FIC: Into the Indefinite Sky : CH 3 (Yuuram, AU)
Next chapter ready!
Title: Into the Indefinite Sky
Author: S.P. Kathrine
Anime: Kyou Kara Maou
Genre: AU, Angst/Drama, Romance
Pairing: YuurixWolfram
Rating: M-MA (R-NC17)
Chapter: Chapter 3 (03) / ??? (Ch 12 and counting)
Warnings: Angst, Non-Consensual Sexual themes (referenced/implied), AU, OOC Wolfram, possibly OOC everyone else, and other warnings that I can’t mention without ruining the plot
Summary:
Wolf had spent his life believing that he was meant for servitude. His master was strict, and often cruel, but he never thought he could be anything more than what he was. One night changes everything and he is thrown into a world that he knows nothing about and given a life he never thought he could have. But a secret he keeps could only throw his life into further turmoil and not to mention the Demon King…
BETA: nekokatechan
Other chapter can be found : here
Chapter 3 - Proclamation
When Wolf awoke, he could tell that something was wrong. He was lying on something hard, although cushiony, definitely not his stiff cot consisting of blankets and wood. Had Hilde snuck him into her room again? They both had been ‘warned’ of the consequences of her doing that ever again, but if he was hurt, she would ignore Master Verik’s words, just as she had before. Strange that she was the one person Verik could not oppress into submission-even for all his threats-because they both knew that without her, his inn would fall apart. She kept
everything running from behind the doors of the kitchen.
From the distinct sound of birds chirping echoing through the thin walls, he could guess that it was near morning. Wait…should I not hear rain instead? Where has the storm gone? This apprehension caused him to sit up instantly, eyes wide and alert. His chest felt tight and his nose was congested, and before he
could do anything he felt a strong sneeze that he could not stop from ripping through his chest and out his nose, making his head feel like it had been struck with a large plank of wood.
“Please lay back down,” he felt arms on his shoulders. Someone was touching him and he didn’t know who it was.
Oh Great One, Great One, Great One, Great One… He struggled, trying to get away from who ever was touching him, but not having the strength. His body felt lethargic and heavy. The hands did not let him go. He wanted them to let go. Please let me go…letmegoletmegoletmego-
And just like that they were gone. He backed away immediately, only to find himself against the wall, which he slid across into the corner that the bed was pressed against. He searched into the darkness, trying to see who was there, who had touched him, held him down…
Footsteps clinked against the floor and then he heard the two things scratching against each other. And then here was light. He still couldn’t focus because the light moved, but he could see the flame as it lit something larger and more light filled the room. Only a few steps away on the other side of the room was a boy, staring at him with a strange look in his eye. His hair was a strange color under the light, but he could tell that he had dark eyes…
Those eyes, he stared, remembering the foggy uncertain events from their last encounter. It’s him…the Mazoku…
“Are you all right?” the Boy asked, although he did not take any steps towards Wolf.
How was he to answer that? The regulated response was that he was perfectly fine, and yet he did not believe that this Boy would take such an answer. So he said nothing, just turned his eyes to the bed that he was curled up on.
Now the Boy did step closer, but this only caused the blond to press himself closer into the corner. “D-don’t come near me!” he told him. “Please, I have done you no wrong, young master, I-”
“Why are you scared of me?” How could someone so dangerous stare at him with such confusion and hurt in his eyes? “What is it about me that scares you so much?”
Wolf looked away, head bowed. “Y-You…You’re a Mazoku…”
“So are you,” the Boy replied, still not understanding. The statement caused Wolf to flinch once more. He did not want to be reminded of his heritage.
“I-I’m just a demon half-breed,” he hissed out. “Don’t compare me to a full-blooded Mazoku. I’m still part Human.”
The Boy recoiled, both of them shocked by the intensity of the blonde’s words. Then he gave a weak laugh. “Then we’re okay then, because so am I,” he pointed out.
His words threw Wolf off. “Y-You’re a Half-Blood?” he asked.
“Yeah,” the Boy nodded, giving a shrug, “even if I don’t completely understand most of it, I know my dad is Mazoku and my mom is Human.”
Wolf stared at him and gave a small resigned sigh. “You’re just like me…” he whispered. “I am so sorry.”
“What is there to be sorry for?”
“A Half-Blood traveling with full-blooded Mazoku must be very painful,” he said. “Are they very harsh with you?”
“Huh?” Now the Boy started to laugh. “No, no, none of them are mean to me. Besides, the two guys, Conrad and Yosak, are just like me, and Murata and Greta-she’s a little girl with us, my daughter-are human.”
“There are no full-blooded Mazoku with you?”
“Well,” the dark-haired boy appeared to be giving it some thought. “I bet most of the soldiers are full-blooded…”
“Are you their captives?!” Wolfram asked, a slight tone of amazement in his voice. For why else would Mazoku put up with Half-Bloods or Humans? Why were this boy and the others not in shackles or dead?
“No! Why would we be?” The reply was given with an awkward blink, as if he did not know what to make of the question. “They’re all under Conrad’s command,” he said, now looking as if he wanted to laugh. “None of them would hurt me anyway.”
Wolf was shock by how casually he spoke of everything. Just who was this boy that not even full-blooded Mazoku frightened him? He’s either insane, or perhaps its because he acts like a full-blooded Mazoku? The options were confusing all on their own.
There was a knock on the door. Wolf flinched at the unexpectedness of it. The Boy waved a hand at him. “It’s okay,” he told him. “That’s probably just Conrad coming to check up on us. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
This did not comfort the other boy in the slightest. He didn’t want to see this Conrad, the brown-haired man who stared at him with such intense sadness. But he could not tell this Boy not to open the door. Wolf had no say in what was going on. This Boy was a guest at the inn and it seemed as if he was intruding in his room. The boy opened the door and showed his preciseness, for it was indeed the tall man with the intense eyes.
“He-Yuuri,” he smiled at the Boy. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, we’re okay,” he stated with a sheepish grin, running a hand through the back of his hair. “I guess I just startled the guy when he woke up.”
Conrad turned his eyes to the boy on the bed, the same intense look on his face as their last encounter. It made the young slave feel as if he was being taken apart piece by piece. At the same time, the man’s face was gentle, kind. How could he be so contradicting? “I hope you slept well,” he said.
Wolf gave a weak nod before turning his eyes away. Conrad stepped into the room, the boy-Yuuri-shutting the door behind him. “What are we going to do?” the Boy asked.
“It all depends on whether our assumptions are true,” Conrad told him. “And that is what I am here to find out.”
The maroon-haired one-Yuuri? Was that his name?-looked at Wolf and then back at him. “Do you think that it’s too soon?” he wondered. “I mean all that stuff last night…and he just woke up. Are you sure you should push it this fast?”
Wolf watched their exchanged in complete bewilderment and irritation. What were they going on about? What did they want from him? Why were they speaking to each other about him as if he was not there?
“This is something that has to be done,” the chestnut-haired man stated. “I am sorry, Heika, but it can’t wait.”
Wolf raised his brow at that. Heika? But that would mean-
The man was in front of him now, staring at him, assessing him with every sweep of his eyes. “You say your name is Wolf?” he started.
The blond nodded. “Yes, all of my masters, save Master Verik, called me Wolf,” he told them. “So is it not my name?”
“You have a birthmark on the inside of you left thigh that is the almost perfect shape of flower. A rose to be exact.”
His eyes went wide as he curled into himself even more. “How do you know that?” He turned a glare on, splitting it between both strangers. “Did you undress me while I slept?! Did you enjoy touching me while I couldn’t fight back?”
“Whoa!” Yuuri’s hand were in the air. “We didn’t do anything like that! Conrad moved you into my room last night and hasn’t been in here since. I slept in that rickety chair over there!” He pointed to the lopsided chair in front of the tiny table in the corner diagonally opposite Wolf. “And I didn’t touch you either!” he said almost as an afterthought.
He was so adamant. But they were half-breeds living like full-blooded Mazoku; they could be lying. Why did Wolf believe him? Once more he turned his eyes away. The way both of them looked at him was so unnerving. What did they want from him? There was a strong tingling feeling in his chest and built up into his face. He tried to hold it, only take a breath and release a loud sneeze, covering his face with both hands.
“Oh, you caught a cold!” the Boy was starting to fuss over him, a hand shot out, ready to touch him. Wolf flinched, keeping his hands in place before him for protection. The hand never reached him. Realizing what he had done, the blonde quickly moved his hands away. The Boy’s hand was still outstretched but it hung in the air as if he did not know what to do with it.
Wolf bowed his head towards the bed, sitting on his knees. “I am sorry, young master,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have-”
“I was only going to see if you were running a fever,” the Boy told him. “I didn’t mean to scare you again.” His eyes were shadowed now.
The other boy shook his head. “There is no need to worry about me,” he told him. “I am a merely slave, who has not fallen ill in many, many years.”
“Stop that,” the words were soft, but held power. His rescuer had his head bent slightly, wild bangs dangling in his face. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself that way, as if your like something scrubbed out of the bottom of bathtub. No one is that worthless.”
Those words seeped into the blonde like a burn to the chest. H-How can he say something like that as if he means it? he wondered. How can he speak to me and act as if there is no difference, no line between us? I am a slave and he is obviously someone of great importance, despite his naïve appearance.
“Thank you for your kind words, young m-”
“Don’t call me that either,” the Boy said. “I hate titles. Call me Yuuri, that‘s my name anyway.”
“Yes, young-” There was a look on the Boy’s face that stopped him. It was slightly frustrated, but very serious. “Yes, Y-Yuuri.”
The looked dissipated with a wide grin. “That’s it.” Then he turned to looked at the man who had not spoken for quite some time. “Now Conrad, I don’t really understand everything you were saying so maybe you should explain. If I’m this confused, Wolf must be too.”
He was still staring at Wolf, but he nodded in agreement with the other Boy’s words. “Seventy-four years ago,” he started, “there was an uproar in Shin Makoku. A child had be stolen, kidnapped, right beneath the watch of the best guards and soldiers in the kingdom. It was found that his nanny and her husband were both only part-Mazoku, who had believed that by taking the child, they would be able to save their own children from slavery in Dai Shimaron.
“Months, and then years, were spent searching for them and yet no trace could be found. It was seventeen years until a young man would appear, claiming to be the youngest child of the couple that had taken the little boy. He said that he had been freed by his parents’ act, but all of his siblings had been sent into slavery. In retaliation, his father, who had been a skilled soldier and spy, had retrieved the child with the intent to return him, only to be killed with when found in the Kingdom of Chiisai Shimaron weeks later.
“The wife had taken both children and fled. In fear of what could happen should she even step near Mazoku soil to give the boy back, she took him in as her own and raised him with her own son for ten years. The man had known the truth, but had sworn to his mother never to reveal it. The boy was told he was a half-breed, that his father was a Mazoku soldier who had defected to be with her, but killed for it.
“They had lived this way until they were discovered in the Kingdom of Keturk, for a secret group of assassins from Dai Shimaron had searched for the child for all that time. When they came to take the child, they claimed to be Mazoku bent on revenge and ready to kill everyone in sight. To protect the children, the woman had forced them to flee as she distracted them. The man said that they were told to escape, but as they fled, he and the little boy had been separated. All he could find later was a bloodied stuffed animal the child had carried with him. It was believed the little boy had been lost.
“The boy was only eighteen years old when he went missing completely, still a young child because of how Mazoku age, and his family mourned him for many years to come. He was energetic, happy, blonde hair and green eyes that looked so much like his mother’s. His name was Wolfram von Bielefield. He was my brother. Youngest son of the twenty-sixth Maou, Shin Makoku’s former queen.”
“No.”
One word, full of disbelief, denial, anger, and pain.
“Yes.”
One word, full of conviction, honesty, hope, and pain.
Wolf stared him, into those eyes. It was unbelievable. There was no way that any of this was true. But at the same time, it was as if they were speaking of his life from a storybook. He remembered his mother and brother, Mika. He remembered watching his brother age and not understanding why he was different. But then his mother told him about his father, how they had been in love and the Mazoku had killed him. Because Humans and Mazoku were not meant to love, were not meant to have half-breeds.
/He remembered when the Mazoku had come. They had been in the market, buying fruits to make the special pies his mother sold for extra money, when he had noticed two men kept staring at him. They followed his family about the marketplace and two more men joined them. They dressed strangely and whispered to each other. Something about them scared him.
“Momma?” he tugged at the apron she wore around her waist.
“Yes, Wolf?” she asked him. “Do you see any fruit you like?”
“Momma, those men keep staring at me,” he stated, a slight pout in his voice. “I don’t like it, make them stop Momma.”
Momma and Mika both looked to where he pointed out the men across the aisle and Momma dropped the fruit she held. She stood there for a moment, staring at them as they stared at her. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her and she pushed through the crowd.
“Mika, come,” she called to his brother. “We have to go, now.”
Mika hurried to catch up to them, which was somewhat difficult in the large gathering of people. They were finally able to break into an open street and turned down an alley that would lead them to their home. Wolf tried to keep up, but his legs were not long enough to match his mother’s rushed strides. She halted only long enough to pick Wolf into her arms and then started to walk and quickly as she could.
“What is wrong Momma?” Mika asked her.
“Mazoku are here,” she stated. “I knew one of them would catch up to us eventually.”
“Mazoku?!” Mika sounded shocked and distressed. “But Momma that means…”
“Wasn’t Poppa a Mazoku?” Wolf interrupted.
Momma stopped at looked at him. Her eyes were filling with tears. “Yes, Poppa was a Mazoku and the Mazoku killed him,” she said. “Now they want to take you away from me, but I won’t let them. You’re MY baby, MY son. They can’t have you, now.”
Footsteps sounded down the street. Momma spun her body, hand still cradling Wolf’s head. Two of the men were there, swords already pulled out. “There!” one shouted.
Momma’s eyes went wide and she let out a cry of fear before running in the opposite direction. Home was only a few houses away. They were following them, Wolf watch as they grew closer, his eyes peering over his mother’s shoulder. Mika sped up in front of them and unlocked the door, pushing it open to allow them to get by. He then slammed the door shut just as the men were practically on their doorstep, locking it with the large bolt Momma had worked extra hours at the seamstress shop to afford.
She set him down quickly, looking at him with her hazel eyes and near-black hair so unlike his own. “I love you,” she said. “I love you and your brother so much.” She hugged him. “All I wanted was to keep you. Why couldn’t they let me keep you?”
He didn’t understand. Something bad was going to happen and his momma knew about it. “Now…Now you be a good boy for your brother,” she told him. “And don’t take off your necklace! It’s very special and you can always think of me when you see it.”
“Mom?” Mika looked at her, only to distracted by the sound of pounding at the door.
“We’ve come for the boy!” a voice shouted. “You knew you couldn’t get away with what you’ve done!” More pounding. The door shook, but the lock held.
“Mika, you are to go out the back door and go out the hole in the wall, you know, the one you both like to sneak out in, but say you don’t,” she was speaking in a soft, rushed voice. “Go down that street and then take the alleyways to Cathleen’s shop, she’ll know what to do.”
“But Momma…” Wolf started to cry. Why was this happening? Why were the Mazoku so mad at him? “What about you? Aren’t you coming, too?”
“No, my son,” she shook her head. She then hugged him one last time before pushing him into Mika’s arms. “Now go!” There was the sound of wood cracking. They turned. The lock wouldn’t hold for much longer.
“Go!” she cried, shoving them towards the back of the one floor home. Mika ran. He held his brother and burst out the back door into their small vegetable garden. Behind the house was a large wall that separated the homes from the street behind them. It was a representation of how the city had grown, for once the wall had been the barricade of protection.
But it was old and crumbling. Cracks and holes littered the foundation. One particular opening was large and against the ground, shielded by a large berry bush. They had often used it to sneak out so that they could play with the dog from down the street. It was large and friendly, but barely ever left its own neighborhood.
Mika pressed against the wall with his back, scooting behind the shrub that covered the hole from view. He set Wolf down and told him to crawl very quickly. “We have to hurry,” he said.
The little boy sniffled, tears still running down his cheeks. Mika stared at him, not knowing what to do. Suddenly he thought of something and pulled an item that had been stuffed in his belt. It was his stuffed piggy. He carried it around with him at all times, but often dropped it. Mika was always picking it up for him. He had taken with them to the market and Mika must have picked it up from the ground again.
“Take this,” he told him. “Remember that it’s from your brother, who doesn‘t want to see you cry anymore. Now crawl through the hole.”
There were shouts from inside the house. Wolf took the piggy and nodded, kneeling so that he could fit through the hole easily. It was slightly harder for Mika, who had just started to outgrow the small exit. When both of them were finally on the other side, Mika grabbed his hand and pulled him along as fast as he could.
They broke onto the street and ran as fast as they could with Wolf being pulled along by his older brother. A few more houses and they would get to the end of the street that would give them the straightest route to shop where their mother worked. Wolf was breathing hard, his legs unable to compensate for his brother’s fast pace. But he didn’t want to let go of his brother’s hand. He didn’t want to lose his brother.
They came to the intersection of streets and were ready to take a right. Only to be stopped by someone calling out, “Halt!”
Wolf looked behind them and let out a scream. It was the men! But how did they find them so fast? Hadn’t Momma stopped them? Mika grabbed his hand tighter and pulled him along as quickly as he could. They were running, trying to get to the alley that would hopefully lead them to freedom. Feet pounded the cracked pavement behind them. They were getting closer.
“Do you think you can get away?” a voice demanded. This time Wolf didn’t look back. He didn’t know if he would like if it he did.
They were just about to turn the corner into the alley when he felt Piggy slip from his hand. “No!” he cried, breaking his brother’s hold on his hand as he spun around.
“Wolf!” Mika tried to stop him.
He rushed to where he had dropped his stuff friend and picked him back up, only too late realizing what he had done wrong. The men were right there now, standing inches from him. He let out a cry and fell backwards scooting away from them. Mika was at his side, large rocks in both hands.
“Do you think you can hurt us with those?” the one asked, sword pointed at them. “Your mother couldn’t stop us, how do you think you can?”
Wolf stared at him. What had they done to his Momma? Had they hurt her? Had they hurt her because of him?
“You bastards!” Mika shouted, eyes angry with tears in them. He threw one of the rocks at them and watched as one of the men caught it. Then, with a grin on his face, he threw it back with force, striking Mika in the head and causing him to fall to the ground.
“Big Brother!” Wolf cried, turning to help him, but instead felt arms grabbing at him, pulling him into the air. He struggled, tried to scratch whoever held him. He wanted his brother. He wanted his momma. He wanted these men to leave him alone! One of them put a cloth over his mouth and he tried to scream around it, but the sound was muffled.
They then dragged him off down the street that he and his brother had exited, going somewhere he did not know. He cried and fought and tried to yell for help, but it seemed like no one was around. Why was no one helping him? Why had no one helped his momma and his brother?
Finally, it seemed as if one of the men had enough with his struggling and struck him hard in the head with the hilt of his sword. Everything went red and then black. /
It had been days later that he had been sold into the slavery by the same men who had ruined everything in his life. Mazoku. But now this man-this Mazoku-tried to say it was all lies. That couldn’t be possible. All of this was lies. They were trying to use him, to gain his trust so that they could do something unspeakable to him. Why else would they conjure up such falsehoods?
It hurt. To think that they had been lying to him. The Boy had helped him, saved his life. He looked so kind and honest. How could he turn out to be so cruel? Was it because he lived with the Mazoku? Did all Mazoku turn out as deceitful and misguiding at these two? Or were they worse?
“You’re lying,” he stated. “You lie so that you can hurt me, you filthy Mazoku! What do you want from me? Why do you try to gain my trust only to hurt me?”
Yuuri shook his head. “We’re not trying to hurt you! I don’t know, maybe Conrad’s wrong and you’re not his brother. He could be mistaken, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been lying the whole time.”
“Of course you’re lying!” he hissed. “How else would you know about my mother and brother? You killed them! Just like your wretched kind killed my father! What have we ever done to you? Why do you hate us so much?”
His hand went to his necklace, holding it tightly in his grasp. They were lying. None of it was true. The Mazoku had killed his family, not Humans. Now they wanted to hurt him, just like before when they wanted to take him away from his mother. How could they keep doing this to him? Hadn’t he suffer enough? What more could they possibly do to him that hadn’t already been done?
He stared at Yuuri, feeling his anger and hate rise. How could I even begin to trust him? He thought self-deprecatingly. How could I WANT to trust him?
He struck out then, hands going around the other boy’s neck and tightening. Dark eyes were wide, hands trying to pull his own away. “It’s not true!” he shouted. “You’re lying! Lying!”
A hit came to the side of his head, loosening his grip and sending him back to the bed. Conrad pulled Yuuri away as the boy took in deep breaths of air. Wolf didn’t even look at them. He curled away, arms wrapping around his knees.
“If you ever attempt to harm him again, I will kill you first.” The man’s voice was cold, stiff, and brutally serious with its words.
“Conrad!” Yuuri exclaimed. “He didn’t mean it! He’s in shock!”
“The man who came to us was named Mika Gaven,” Conrad told the blond on the bed. “He said that before killing himself. It was his penance for what his family had done.”
Wolf couldn’t take anymore. He shook his head, clenched his eyes shut tight. “No!” he cried. “None of this is true. The Mazoku are just trying to trick me! You’re both lying.” He voice grew softer as he spoke more to himself than to anyone else. “They’re lying…I’m not a Mazoku…I’m not a Mazoku…”
Next update will be on Wednesday. See you then!
Title: Into the Indefinite Sky
Author: S.P. Kathrine
Anime: Kyou Kara Maou
Genre: AU, Angst/Drama, Romance
Pairing: YuurixWolfram
Rating: M-MA (R-NC17)
Chapter: Chapter 3 (03) / ??? (Ch 12 and counting)
Warnings: Angst, Non-Consensual Sexual themes (referenced/implied), AU, OOC Wolfram, possibly OOC everyone else, and other warnings that I can’t mention without ruining the plot
Summary:
Wolf had spent his life believing that he was meant for servitude. His master was strict, and often cruel, but he never thought he could be anything more than what he was. One night changes everything and he is thrown into a world that he knows nothing about and given a life he never thought he could have. But a secret he keeps could only throw his life into further turmoil and not to mention the Demon King…
BETA: nekokatechan
Other chapter can be found : here
Chapter 3 - Proclamation
When Wolf awoke, he could tell that something was wrong. He was lying on something hard, although cushiony, definitely not his stiff cot consisting of blankets and wood. Had Hilde snuck him into her room again? They both had been ‘warned’ of the consequences of her doing that ever again, but if he was hurt, she would ignore Master Verik’s words, just as she had before. Strange that she was the one person Verik could not oppress into submission-even for all his threats-because they both knew that without her, his inn would fall apart. She kept
everything running from behind the doors of the kitchen.
From the distinct sound of birds chirping echoing through the thin walls, he could guess that it was near morning. Wait…should I not hear rain instead? Where has the storm gone? This apprehension caused him to sit up instantly, eyes wide and alert. His chest felt tight and his nose was congested, and before he
could do anything he felt a strong sneeze that he could not stop from ripping through his chest and out his nose, making his head feel like it had been struck with a large plank of wood.
“Please lay back down,” he felt arms on his shoulders. Someone was touching him and he didn’t know who it was.
Oh Great One, Great One, Great One, Great One… He struggled, trying to get away from who ever was touching him, but not having the strength. His body felt lethargic and heavy. The hands did not let him go. He wanted them to let go. Please let me go…letmegoletmegoletmego-
And just like that they were gone. He backed away immediately, only to find himself against the wall, which he slid across into the corner that the bed was pressed against. He searched into the darkness, trying to see who was there, who had touched him, held him down…
Footsteps clinked against the floor and then he heard the two things scratching against each other. And then here was light. He still couldn’t focus because the light moved, but he could see the flame as it lit something larger and more light filled the room. Only a few steps away on the other side of the room was a boy, staring at him with a strange look in his eye. His hair was a strange color under the light, but he could tell that he had dark eyes…
Those eyes, he stared, remembering the foggy uncertain events from their last encounter. It’s him…the Mazoku…
“Are you all right?” the Boy asked, although he did not take any steps towards Wolf.
How was he to answer that? The regulated response was that he was perfectly fine, and yet he did not believe that this Boy would take such an answer. So he said nothing, just turned his eyes to the bed that he was curled up on.
Now the Boy did step closer, but this only caused the blond to press himself closer into the corner. “D-don’t come near me!” he told him. “Please, I have done you no wrong, young master, I-”
“Why are you scared of me?” How could someone so dangerous stare at him with such confusion and hurt in his eyes? “What is it about me that scares you so much?”
Wolf looked away, head bowed. “Y-You…You’re a Mazoku…”
“So are you,” the Boy replied, still not understanding. The statement caused Wolf to flinch once more. He did not want to be reminded of his heritage.
“I-I’m just a demon half-breed,” he hissed out. “Don’t compare me to a full-blooded Mazoku. I’m still part Human.”
The Boy recoiled, both of them shocked by the intensity of the blonde’s words. Then he gave a weak laugh. “Then we’re okay then, because so am I,” he pointed out.
His words threw Wolf off. “Y-You’re a Half-Blood?” he asked.
“Yeah,” the Boy nodded, giving a shrug, “even if I don’t completely understand most of it, I know my dad is Mazoku and my mom is Human.”
Wolf stared at him and gave a small resigned sigh. “You’re just like me…” he whispered. “I am so sorry.”
“What is there to be sorry for?”
“A Half-Blood traveling with full-blooded Mazoku must be very painful,” he said. “Are they very harsh with you?”
“Huh?” Now the Boy started to laugh. “No, no, none of them are mean to me. Besides, the two guys, Conrad and Yosak, are just like me, and Murata and Greta-she’s a little girl with us, my daughter-are human.”
“There are no full-blooded Mazoku with you?”
“Well,” the dark-haired boy appeared to be giving it some thought. “I bet most of the soldiers are full-blooded…”
“Are you their captives?!” Wolfram asked, a slight tone of amazement in his voice. For why else would Mazoku put up with Half-Bloods or Humans? Why were this boy and the others not in shackles or dead?
“No! Why would we be?” The reply was given with an awkward blink, as if he did not know what to make of the question. “They’re all under Conrad’s command,” he said, now looking as if he wanted to laugh. “None of them would hurt me anyway.”
Wolf was shock by how casually he spoke of everything. Just who was this boy that not even full-blooded Mazoku frightened him? He’s either insane, or perhaps its because he acts like a full-blooded Mazoku? The options were confusing all on their own.
There was a knock on the door. Wolf flinched at the unexpectedness of it. The Boy waved a hand at him. “It’s okay,” he told him. “That’s probably just Conrad coming to check up on us. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”
This did not comfort the other boy in the slightest. He didn’t want to see this Conrad, the brown-haired man who stared at him with such intense sadness. But he could not tell this Boy not to open the door. Wolf had no say in what was going on. This Boy was a guest at the inn and it seemed as if he was intruding in his room. The boy opened the door and showed his preciseness, for it was indeed the tall man with the intense eyes.
“He-Yuuri,” he smiled at the Boy. “Is everything all right?”
“Yeah, we’re okay,” he stated with a sheepish grin, running a hand through the back of his hair. “I guess I just startled the guy when he woke up.”
Conrad turned his eyes to the boy on the bed, the same intense look on his face as their last encounter. It made the young slave feel as if he was being taken apart piece by piece. At the same time, the man’s face was gentle, kind. How could he be so contradicting? “I hope you slept well,” he said.
Wolf gave a weak nod before turning his eyes away. Conrad stepped into the room, the boy-Yuuri-shutting the door behind him. “What are we going to do?” the Boy asked.
“It all depends on whether our assumptions are true,” Conrad told him. “And that is what I am here to find out.”
The maroon-haired one-Yuuri? Was that his name?-looked at Wolf and then back at him. “Do you think that it’s too soon?” he wondered. “I mean all that stuff last night…and he just woke up. Are you sure you should push it this fast?”
Wolf watched their exchanged in complete bewilderment and irritation. What were they going on about? What did they want from him? Why were they speaking to each other about him as if he was not there?
“This is something that has to be done,” the chestnut-haired man stated. “I am sorry, Heika, but it can’t wait.”
Wolf raised his brow at that. Heika? But that would mean-
The man was in front of him now, staring at him, assessing him with every sweep of his eyes. “You say your name is Wolf?” he started.
The blond nodded. “Yes, all of my masters, save Master Verik, called me Wolf,” he told them. “So is it not my name?”
“You have a birthmark on the inside of you left thigh that is the almost perfect shape of flower. A rose to be exact.”
His eyes went wide as he curled into himself even more. “How do you know that?” He turned a glare on, splitting it between both strangers. “Did you undress me while I slept?! Did you enjoy touching me while I couldn’t fight back?”
“Whoa!” Yuuri’s hand were in the air. “We didn’t do anything like that! Conrad moved you into my room last night and hasn’t been in here since. I slept in that rickety chair over there!” He pointed to the lopsided chair in front of the tiny table in the corner diagonally opposite Wolf. “And I didn’t touch you either!” he said almost as an afterthought.
He was so adamant. But they were half-breeds living like full-blooded Mazoku; they could be lying. Why did Wolf believe him? Once more he turned his eyes away. The way both of them looked at him was so unnerving. What did they want from him? There was a strong tingling feeling in his chest and built up into his face. He tried to hold it, only take a breath and release a loud sneeze, covering his face with both hands.
“Oh, you caught a cold!” the Boy was starting to fuss over him, a hand shot out, ready to touch him. Wolf flinched, keeping his hands in place before him for protection. The hand never reached him. Realizing what he had done, the blonde quickly moved his hands away. The Boy’s hand was still outstretched but it hung in the air as if he did not know what to do with it.
Wolf bowed his head towards the bed, sitting on his knees. “I am sorry, young master,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have-”
“I was only going to see if you were running a fever,” the Boy told him. “I didn’t mean to scare you again.” His eyes were shadowed now.
The other boy shook his head. “There is no need to worry about me,” he told him. “I am a merely slave, who has not fallen ill in many, many years.”
“Stop that,” the words were soft, but held power. His rescuer had his head bent slightly, wild bangs dangling in his face. “You shouldn’t talk about yourself that way, as if your like something scrubbed out of the bottom of bathtub. No one is that worthless.”
Those words seeped into the blonde like a burn to the chest. H-How can he say something like that as if he means it? he wondered. How can he speak to me and act as if there is no difference, no line between us? I am a slave and he is obviously someone of great importance, despite his naïve appearance.
“Thank you for your kind words, young m-”
“Don’t call me that either,” the Boy said. “I hate titles. Call me Yuuri, that‘s my name anyway.”
“Yes, young-” There was a look on the Boy’s face that stopped him. It was slightly frustrated, but very serious. “Yes, Y-Yuuri.”
The looked dissipated with a wide grin. “That’s it.” Then he turned to looked at the man who had not spoken for quite some time. “Now Conrad, I don’t really understand everything you were saying so maybe you should explain. If I’m this confused, Wolf must be too.”
He was still staring at Wolf, but he nodded in agreement with the other Boy’s words. “Seventy-four years ago,” he started, “there was an uproar in Shin Makoku. A child had be stolen, kidnapped, right beneath the watch of the best guards and soldiers in the kingdom. It was found that his nanny and her husband were both only part-Mazoku, who had believed that by taking the child, they would be able to save their own children from slavery in Dai Shimaron.
“Months, and then years, were spent searching for them and yet no trace could be found. It was seventeen years until a young man would appear, claiming to be the youngest child of the couple that had taken the little boy. He said that he had been freed by his parents’ act, but all of his siblings had been sent into slavery. In retaliation, his father, who had been a skilled soldier and spy, had retrieved the child with the intent to return him, only to be killed with when found in the Kingdom of Chiisai Shimaron weeks later.
“The wife had taken both children and fled. In fear of what could happen should she even step near Mazoku soil to give the boy back, she took him in as her own and raised him with her own son for ten years. The man had known the truth, but had sworn to his mother never to reveal it. The boy was told he was a half-breed, that his father was a Mazoku soldier who had defected to be with her, but killed for it.
“They had lived this way until they were discovered in the Kingdom of Keturk, for a secret group of assassins from Dai Shimaron had searched for the child for all that time. When they came to take the child, they claimed to be Mazoku bent on revenge and ready to kill everyone in sight. To protect the children, the woman had forced them to flee as she distracted them. The man said that they were told to escape, but as they fled, he and the little boy had been separated. All he could find later was a bloodied stuffed animal the child had carried with him. It was believed the little boy had been lost.
“The boy was only eighteen years old when he went missing completely, still a young child because of how Mazoku age, and his family mourned him for many years to come. He was energetic, happy, blonde hair and green eyes that looked so much like his mother’s. His name was Wolfram von Bielefield. He was my brother. Youngest son of the twenty-sixth Maou, Shin Makoku’s former queen.”
“No.”
One word, full of disbelief, denial, anger, and pain.
“Yes.”
One word, full of conviction, honesty, hope, and pain.
Wolf stared him, into those eyes. It was unbelievable. There was no way that any of this was true. But at the same time, it was as if they were speaking of his life from a storybook. He remembered his mother and brother, Mika. He remembered watching his brother age and not understanding why he was different. But then his mother told him about his father, how they had been in love and the Mazoku had killed him. Because Humans and Mazoku were not meant to love, were not meant to have half-breeds.
/He remembered when the Mazoku had come. They had been in the market, buying fruits to make the special pies his mother sold for extra money, when he had noticed two men kept staring at him. They followed his family about the marketplace and two more men joined them. They dressed strangely and whispered to each other. Something about them scared him.
“Momma?” he tugged at the apron she wore around her waist.
“Yes, Wolf?” she asked him. “Do you see any fruit you like?”
“Momma, those men keep staring at me,” he stated, a slight pout in his voice. “I don’t like it, make them stop Momma.”
Momma and Mika both looked to where he pointed out the men across the aisle and Momma dropped the fruit she held. She stood there for a moment, staring at them as they stared at her. Then she grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her and she pushed through the crowd.
“Mika, come,” she called to his brother. “We have to go, now.”
Mika hurried to catch up to them, which was somewhat difficult in the large gathering of people. They were finally able to break into an open street and turned down an alley that would lead them to their home. Wolf tried to keep up, but his legs were not long enough to match his mother’s rushed strides. She halted only long enough to pick Wolf into her arms and then started to walk and quickly as she could.
“What is wrong Momma?” Mika asked her.
“Mazoku are here,” she stated. “I knew one of them would catch up to us eventually.”
“Mazoku?!” Mika sounded shocked and distressed. “But Momma that means…”
“Wasn’t Poppa a Mazoku?” Wolf interrupted.
Momma stopped at looked at him. Her eyes were filling with tears. “Yes, Poppa was a Mazoku and the Mazoku killed him,” she said. “Now they want to take you away from me, but I won’t let them. You’re MY baby, MY son. They can’t have you, now.”
Footsteps sounded down the street. Momma spun her body, hand still cradling Wolf’s head. Two of the men were there, swords already pulled out. “There!” one shouted.
Momma’s eyes went wide and she let out a cry of fear before running in the opposite direction. Home was only a few houses away. They were following them, Wolf watch as they grew closer, his eyes peering over his mother’s shoulder. Mika sped up in front of them and unlocked the door, pushing it open to allow them to get by. He then slammed the door shut just as the men were practically on their doorstep, locking it with the large bolt Momma had worked extra hours at the seamstress shop to afford.
She set him down quickly, looking at him with her hazel eyes and near-black hair so unlike his own. “I love you,” she said. “I love you and your brother so much.” She hugged him. “All I wanted was to keep you. Why couldn’t they let me keep you?”
He didn’t understand. Something bad was going to happen and his momma knew about it. “Now…Now you be a good boy for your brother,” she told him. “And don’t take off your necklace! It’s very special and you can always think of me when you see it.”
“Mom?” Mika looked at her, only to distracted by the sound of pounding at the door.
“We’ve come for the boy!” a voice shouted. “You knew you couldn’t get away with what you’ve done!” More pounding. The door shook, but the lock held.
“Mika, you are to go out the back door and go out the hole in the wall, you know, the one you both like to sneak out in, but say you don’t,” she was speaking in a soft, rushed voice. “Go down that street and then take the alleyways to Cathleen’s shop, she’ll know what to do.”
“But Momma…” Wolf started to cry. Why was this happening? Why were the Mazoku so mad at him? “What about you? Aren’t you coming, too?”
“No, my son,” she shook her head. She then hugged him one last time before pushing him into Mika’s arms. “Now go!” There was the sound of wood cracking. They turned. The lock wouldn’t hold for much longer.
“Go!” she cried, shoving them towards the back of the one floor home. Mika ran. He held his brother and burst out the back door into their small vegetable garden. Behind the house was a large wall that separated the homes from the street behind them. It was a representation of how the city had grown, for once the wall had been the barricade of protection.
But it was old and crumbling. Cracks and holes littered the foundation. One particular opening was large and against the ground, shielded by a large berry bush. They had often used it to sneak out so that they could play with the dog from down the street. It was large and friendly, but barely ever left its own neighborhood.
Mika pressed against the wall with his back, scooting behind the shrub that covered the hole from view. He set Wolf down and told him to crawl very quickly. “We have to hurry,” he said.
The little boy sniffled, tears still running down his cheeks. Mika stared at him, not knowing what to do. Suddenly he thought of something and pulled an item that had been stuffed in his belt. It was his stuffed piggy. He carried it around with him at all times, but often dropped it. Mika was always picking it up for him. He had taken with them to the market and Mika must have picked it up from the ground again.
“Take this,” he told him. “Remember that it’s from your brother, who doesn‘t want to see you cry anymore. Now crawl through the hole.”
There were shouts from inside the house. Wolf took the piggy and nodded, kneeling so that he could fit through the hole easily. It was slightly harder for Mika, who had just started to outgrow the small exit. When both of them were finally on the other side, Mika grabbed his hand and pulled him along as fast as he could.
They broke onto the street and ran as fast as they could with Wolf being pulled along by his older brother. A few more houses and they would get to the end of the street that would give them the straightest route to shop where their mother worked. Wolf was breathing hard, his legs unable to compensate for his brother’s fast pace. But he didn’t want to let go of his brother’s hand. He didn’t want to lose his brother.
They came to the intersection of streets and were ready to take a right. Only to be stopped by someone calling out, “Halt!”
Wolf looked behind them and let out a scream. It was the men! But how did they find them so fast? Hadn’t Momma stopped them? Mika grabbed his hand tighter and pulled him along as quickly as he could. They were running, trying to get to the alley that would hopefully lead them to freedom. Feet pounded the cracked pavement behind them. They were getting closer.
“Do you think you can get away?” a voice demanded. This time Wolf didn’t look back. He didn’t know if he would like if it he did.
They were just about to turn the corner into the alley when he felt Piggy slip from his hand. “No!” he cried, breaking his brother’s hold on his hand as he spun around.
“Wolf!” Mika tried to stop him.
He rushed to where he had dropped his stuff friend and picked him back up, only too late realizing what he had done wrong. The men were right there now, standing inches from him. He let out a cry and fell backwards scooting away from them. Mika was at his side, large rocks in both hands.
“Do you think you can hurt us with those?” the one asked, sword pointed at them. “Your mother couldn’t stop us, how do you think you can?”
Wolf stared at him. What had they done to his Momma? Had they hurt her? Had they hurt her because of him?
“You bastards!” Mika shouted, eyes angry with tears in them. He threw one of the rocks at them and watched as one of the men caught it. Then, with a grin on his face, he threw it back with force, striking Mika in the head and causing him to fall to the ground.
“Big Brother!” Wolf cried, turning to help him, but instead felt arms grabbing at him, pulling him into the air. He struggled, tried to scratch whoever held him. He wanted his brother. He wanted his momma. He wanted these men to leave him alone! One of them put a cloth over his mouth and he tried to scream around it, but the sound was muffled.
They then dragged him off down the street that he and his brother had exited, going somewhere he did not know. He cried and fought and tried to yell for help, but it seemed like no one was around. Why was no one helping him? Why had no one helped his momma and his brother?
Finally, it seemed as if one of the men had enough with his struggling and struck him hard in the head with the hilt of his sword. Everything went red and then black. /
It had been days later that he had been sold into the slavery by the same men who had ruined everything in his life. Mazoku. But now this man-this Mazoku-tried to say it was all lies. That couldn’t be possible. All of this was lies. They were trying to use him, to gain his trust so that they could do something unspeakable to him. Why else would they conjure up such falsehoods?
It hurt. To think that they had been lying to him. The Boy had helped him, saved his life. He looked so kind and honest. How could he turn out to be so cruel? Was it because he lived with the Mazoku? Did all Mazoku turn out as deceitful and misguiding at these two? Or were they worse?
“You’re lying,” he stated. “You lie so that you can hurt me, you filthy Mazoku! What do you want from me? Why do you try to gain my trust only to hurt me?”
Yuuri shook his head. “We’re not trying to hurt you! I don’t know, maybe Conrad’s wrong and you’re not his brother. He could be mistaken, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been lying the whole time.”
“Of course you’re lying!” he hissed. “How else would you know about my mother and brother? You killed them! Just like your wretched kind killed my father! What have we ever done to you? Why do you hate us so much?”
His hand went to his necklace, holding it tightly in his grasp. They were lying. None of it was true. The Mazoku had killed his family, not Humans. Now they wanted to hurt him, just like before when they wanted to take him away from his mother. How could they keep doing this to him? Hadn’t he suffer enough? What more could they possibly do to him that hadn’t already been done?
He stared at Yuuri, feeling his anger and hate rise. How could I even begin to trust him? He thought self-deprecatingly. How could I WANT to trust him?
He struck out then, hands going around the other boy’s neck and tightening. Dark eyes were wide, hands trying to pull his own away. “It’s not true!” he shouted. “You’re lying! Lying!”
A hit came to the side of his head, loosening his grip and sending him back to the bed. Conrad pulled Yuuri away as the boy took in deep breaths of air. Wolf didn’t even look at them. He curled away, arms wrapping around his knees.
“If you ever attempt to harm him again, I will kill you first.” The man’s voice was cold, stiff, and brutally serious with its words.
“Conrad!” Yuuri exclaimed. “He didn’t mean it! He’s in shock!”
“The man who came to us was named Mika Gaven,” Conrad told the blond on the bed. “He said that before killing himself. It was his penance for what his family had done.”
Wolf couldn’t take anymore. He shook his head, clenched his eyes shut tight. “No!” he cried. “None of this is true. The Mazoku are just trying to trick me! You’re both lying.” He voice grew softer as he spoke more to himself than to anyone else. “They’re lying…I’m not a Mazoku…I’m not a Mazoku…”
Next update will be on Wednesday. See you then!