Part Twenty-Five
Very Brief Recap
- The couple can't get married...
- But that's okay! They're going to go back to the castle anyway!
- Yay for baby!
Warnings
- Almost complete crack!!
Characters
Yuuri - Guine
Wolfram - Mikage
Jade - Guine
Hale - Guine
Murata - Mikage
Priest - Mikage
Madeline - Guine
Covering the Bases
Part Twenty-Five - And That's the Ball Game
Priest - *leaves the room as well, but not without one final glance at the poor boy/softly shuts the door behind him, allowing him to get dressed in peace and have a moment to himself/scans the pews, finding His Majesty sitting with another boy/walks down the isle towards them/keeps his voice kind - he knows how hard this must be for the both of them* "Your Majesty..."
Yuuri - *breaks out of his thoughts to look up at the man, quickly standing up/feeling absolutely horrible and a bit sick*
Priest - *keeps his facial expressions neutral, not wanting to worry him* "I'd like to speak with you privately, Your Majesty." *motions towards the door to the room they'd been in not long ago*
Yuuri - *stares at him, then glances back at Murata before sliding out of the pew to make his way back to the room*
Priest - *leads him back to the room, closing the door once they've entered/motions towards the seat Yuuri had previously sat it* "Perhaps it would be for the best if you were to sit down."
Yuuri - *quickly starting to panic, sitting down like he was told* "I-is there something wrong?? Is Wolfram okay?? He's not sick, is he??"
Priest - *shakes his head sorrowfully* "No, he is not ill, Your Majesty. However, I am afraid I cannot comply to your wishes, after all."
Yuuri - *stares at him for a long moment* "Then...."
Priest - *sighs/truthfully doesn't like having to do this to them* "He's with child, Your Majesty."
Yuuri - *instantly goes through a whole range of emotions - relieved that Wolfram was okay, ecstatic that he was going to be a real daddy, but also horrified, knowing Wolfram would never marry him now/silent for a bit, trying to compose himself before asking* "Is... is the baby okay...??"
Priest - *raises an eyebrow at him/marvels over his show of concern for the baby* "The child should be fine. His Excellency seems to have been under a lot of stress and is a bit dehydrated, but once he calms and starts to take care of himself then there should be little cause for concern."
Yuuri - *releases a sigh of relief, sinking back into the chair a bit/talking mostly to himself* "The baby’s okay..."
Priest - *nods, though he's more than aware that the king was speaking more to himself* "I apologize for having to bring this up again, Your Majesty, but when was it that you said you raped him?" *wants to make sure he'd heard him correctly the first time, though he finds it hard to believe that the boy could have done something like that/starts to seriously think he'd lied in confessing to it, though he realizes why he would*
Yuuri - *breaks out of his daze, staring at the man/can feel himself start to panic again* "F-five days ago...."
Priest - *frowns just slightly, more sure of the lie now, though he has no intention of calling him on it* "Was there any other occasion after that in which you were intimate?"
Yuuri - *continues to stare at him/more confused than ever, but is starting to assume that the priest was thinking that he had lied about it* "I..."
Priest - *stares at him levelly, though he does not look cruel or uncaring in any way/finally sighs, pretty much able to guess that Yuuri is not going to admit to the lie, so he asks him a different question, wanting to ease his mind some in the hopes that he would not suspect that he was suspicious* "Was that the only time you raped him, Your Majesty?"
Yuuri - *starting to panic more/stares at the man in confusion, desperately trying to think of what would be the right thing to say* "I... y-yes... I... Five days ago...."
Priest - *stares at him silently for a long moment, but eventually decides to say nothing more on the topic/he already knew all that he needed to know* "And you still wish to marry him?"
Yuuri - *stares ever more desperately at him, feeling his tears coming back in his panicked state/quickly nods his head* "Yes... more than anything..."
Priest - *sighs and takes a seat in front of him* "It would go against everything I believe to suggest that you and His Excellency terminate the pregnancy, and the same can be said for marrying the two of you today. However, there may still be hope."
Yuuri - *can feel the color in his face drain completely* "No! I won't let the baby get hurt!"
Priest - *shakes his head* "I am not suggesting that you do. That would be worse of a crime than the one you have already committed."
Yuuri - *blinks/extremely confused* "Then..."
Priest - *looks at him seriously* "I will not speak of what has transpired today, and I have sworn my healer and his apprentice to silence as well. You are the king and are above our country's martial laws, so me taking your confession to The Courts would do nothing. No one will know that I have turned you away, or that you even came here, or that you have committed a crime." *pauses for a moment*
Yuuri - *stares at him, trying to understand what he was trying to tell him*
Priest - "Return to the palace, Your Majesty. Discuss this with your advisors. There may be something they can do."
Yuuri - *shakes his head* "I... I can't! I can't just turn back now! It's... I want to be married... if I go back now..." *pauses, feeling even more panicked* "The things they'll say about Wolfram... I... I won't be able to stand it... I can't have people saying such horrible things about him. Please... you have to tell The Courts... They... they have to know what I did... That it wasn't his fault. None of this was Wolfram's fault!"
Priest - "I will not. You can return now, and still protect him. The Church is angry with your departure, Your Majesty. I know many of my brothers would have immediately turned you away today, without even hearing your confession or inspecting your fiancé. No one will know the true reasons for why you have not been married."
Yuuri - *shakes his head again, panicking even more* "I can't protect him! I won't be able to! Not unless they know what I did! Everything that he's lived for... I can't have that ruined because of me! I didn't know there were requirements for us to be married! I just want him to be happy! That's all I wanted! He... he'll be miserable! And I won't be able to control myself if someone calls him a whore to my face! I can't do it! I couldn't even stand it when my friend was just joking about it... Everyone will say things... It... it's not fair! It's not his fault!!"
Priest - *immediately stands to his feet, moving closer to him to place a reassuring hand against his shoulder again* "They will not know the truth, Your Majesty. There is no way for the Royal Court to know that he is pregnant if we keep our silence. They will think you had been turned away because of The Church's anger, and as long as you do not say otherwise, they will continue to believe it." *pauses* "Do you have a healer at the palace, Your Majesty?"
Yuuri - *tries to calm himself down, staring up at him/slowly nods* "Yes... we do..."
Priest - "Is there a great level of trust between the two of you?"
Yuuri - *nods again* "Yes... She's a good friend... I trust her with the lives of not only myself, but of everyone I hold dear...."
Priest - *does not want to openly suggest that he have her lie for them, since for her to do so would be a sin, but tries to get his point across regardless* "Is there any way she might... 'overlook' a few small details when she inspects His Excellency?"
Yuuri - *stares at him, slowly but surely putting two and two together*
Priest - "You can have a wedding put together by the end of the month, Your Majesty. The only resulting issue would be that, as far as the Royal Court would know, the child would be born a month early. That itself is not an uncommon occurrence, especially if the parent is young."
Yuuri - *stares up at him for a few long moments, then slowly rises to his feet before flinging his arms around the man* "Thank you... thank you for everything...."
Priest - *is slightly started by the sudden embrace, but lifts his arms regardless, hoping to reassure him more/awkwardly pats him on the back* "I may have to turn you away, Your Majesty, but I cannot force myself to abandon you entirely."
Yuuri - *feeling more relieved than he had all that morning/quickly pulls back, a bit embarrassed about suddenly hugging an almost complete stranger, even if he deserved so much more than a hug in gratitude/mumbles* "Sorry..."
Priest - "I do not require an apology, Your Majesty." *smiles at him lightly* "Now, if you have calmed, I believe there may be someone else who could use a little reassurance."
Yuuri - *blinks at him, but then understands and nods his head* "Yes... I'm fine now..."
Priest - *smiles some more, then motions towards the door* "I believe His Excellency may be a bit distressed. He could use a bit of your love at the moment."
Yuuri - *quickly nods, heading back to the door/turns to him again before exiting the room* "Thank you, so much... I... if there's anything I can do to repay you for your kindness..."
Priest - *shakes his head* "You do not need to thank me. I merely wish for your continued happiness."
Yuuri - *shows the priest a thankful smile before leaving the room, cutting right across the middle of the church in the shortest line to where Wolfram would be/stops at the door, knocking on it lightly* "Wolf...?"
Wolfram - *doesn't answer/has put the dress back on, and the wig, with the bonnet over it, though he'd left the ribbons untied/the padding still lay where he'd left it on the floor when he'd gotten undressed/currently he’s sitting against the wall with his knees brought up to his chest, staring at the opposite wall/his eyes are full of tears, though he's kept them from falling so far*
Yuuri - *blinks at the lack of answer, wondering if Wolfram had left the room or not* "Wolf...?" *slowly and cautiously pushes the door open/eyes over the leftover bits of costume on the floor before finding the blond up against the wall/instantly worried/carefully shuts the door behind him to make his way across the room, kneeling down in front of the blond* "Wolf... what's wrong...?"
Wolfram - *shakes his head/doesn't really know how to answer him/part of him is happy, because he'd honestly really wanted a baby, and yet he’s still extremely upset*
Yuuri - *watches him for a bit before moving up next to him, against the wall, sliding his arm around his shoulder/smiles lovingly at him, pulling him a bit closer*
Wolfram - *doesn't have much of a response, though he shuts his eyes and cuddles against him, taking a deep breath before releasing it slowly*
Yuuri - *doesn't really know what to say to him/pauses for a long moment, cuddling him* "I love you..."
Wolfram - *quietly, still fighting his tears* "I love you, too..."
Yuuri - *still worried about him/leans down, trying to see his face* "Wolf...? Are you okay...? Did... did you want me to get you anything...?" *still doesn't know what he should say to him*
Wolfram - *slowly shakes his head*
Yuuri - *lets out a small sigh/kind of excited about getting back to the castle as soon as possible to start planning for the wedding, but doesn't want to rush things when Wolfram was so upset/stares at him for a long while before gently sliding his hand down to rest on the blond's stomach*
Wolfram - *flinches away unintentionally, feeling the tears come on stronger*
Yuuri - *pulls back, even more worried* "Wolfram...?"
Wolfram - *whispers* "I'm sorry..."
Yuuri - *really worried now* "For what...?"
Wolfram - *swallows heavily, lifting a hand to scrub at one of his eyes* "We can't get married..."
Yuuri - *blinks at him, mentally hitting himself, remembering that Wolfram didn't know the new plan/lifts his hand to gently caress his cheek* "Yes, we can..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head/still quiet* "No, we can't..."
Yuuri - *shakes his head as well, holding him a bit closer* "Wolf... We can... please trust me on this..."
Wolfram - *a little louder* "We can't! I'm..."
Yuuri - *leans down to gently kiss him, pulling back after a few moments* "You're pregnant... I know..." *pauses again to lovingly smile at him* "Congratulations..."
Wolfram - *looks up at him sadly, but doesn't say anything*
Yuuri - *frowns worriedly at his expression* "Wolf... we're going to go back to the castle... The priest already told me that everything that has happened here will remain completely confidential... no one will know more than that the Church refused to marry us because we ran away... We'll be married within a month... so please.. don't worry..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head again, still looking very upset* "We can't get married!"
Yuuri - *frowns more at him* "W-why not...?"
Wolfram - *quietly, looking downwards* "Because I'm pregnant..."
Yuuri - *reaches to gently caress his cheek again* "No one will know that... No one will ever know that...."
Wolfram - *looks back up at him, glaring through his tears* "Of course they will!! You think we can hide it?! Even if we try to get married at the palace, I'll still have to be inspected!! They'll still feel it!!"
Yuuri - *leans down to kiss his forehead* "No one will know because Gisela would never do anything to hurt you..."
Wolfram - *pauses to stare at him, not really knowing what to think about that/he knew Yuuri was right, though* "You'd make her lie for us?"
Yuuri - *blinks at him* "Well... I really don't think I would have to make her do anything..."
Wolfram - *stares at him for a while longer, silent, thinking it over in his head/finally collapses against him and cries*
Yuuri - *instantly panics, cuddling him desperately against him* "Wolf...??"
Wolfram - *says nothing, just continues to cry/sad, happy, relieved, and scared all at once*
Yuuri - *watches him worriedly for a bit before carefully taking off the blond wig and bonnet, placing it to the side so he could stroke at Wolfram's hair* "It's going to be okay... you don't have to worry..."
Wolfram - *more crying, and still no talking/cuddles close to him, gripping tightly onto his costume, wrinkling the fabric*
Yuuri - *sits there, holding him close, stroking at his hair/lets him cry for however long he needed*
Wolfram - *cries for a long while, but eventually calms down, resting against him with red, puffy eyes/his body jumps a bit as he hiccups*
Yuuri - *had started humming to him after a while, still holding him close, brushing lovingly at his hair/slowly stops humming/softly* "I love you..."
Wolfram - *whispers quietly back* "I love you-" *another hiccup* "-too..."
Yuuri - *smiles fondly, continuing to hold him* "May I put in a request...?"
Wolfram - *nods a bit, and hiccups once more*
Yuuri - *smiles a bit more* "Please.... anything... anything but 'George'.... that's all I ask..."
Wolfram - *looks at him strangely for a minute, wiping the last of his tears from his face* "I'm not going to-" *hiccup* "-name the baby Ge-" *hiccup* "-George."
Yuuri - *laughs lightly* "Thank you... I was getting a bit worried..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head at him, before cuddling closer again, waiting for his stupid hiccups to subside*
Yuuri - *cuddles him to his chest, watching him for a bit longer before sliding his hand back down to Wolfram's stomach again* "We're really going to have a baby..."
Wolfram - *sniffles a little, still not quite sure how to feel about everything* "Apparently..."
Yuuri - *blinks at him/curious* "I thought you would be more... excited about it..."
Wolfram - "I am... just..." *doesn't know how to explain the weird mix of emotions*
Yuuri - *lets out a small sigh, though smiling at him* "You're still worrying over things... aren't you...?"
Wolfram - *shrugs lightly* "Don't I have the right to?"
Yuuri - *gently rubs his stomach some, though it's more like petting him than anything/smiling* "I guess... but I've already told you; you don't need to worry, especially while I'm around..."
Wolfram - *snorts lightly* "That's not going to stop me..."
Yuuri - *pouts playfully* "Such little faith in me..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head* "I just know you very well..."
Yuuri - *grins* "You do, don't you...?"
Wolfram - *nods* "Yes..." *moves closer to him/being held was really comforting at the moment/whispers, a little nervous* "You're not upset...?"
Yuuri - *blinks at him, readjusting his arm around him to hold him better/confused* "Me...? Upset about what...?"
Wolfram - "Everything... about... I mean..." *frowns, not even knowing why he'd asked him that* "You don't mind...?"
Yuuri - *still a bit confused* "Why would I mind...?"
Wolfram - "I don't know... just..." *struggles to find the right words and ends up falling silent, frustrated with himself for asking stupid questions that he already knows the answers to*
Yuuri - *getting worried again/leans closer to see his face better* "Wolf... what are you worried about...? What do you think I would be upset about...?"
Wolfram - "I don't know. I... I don't think you'd be upset, I... it's just that..." *shakes his head, cuddling as close as he possibly can/quietly* "I don't know..."
Yuuri - *still trying to understand/cuddles him close, leaning down to kiss him wherever his lips could reach*
Wolfram - *sighs softly, still trying to calm himself down completely/moves so he's able to kiss Yuuri lightly*
Yuuri - *kisses him back, holding him carefully against him so he was close, but as not to smother him*
Wolfram - *presses closer, slowly deepening the kiss*
Yuuri - *deepens the kiss as well, moving his hand up to stroke at his hair again*
Wolfram - *lifts his arms to circle them around his neck, pressing himself against him*
Yuuri - *continues to hold him close, stroking at his hair and kissing him deeply*
Wolfram - *pulls back after a while, and manages a small smile*
Yuuri - *watches him, feeling his heart near completely melt at the smile/gawks for a bit/softly* "I love you... so much..."
Wolfram - *smiles more/tears fill his eyes again against his will, but they're happy ones this time* "I love you, too..."
Yuuri - *can't help but smile back at him, leaning his forehead against the blond's* "We're going to be okay... Everything is going to be fine..."
Wolfram - *nods just slightly* "I know..."
Yuuri - *sighs lightly, closing his eyes, holding him for a while longer before opening them again* "As much as I love being on the run with you... we should probably be getting back to the castle..."
Wolfram - *smiles at him even more, nodding again* "You're probably right..." *looks around, spotting the remainder of his costume against the floor* "I was told not to wear the padding..."
Yuuri - *blinks at him, looking around him as well to eye the padding/teasing* "Does that mean I get to...?"
Wolfram - *wrinkles his nose at him* "You'd look stupid."
Yuuri - *grins wide* "I know... Maybe we should have Murata wear it."
Wolfram - *snorts in amusement, seriously contemplating it, but shakes his head* "He'd look stupid, too."
Yuuri - *pouts playfully again* "Aww... I was so looking forward to making fun of him..."
Wolfram - *smirks lightly, though he supposed it must look weird with he eyes and face stained by tears* "You'll have to find some other source of amusement, then..."
Yuuri - *grins again* "What kind of amusement are we talking about...?"
Wolfram - *stares at him for a moment before letting out a short laugh* "I don't know; you tell me."
Yuuri - *shrugs* "I don't know... Maybe we should try sneaking out and find Conrad and Yozak on our own... And leave Murata here...?" *really just teasing, but it would be nice to get him back for all that emotional stress the stupid guy put him through*
Wolfram - *thinks about it for a moment, 'cause the less time he has to spend around the sage, the better, but eventually decides that it wouldn't be such a good idea* "We don't know where Conrad and Yozak are; he does. So if we want to find them as soon as possible, it would be better to take him along." *smirks a little again* "And he needs the supervision, lest he traumatize some poor girl..."
Yuuri - *frowns teasingly at that* "Poor girl... I don't see how the shrine maidens can stand him..."
Wolfram - *snorts* "After spending so many years locked away in an old temple away from the rest of the male population, I'm sure they really don't care."
Yuuri - *laughs lightly, leaning to kiss his forehead again* "Well... are you ready to go back...?"
Wolfram - *smiles and nods at him* "Yeah..." *moves in to quickly kiss him again, before turning to retrieve his wig and place it back over his hair*
Yuuri - *smiles, watching him/helps him get on the wig and tie the ribbons of the bonnet under his chin* "You look beautiful."
Wolfram - *blushes just a little at the compliment, though he tells himself he should be used to it by now* "I don't make much of a girl anymore..."
Yuuri - *shrugs* "Doesn't bother me..."
Wolfram - "Doesn't it look kind of odd for me to be wearing a dress, though?"
Yuuri - *frowns lightly* "Well... just stay close to me... and no one will notice..."
Wolfram - *rolls his eyes* "I highly doubt no one will notice. I've lost three rather noticeable bumps."
Yuuri - *nods a bit* "Well... maybe they'll just think their eyes were playing tricks on them..." *pauses, teasing* "Or they'll be completely jealous and wonder who the heck I am to be so close to a pretty thing like you."
Wolfram - *laughs lightly* "I'm sure..." *slowly stands to his feet, grabbing onto one of Yuuri's hands to pull him up as well*
Yuuri - *quickly stands up as well, leaning to give Wolfram a quick kiss before doing anything else*
Wolfram - *smiles into the kiss, kissing him back lightly, before pulling away* "Are you ready to go, then?"
Yuuri - *pulls back to smile at him* "Yup..."
Wolfram - *stares at him carefully/his mood has definitely improved, but he's still curious as to how Yuuri's feeling* "You're not disappointed that we can't get married today?"
Yuuri - *smiles lovingly at him* "To be honest... I would wait for you for forever... I'm more excited that you and the baby are okay."
Wolfram - *looks up at him curiously* "Why wouldn't we be okay?"
Yuuri - *shakes his head* "With all this stress and running around... It would definitely be better to have you back at the castle in a nice, warm bed... "
Wolfram - *smiles* "I could go for that. It would be nice to have the maids waiting on me hand and foot."
Yuuri - *pouts lightly* "I can help with that, too, you know..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head, smiling at him playfully* "You'll be busy with work."
Yuuri - *blinks at him, then groans, moving a hand to rub at his face* "Noooo... No paperwork..."
Wolfram - *pouts at him teasingly* "We don't have to go back then, if the paperwork traumatizes you that much."
Yuuri - *quickly moves his hand away from his face, shaking his head* "Nope. I'm gonna get you two back to the castle safe and sound first... then I'll worry about all that."
Wolfram - "Hmmm..." *tugs at his hand, beginning to head towards the door* "Let's go, then."
Yuuri - *starts to follow him, but glances over his shoulder to eye the padded stuff on the ground* "Hold on... I'll feel bad if we don't return these..."
Wolfram - *turns to look as well/shrugs* "I can't wear it..." *smirks up at him* "So you'll just have to carry it."
Yuuri - *rolls his eyes/carefully slides off his jacket, switching hold on Wolfram's hand so he didn't have to let go while taking it off/pulls him gently back to the stuff on the floor, pouting at him and quickly letting his hand go to gather up the items in his jacket before taking hold of the blond's hand again, holding on to the jacket with his other* "There..."
Wolfram - *shakes his head at him and sighs* "You're going to freeze."
Yuuri - *shrugs* "I'll be fine..."
Wolfram - *frowns at him* "Yuuri..."
Yuuri - *pouts* "What...??"
Wolfram - "You're going to get sick again, and not only will you make me worry half to death, but you'll no doubt get me sick, too."
Yuuri - *watches him, feeling extremely guilty/sighs, letting Wolfram's hand go again to set the items on the ground before slipping his jacket back on, then gathering up the pads, holding them under his arm/takes hold of Wolfram's hand again* "Better...?"
Wolfram - *nods at him with a small smile* "Much."
Yuuri - *teasingly rolls his eyes, but then leans down to give him another quick kiss before turning to lead him to the door, waiting for him to open it 'cause it was a bit difficult for him to do so at the moment*
Wolfram - *opens the door, and then tugs on his hand to lead him through/searches around for the sage, and finds him standing near the same pew where they'd left him sitting, quietly talking with the priest*
Yuuri - *quickly switches places with Wolfram, making sure he was in front, carefully holding his hand and keeping him close behind him/not really sure what to expect now*
Murata - *looks up at them as they approach/shows them a small grin* "Everything okay?"
Yuuri - *watches him for a moment, frowning lightly* “Why didn’t you just tell us that Gisela could be the one to check on Wolfram??”
Murata - *shrugs, grinning a bit more* “Where’s the fun in that?” *honestly pleased that things seemed to be turning out alright/looks to Wolfram then, and stares at him curiously/smirks teasingly* "You could at least keep the fake breasts."
Wolfram - *sputters and flushes darkly*
Yuuri - *glances at Wolfram/feeling even more defensive of him now/turns back to Murata* "I told him not to..."
Murata - *shrugs* "It was just a suggestion. At least then it wouldn't seem like too dramatic a change."
Yuuri - *shrugs as well* "He'll have his coat on... It's hard to tell anyway."
Murata - *nods in agreement* "I stand corrected then." *turns to smile at the priest he'd previously been quietly chatting with* "Well, I guess this means it's time for us to go."
Priest - *nods also, smiling at them all*
Yuuri - *nods at the priest, smiling as well* "Thank you..."
Madeline - *squeaks suddenly from around the back corner, running out and sliding to a stop before them, bowing deeply and holding out what looked like a blanket to Wolfram/flushing madly at her own boldness* "I... I'm sorry about before... I... it's cold outside..."
Wolfram - *stares at her, eyes widened slightly, but slowly reaches out to take what was being handed to him* "I... thank you..." *pauses, considering her, easily remembering how she'd tried to help him* "And... thank you... for your compassion..." *flushes lightly*
Madeline - *shakes her head, still blushing* "No, it's nothing! I... I promise you can trust me... So..." *dares to glance up at the other two men, assuming which one was the king because of how close he was to the blond/goes back to bowing, a bit overwhelmed that she was actually talking to him* "Please take care! If you ever need anything, I'll always be willing to help!"
Yuuri - *blinks at her/has no idea who she is, but she seemed nice enough/smiles* "Thank you..."
Wolfram - *manages to smile at her lightly/her presence was just slightly overwhelming - and surprising - but he was grateful to her/she'd tried her hardest to change the minds of the older men, after all, and she'd attempted to protect him without really knowing him*
Priest - *sighs in slight exasperation, but finds a smile spreading across his face as well* "You should return to your studies, Madeline. Marius will be wondering where you've run off to."
Madeline - *the color drains from her face/quickly bows again before rushing off to the back where she had come from*
Yuuri - *at a loss*
Murata - *watches after the girl, craning his neck a bit to get a better look at her as she scampered away/she was cute...*
Yuuri - *glances back down at Wolfram, pulling him a bit closer/to the priest* "Well... thank you... And you don't have to worry, we're going straight back to the palace..."
Priest - *continues to smile for a moment, nodding, before his facial expression drops slightly and he looks a bit more serious* "Please, be careful, Your Majesty. The area around here is well known for its bandit attacks, and they've been exceptionally bad this year. A girl from a nearby village went missing two months ago..."
Yuuri - *frowns worriedly/why hadn't he been informed of such thing going on in his kingdom??* "They haven't found her...?"
Priest - *shakes his head, frowning sadly* "Unfortunately, no. It's believed that she was kidnapped, as there has been no sign of her since."
Yuuri - *getting a bit angry/didn't understand why people would do such things* "I'll have troops sent out to deal with the problem as soon as I get back... The people shouldn't have to live in fear..."
Priest - *a little surprised by his statement/he'd heard that the boy showed care and compassion to each and every one of his citizens, even those who others would deem a waste of time or a lost cause, but he hadn't thought he'd react that way after hearing a story about one missing girl/finds a smile working across his face again, impressed by his compassion* "I thank you, Your Majesty."
Yuuri - *blinks at his smile, but nods* "You don't have to worry... I'll come back and help settle things myself if I have to. Is there anything else I should know about?"
Priest - "Not at the moment, no. I'll be sure to send a message to the palace if I hear anything else."
Yuuri - *nods again* "Thank you..." *glances down at Wolfram again, gently squeezing his hand* "Are you ready...?"
Wolfram - *smiles at him, not at all fazed by the exchange between he and the Priest/Yuuri was a wimp through and through, but at least he had the best intentions at heart* "Yes."
Yuuri - *smiles back at him before turning to Murata* "Ready...?"
Murata - *grins at him* "Always!"
Yuuri - *rolls his eyes/smiles in thanks to the priest again before carefully leading Wolfram to the door*
Wolfram - *grasp tightly to Yuuri's hand, making sure he had a careful hold of the blanket the girl had given to him with his free arm*
Murata - *moves to follow them, whistling a happy jingle to himself*
Yuuri - *pushes the door open with his shoulder, making sure Wolfram was out before moving to let Murata through/blinks at the twins waiting just across the street with five, normal looking horses ready/déjà vu...? must be a family thing.../carefully leads Wolfram across the street to the two, expecting Murata to follow*
Jade - *smiles warmly at them* "Everything went accordingly, I pray?"
Hale - *silent, as always/brushing one of the horses*
Yuuri - *nods at her* "We're going back to the palace... The church won't marry us until then... so we'll just have to live with that."
Wolfram - *nods in agreement to his words, moving to stand a little closer to him, smiling as he leaned his head against his shoulder*
Murata - *still grinning/this girl was just as pretty as the little apprentice, and her curiosity and suspicions of him were adorable...* "And I, as always, am merely tagging along!"
Jade - *smiles at him as well, not wanting to let her expression falter out in the open* "It was the bridle, by chance you were curious."
Yuuri - *blinks* "What was...?"
Jade - "How grandfather was aware of your identity." *moves back some to turn the inside of the reigns to show them/smiling like always* "The marking along the underside. Only those of high rank have horses with bridle like this. Or so grandfather said. He enjoys reminiscing about when he was in the cavalry."
Wolfram - *lifts an eyebrow at her* "So... they knew who we were all along, even before taking off Yuuri's hat?"
Jade - *nods at him* "Precisely."
Wolfram - *frowns a little bit, grumbling about how they just should have said so right from the beginning and how it would have saved him a little unnecessary stress*
Yuuri - *watches Wolfram for a bit, pulling him closer/doesn't really know what to say about that, mostly because it was hard for him to remember what had happened*
Jade - *continues/warm smile* "If you would like to change clothing, perhaps into something more suitable for travel, we have a room available for just that." *nods to the little building behind them, apparently a costume store of sorts*
Hale - *brushing the horses still*
Wolfram - *looks from Yuuri to the girl, then down at the dress he was wearing/glances back to her* "Please?"
Jade - *laughs lightly* "Right this way." *turns to lead them to the store, doesn't bother looking over her shoulder* "Hale?"
Hale - *sets the brush down, taking one of the bags belonging to Wolfram and Yuuri to follow them in/sends a small glance at Murata, apparently the international signal for "Watch the horses, please."*
Yuuri - *follows her into the store to the back where a small dressing room was/doesn't really pay attention to what's in the store since he was too busy watching Wolfram*
Murata - *mumbles about being left out by himself*
Wolfram - *follows her into the store as well, glad to be able to get out of the dress and into something that would be more comfortable to travel in* "Should I keep the wig on, or ditch that, too?"
Jade - *pulls what looks like a hat out from her jacket pocket, handing it over her shoulder to him* "Grandmother told me to give this to you."
Hale - *hands Yuuri the bag, taking the padded stuff in exchange*
Wolfram - *takes the hat from the girl and looks it over before shrugging/it was better than nothing, he supposed, and at least the long hair wouldn't get in his way any longer... though he would secretly admit he liked how it hung around his face... he'd just never tell anyone that out loud*
Yuuri - "Thanks..." *takes the bag and leads Wolfram into the small room, shutting the door behind them to get changed/kinda glad to be wearing his own clothing again*
Twins - *waiting outside/making sure no one came in to use the room*
Wolfram - *quickly yanks off the dress, the bonnet, and the wig, taking the bag from Yuuri and setting it down to begin digging through it, tossing some of his clothes at him before taking out some of his own*
Yuuri - *laughs lightly at him, but gets out of his costume as well, happily changing into something more comfortable/digs out his hat as well, pulling it onto his head and pausing to give Wolfram a thumbs up, grin spread across his entire face*
Wolfram - *shakes his head at him, but smiles nonetheless, pulling his clothes on with a happy sigh/once he's done, he yanks the hat he'd been given onto his head, straightening it out before compulsively attempting to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothing*
Yuuri - *watches him happily, amused as greatly as ever about Wolfram's little habit* "Ready...?"
Wolfram - *looks up at him and nods, feeling much more comfortable than he had in the costume* "Only if you are."
Yuuri - *smiles at him* "Yup!" *quickly gathers up the clothing, holding onto the costumes in his free hand to give to the twins when they got out*
Jade - *smiles brightly at them as they come out of the dressing room/happily taking the costumes from Yuuri* "You both look marvelous!"
Hale - *rolls his eyes*
Wolfram - *rolls his eyes, too/if she thought they looked 'marvelous' now, she should see them when they were dressed up for a state dinner or something*
Yuuri - *smiles at her all the same* "Thanks..."
Jade - *nods to them and turns to lead them back out to where Murata was hopefully watching the horses*
Murata - *is, indeed, still watching the horses, whistling to himself all the while/when he notices they've exited the little shop, he grins at them* "Good. That didn't take too long at all." *jokingly* "And now that His Worshipfulness and our fair princess have changed into more suitable clothing for our delightful journey, let us depart and search for Lord Weller and his merry men!"
Yuuri - *snorts* "Does that make Yozak 'Little John'?"
Murata - *looks up at the sky and rubs his chin as if in thought* "I suppose it does..."
Wolfram - *looks confused* "Who's 'Little John?'"
Yuuri - *waves his hand at Wolfram* "Sorry... Story on Earth... Robin Hood and his merry men..." *pauses, knowing he would have to take more time than that to really explain it if Wolfram really wanted to know/smiles at him* "Don't worry about it..."
Jade - *mounts her horse* "Well, let us depart then. Shall we?"
Hale - *stays grounded, making sure no one else fell off their horses*
Wolfram - *grumbles about how Yuuri hardly ever tells him about things on Earth, moving over to his horse*
Murata - *gracefully climbs up into the saddle, still whistling cheerfully*
Yuuri - *carefully helps Wolfram up onto his horse/worried* "Are you going to be okay...?"
Wolfram - *rolls his eyes at him, looking down at him with a tiny frown* "I can do things myself, you know. I'm not an invalid."
Yuuri - *pouts* "I know...."
Wolfram - *huffs a little as if he's annoyed, but he isn't really, just wishing Yuuri wouldn't worry about him so much when there wasn't any cause for concern* "Hurry up, George. We don't have all day."
Yuuri - *rolls his eyes and moves over to mount his own horse/waiting for Murata to lead the way*
Hale - *finally gets up on his own horse once he checked that everyone was up and everything was tied down and secure*
Murata - *grinning still* "Well, let's go then!" *begins to lead them out of the village, cheerfully singing random songs along the way, as if this was nothing more than a cheerful little road trip*
Yuuri - *rolls his eyes, making sure to ride close to Wolfram incase he needed anything*
Jade - *has her horse prancing up in front with the sage like she's used to doing*
Hale - *taking up the rear again, like always*
Murata - *grins wider at the thought that he has a pretty girl riding next to him/turns to look at her as they exit the village and start riding along the road* "You know, I must apologize, but I don't believe I ever got your name." *he already knows it, of course, because he's the sage and he knows all, but there's nothing wrong with a little harmless flirting*
Jade - *smiles warmly at him* "That is because you failed to inquire, Your Eminence." *still a bit wary of him*
Hale - *rolls his eyes*
Murata - "Well, I'm inquiring now."
Jade - *still smiling, though it was pretty obvious that she knew a bit about the higher-ups/might as well play along* "My name is Jade Cross, Your Eminence."
Murata - "Ah, Jade. A pretty name for such a fine young lady." *his smile widens some* "And I'm Murata Ken... er-... Ken Murata... whatever. You can call me 'Ken,' if you'd like."
Jade - *nods slowly to him, as good a bow as she could manage on a horse* "Thank you for the compliments."
Murata - "It's not too difficult to speak the truth."
Jade - *still smiling* "You flatter me, Your Eminence."
Yuuri - *completely zoned out, watching Wolfram out of the corner of his eye*
Wolfram - *notices Yuuri's gaze and smiles, but doesn't turn to face him/let the wimp think he wasn't paying attention*
Murata - *goes back to carefully watching the road, thinking of something clever to say*
Hale - *used to people flirting with his sister/also used to seeing many turned down rather quickly*
Jade - *smiling like always, keeping her eyes on the road*
Murata - *leads them along for a good while, three or so hours passing until they enter a snow covered forest/he straightens a bit, paying more attention to where they're going and the things around them*
Jade - *has also started paying more attention to what was going on/still smiling, but it was really only her usual expression*
Hale- *keeping close in the rear*
Yuuri - *frowns lightly at his lightly grumbling stomach/clueless*
Wolfram - *laughs faintly as he hears the sounds coming from Yuuri's stomach/turns to smile at him* "Is there a problem, Old Man?"
Yuuri - *pouts at him, sitting up a bit straighter* "No... I just... didn't eat a lot this morning..."
Wolfram - *sighs a bit, but can't really complain since he hadn't eaten very much that morning either/raises his voice just slightly to be heard by the girl and the sage* "Shouldn't we stop for a little while to eat? It's got to be passed noon."
Jade - *glances back over her shoulder, a bit wary, but smiling* "If that is what Your Excellency wishes."
Wolfram - *nods* "I'm hungry."
Jade - *nods/glances over at Murata* "Would it please you to pause in our journey as well, Ken?" *flutters her eyelashes/just playing around*
Hale - *snorts*
Murata - *a little surprised by her sudden change in behavior, but definitely isn't complaining/grins widely* "Gladly."
Jade - *nods, slowing her horse down and moving off the road a bit where the trees blocked most of the snow from building up*
Yuuri - *follows as well, secretly happy about getting to eat something*
Wolfram - *also follows, sliding off of his horse once they'd gotten a little ways off of the road/begins searching through the bags for the one that contained some food*
Yuuri - *slides off as well, going to help him*
Hale - *gets down/goes to take care of and feed the horses*
Jade - *standing off a bit, watching the woods carefully, but smiling and acting as though she just needed some air*
Wolfram - *finally finds the food, handing some off to Yuuri before taking some for himself, eating ravenously/hadn't realized it before, be he really was pretty hungry*
Yuuri - *laughs lightly at him/moves over to a large rock nearby, patting it to suggest for Wolfram to sit by him/starts munching on his food as well*
Wolfram - *happily joins him, sitting down next to him as he continues to stuff his face*
Murata - *retrieves some of the food for himself as well/smirks at Wolfram teasingly* "Watch out, von Bielefeld. You keep eating like that and you're bound to get fat."
Wolfram - *looks up to glare at him darkly, then throws some of his food at him*
Murata - *dodges it with a laugh*
Yuuri - *laughs as well* "Don't listen to him." *continues eating*
Jade - *watches as the others get their food before moving to get her own, stepping lightly through the snow - fairylike as ever*
Hale - *munching on some food while brushing the horses some more*
Wolfram - *grumbles a bit about stupid sages, before going back to eating, preparing himself to ignore him if he has anything else to say*
Yuuri - *smiles at him* "You're really cute, you know..."
Wolfram - *sticks out his tongue at him, before breaking off another piece of his food and shoving it into his mouth, chewing quickly*
Yuuri - *laughs again, going back to eating*
Jade - *starts to nibble a bit on her food, moving close to Murata, though still gazing cautiously around*
Murata - *smiles at the girl, though he still keeps an eye out for any sign of danger*
Wolfram - *eats until he just can't eat any more*
Yuuri - *frowns lightly at him/obviously not paying attention to anything but Wolfram* "Don't make yourself sick..."
Wolfram - *rolls his eyes at him* "You'd throw a fit if I didn't eat until I was full."
Yuuri - *pouts a little/he had a point* "Well..."
Wolfram - *waves a hand at him* "Hurry up and finish your food."
Yuuri - *pouts a bit more at him, then shoves the rest into his mouth in one bite*
Wolfram - *wrinkles his nose at him* "Yuuri..."
Yuuri - *can't really talk/mouth full* "Mmph?"
Wolfram - *narrows his eyes a bit* "That's disgusting. Don't be a pig. I swear, you have the worst manners out of any king I've ever met in my entire life."
Yuuri - *finishes chewing and swallows/grins widely at him* "Yeah, but it makes up my charm."
Wolfram - *rolls his eyes at him once again* "Whatever you say, Old Man."
Murata - *turns to laugh at them/smirks at Yuuri* "It's pretty sad when the old man's calling you old, Shibuya."
Wolfram - *glares darkly at him again*
Yuuri - *laughs* "What can I say? I do look older than him."
Jade - *continues eating/amused*
Hale - *brushes horses*
Wolfram - *huffs and crosses his arms* "I think I liked it better when we were alone."
Yuuri - *leans down to whisper to Wolfram/laughs lightly* "You know... Murata can't talk about being 'old'... How old is he now...? I think he already passed the age of dirt..."
Wolfram - *thinks about it for a moment, before smiling and nodding at him*
Murata - *completely oblivious*
Yuuri - *laughs again, pulling back* "Are we done here...?"
Wolfram - *nods again* "I suppose so." *stands to his feet, holding out a hand to help Yuuri up*
Yuuri - *smiles at him, taking his hand to get up* "Thanks."
Wolfram - *smiles back, leading him back over to their horses/he releases Yuuri's hand only when he's about to mount/suddenly freezes before he can do so, however, when he hears a twig crack in the woods nearby*
Jade - *instantly on alert, moving closer to stand in front of the two she was watching over*
Hale - *moves opposite his sister*
Yuuri - *blinks/confused*
Wolfram - *slowly and carefully turns to look around, unconsciously placing himself in front of Yuuri*
Murata - *takes a few steps towards them as well, a frown on his face as he inspects the surrounding trees*
Jade - *apparently responding to her brother, though he didn't say anything/quietly, barely a whisper* "Yes... Behind the trees..."
Yuuri - *frowns at how Wolfram moved in front of him, reaching out to pull him back behind him*
Wolfram - *struggles against Yuuri, glaring at him* "Now is not the time for you to try and play hero."
Yuuri - *blinks at him, startled* "Wolf..."
Jade - "Shh..." *motions for them to be quiet so she could listen*
Wolfram - *was about to say something else before he was silenced/turns his glare on the girl, but can't really say anything against her*
Murata - *cautiously looks around, trying to pick out the cause of the broken twig, but is unable to see anything/turns to his left at a sudden sound, only to have an arrow fly through the air and graze his upper left arm/startled and unprepared, he stumbles back and falls to the ground*
Jade - *spins around, sending a blast of air from her hands in the direction of the arrow* "Hale! Get them on the horses!"
Yuuri - *startled and worried* "Murata?? Are you okay?" *forcibly moves Wolfram behind him*
Hale - *does as his sister says and pulls the horses apart to make it easier to mount and run*
Wolfram - *glares again, pushing at Yuuri so that he's once again in front*
Murata - *gets to his feet, covering his wound with his right hand* "I'm alright." *even as he says it, more arrows come from different directions/two of the horses are hit, scaring the others/another arrows clips Hale in the thigh*
Hale - *tries getting out of the way too late, falling to the ground in pain*
Jade - *curses under her breath, standing directly in front of Yuuri and Wolfram, hands spread out in different directions*
Yuuri - *growls and grabs Wolfram by the shoulders, pulling him down to the ground for better cover, staring directly into his eyes* "This is no longer just about you. Remember that!"
Wolfram - *continues to glare at him, frustrated* "I know that!" *is prevented from saying anything else when a large group of scruffy looking men burst out from within the forest, bows pointed towards them and swords at hand*
Murata - *immediately has a bad feeling about this, especially when he see the glowing stones around their necks, protecting them from any sort of magic attack/curses under his breath*
Yuuri - *still staring at Wolfram* "Don't do anything stupid. That's an order."
Jade - *cursing under her breath again, spotting the same thing as Murata/glares at them* "You gentlemen seem to be a great distance from your homeland..."
Bandit #1 (apparently the leader) - *smirks at their prey* "We like the change of scenery."
Wolfram - *sputters at Yuuri's words, before growling at him, pushing him behind him again* "I'm sorry, but when your life is in danger, I don't follow your orders." *stands up to place himself in front of Yuuri, close to the girl*
Yuuri - *growls again, getting up as well, reaching out to pull Wolfram back again*
Jade - *doesn't move her gaze from the group* "You have no business here. I request you leave immediately."
Leader - *laughs at her, amused* "And who are you to request such a thing?"
Jade - *glares at him*
Leader - *laughs more* "Oh-ho-ho... that's a pretty glare. You mazoku women sure are lookers."
Hale - *manages to get up once again, moving slightly to get closer to his sister*
Jade - *spits at their feet* "Leave now."
Leader - *smirks evilly* "I don't think so." *at a snap of his fingers, his men - nearly two dozen - quickly move in to attack, a couple of his archers taking out the remaining horses to make escape nearly impossible*
Wolfram - *realizes that they are severely, severely outnumber and pushes Yuuri behind him again* "Stay back!"
Yuuri - *sputters/more worried about the safety of Wolfram and the baby than himself*
Jade - *holds her ground, not backing down despite the numbers*
Bandit - *continue their attack, yada yada*
Murata - *moves closer to Yuuri to pull him back, looking around for some means of escape... or something to fight with/who‘s dumb idea was it not to bring swords??* "Don't do anything rash, Shibuya."
Yuuri - *glares at him, staying close to Wolfram to protect him* "What do you suggest then??"
Murata - *shakes his head/at the moment, he honestly has no idea/remains silent, thinking*
Bandits - *attack! attack! for the motherland!*
Jade - *tries fighting back, protecting the others as well, but it was a little difficult since her majutsu wasn't very powerful... and it didn't have much effect against the humans*
Hale - *backing his sister up, keeping close to the others/has his own wind-type majutsu, but obviously, it doesn't help much*
Wolfram - *tries fighting as well, and even though his fire is a bit stronger than the commoners' wind majutsu, it does little more than melt patches of the snow*
Bandits - *vive le revolution!*
Yuuri - *getting seriously pissed/more because they were threatening Wolfram's life* "Stop it!!!"
Murata - *immediately grabs onto him and wrestles him back, really hoping he isn't about to go crazy-psycho super-sexy-transformation-sequence on them, because that would be the worst thing he could do at the moment/hisses in his ear* "Do not reveal who you are, Shibuya!"
Yuuri - *fights against him* "Knock it off!!! You would rather die?!"
Wolfram - *turns to glare at him* "Shut up and stay back!"
Bandits - *tora! tora! tora!*
Jade - *glares at him as well* "Stand down!"
Yuuri - *yeah right/eventually gets pissed enough about Wolfram almost getting killed by stray arrows and does go crazy-psycho super-sexy-transformation-sequence on them... because it's more fun that way, too/etc etc*
Murata - "Shit!" *grabs onto him again, trying with all of his might to hold him back* "Shibuya!!"
Bandits - *holy crap, it's the demon king! run for your lives! wait, we could get a lot of money for this guy! awesomeness! attack!! an arrow lodges itself in Jade's shoulder*
Wolfram - *curses, placing himself in front of Yuuri once more*
Maou - *glares levelly at the bandits/obligatory super-hero-style speech* "Do you not have any shame? Hurting innocent travelers...?" *etc etc... Guine's not very good with awesome speeches/eventually tries knocking them all out with snow and crap*
Bandits - *flee! flee! no, wait!! money!! we need money if we're going to take over the world!! fight back! fight back!! one of them knocks Murata away from him*
Wolfram - *more glaring* "Yuuri, stop it!!"
Maou - *stares down at Wolfram* "You do not belong in this fight..." *insert more trying to blast these guys away with anything but majutsu, but, of course, Yuuri is still a wimp and stubborn and hadn't fully recovered from when he was sick... even though it had been a couple days...*
Jade - *on the ground, still trying to fight back*
Hale - *staying close to his sister and the others*
Bandits - *and now, Mikage is gonna cause trouble real fast, because she's awesome like that! The bandits realize that if the crazy-psycho dude is the demon king, then the dude he's trying to protect must be his fiancé/so focused is Yuuri on protecting him, in fact, that one of the bandits comes up behind him and Yuuri suddenly finds a sword in his side*
Wolfram - *immediately panics* "Yuuri!!"
Bandits - *one grabs onto Wolfram and pulls him away from Mr. Demon King/violently shoves the blond, causing him to stumble and fall*
Wolfram - *stumbles and falls/yada yada/ends up hitting his head hard against the large rock he and Yuuri had previously been sitting on as they'd eaten/collapses to the ground beneath it, some of the snow beginning to turn pink-ish/ooooo~ blood!*
Yuuri - *gasps in pain, instantly being forced out of the transformation/collapses to the ground about the same time as Wolfram was pulled away from him/vision keeps going from clear to burry and back, but he knows enough to catch on that the blond was in trouble* "Wolfram!! Leave him alone you--" *probably going to curse, but ends up passing out like the pansy he is*
Bandits - *while the king's little friends are indisposed, they grab the king and make a quick getaway/hurray for the bandits!*
----------
New Characters
Bandit Party - Mikage
End of Eloping Arc