and to his great surprise, Günter did turn around and looked him straight in the eyes.
“Conrad”, he said quietly, “don’t think that I had forgotten. But we have King Yuuri to think about now.”
The reminder was gentle and not reproachful but it was highly relevant none the less.
“Our young Maou needs us to be fully focused on our duty”, Conrad said, and with that, Günter turned away again and began walking toward the castle.
Conrad knew that everything Günter had hinted about the obstacles was true in theory. But at the same time, talking about it was one step in… a new direction, and when Conrad slowly followed in the wake of his friends he couldn’t stop a small hopeful smile from settling on his face.