Bloom | By : chayron Category: +G to L > Kyou Kara Maou Views: 9095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I'm not making any money from writing it. |
Disclaimer: I don’t own Kyou Kara Maou! – It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I’m not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: yaoi (male x male), violence, swearing, angst, drama. Wolfram-centric, out of character, original character.
Summary: With Yuuri’s upcoming birthday, Wolfram makes his decision. Where will it lead him and what is to become of them? Should eventually be Yuuri x Wolfram.
A/N 1: Yuuri – 18 years old. Wolfram – 21. Eldara – 32. Halea – 20. Athara – 18.
A/N 2: Greta doesn’t exist.
A/N 3: European/American/Japanese standards all at once depending on the plot requirements.
A/N 4: A tendency to ignore the anime/manga and supplement the story with my own imagined facts.
A/N 5: Season III is not taken into consideration, except for the fact that Wolfram’s uncle exists.
A/N 6: The umlaut in Gunter’s name is a bother.
Bloom
by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by Tia Integra
Part 23
With curiosity written all over his face, Wolfram watched Gunter lower a trunk to the ground. The birthday party in the hall had finally started running out of steam, so they had come to his room to take a look at the Demon King’s gift. Cecilie probably knew what was inside the trunk since she showed no interest in it and kept herself busy with arranging the gifts Wolfram had received earlier. She kept oohing and aahing in awe.
Gunter opened the trunk and extracted a thin, long object wrapped in a cloth. Wolfram didn’t need the cloth taken off to know what it was. A sword. How surprising. Gunter removed the cloth and held it for Wolfram. The scabbard was decorated with intricate cuts, swirling and curling around two diamonds. There was one more diamond on the end of the hilt of the sword. Wolfram drew the blade. The ornament-free hilt felt comfortable in his hand as he swished the blade about tentatively. He liked the length of this sword better than that of his current one. Due to his growth spur, his arms had grown longer and recently he had felt that his sword was lacking.
“It’s a good blade,” Wolfram said after examining it. “I will treasure it. Express my utmost gratitude to His Majesty.”
Gunter hardly kept himself from wincing at the offhand manner with which Wolfram said it. It was a good thing the king wasn’t here for he would have been hurt. Shibuya was worried about Wolfram, asked about him frequently, read all the letters. He was bent on preserving their friendship. The king wasn’t very good at demonstrating his concern, though. With Wolfram insistently widening the gap between them, Yuuri was falling behind. Wolfram’s letters had been sarcastic at first but then suddenly turned laconic to the point that they left Yuuri frustrated and confused. If he wanted to know more than only about the weather and political news in Kardera, Yuuri had to ask Gwendal.
It was clear that Wolfram was not going to come back to Blood Pledge Castle. Not now, not ever. He was going to leave for Lesa as soon as he returned and then, in a year or two, he was going to take over his rightful title as the von Bielefeld heir. Gunter knew all of that even without the blond opening his mouth. There was something that had changed about Wolfram. The blond was more resolute in his decisions and it seemed that he finally knew what he wanted from life. He appeared to be more distant, though. The failure of his and Yuuri’s relationship had been a crippling blow and it was going to take even more time for him to lick his wounds. For now, Wolfram didn’t want to have anything to do with Yuuri. It was very likely, though, that this was never going to change. It was a dangerous situation since regret often developed into bitterness and then hatred.
Wolfram watched Gunter and his mother leave for their rooms. It was about one o’clock in the morning and he planned on nothing but going to bed. He was tired and the sword had been the last straw. After turning the magnificent blade over in his hands a few more times, he dropped the sheathed sword onto the bed and started unbuttoning his jacket.
A soft knock on his door made Wolfram start. Rebuttoning his jacket, he went to the door. He wasn’t very surprised when, after opening it, he saw Eldara. With a reassuring glance towards the guards at his door, Wolfram stepped aside from the doorway to let the duke pass.
“Come in.”
“Thanks,” Eldara said as he walked into the room. “Oh. You’re alone already? I expected to see von Christ and Cecilie here.”
“No, you didn’t,” Wolfram said. “You probably waited for them to leave.”
The duke wondered why he bothered to open his mouth at all. Wolfram was getting better at reading him day after day. Then Eldara’s eyes fell on the sword on the blond’s bed. “Ah. And this is His Majesty Yuuri Shibuya’s gift, isn’t it? May I take a look?”
Wolfram shrugged. “Be my guest.”
“Wonderfully made,” the duke said in awe, after inspecting the blade in every angle possible. “Very tasteful, too. Makes me jealous. A gift worthy of a king.”
“Indeed,” Wolfram agreed dismissively. “Only that Shibuya understands zilch about swords. I bet it was Weller who had picked it.”
Slowly, Eldara slid the sword back into its scabbard. “It is only wise to consult the expert when one wants to gift something worthwhile.”
Wolfram snorted. “I don’t think Shibuya had the faintest idea what he was sending. Not the first time, mind you. He hasn’t changed at all.” He closed his eyes in frustration and shook his head. “Never mind that,” he said, opening his eyes, offering the duke an apologetic smile.
Eldara lowered the sword back onto the bed. It was a work of art, and it was remarkable how many conflicting emotions it had already managed to cause.
“It’s a good sword,” Eldara said. “It would be a pity not to use it.”
“Yes,” Wolfram agreed. “A good blade is a good blade and I have no intention of not using it. I think it will serve a few more purposes at that.”
The duke gave him a questioning look but the blond didn’t elaborate.
“I spent some time debating with myself about whether I should thank you or be angry with you for inviting my family,” Wolfram said. “I still hate the thought of them having traveled during such stormy weather on my account. And then there’s the journey home to consider…”
“And what did you decide? Will I be scolded or thanked?”
Wolfram chuckled. “I think I will wait till they are safely back home and then decide.”
Eldara nodded. “They will probably have to wait a few more days till the sea calms down. Well, I don’t think you will mind that – you’ll have an opportunity to spend more time with them.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t come here to discuss this. I still haven’t given you your present.”
“Just like I haven’t given you yours,” Wolfram said.
“Well, are you ready to see yours?” the duke asked, pointing at the curtained windows. “We’ll have to go outside for that.”
It was after one in the morning and Wolfram shot the curtain an uncertain look. He suddenly thought he knew what his gift was. He couldn’t help but laugh.
“What?” the duke asked, perplexed.
“No, nothing,” Wolfram said, walking over to the wardrobe to get his coat. “Go and get your coat. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
It was easier said than done, though, since, when he was downstairs, two elderly ladies nearly kidnapped Wolfram. He only managed to get rid of them after he said that he felt sick and needed a gulp of fresh air. The duke arrived just in time to see the women change their target and starting to stalk another unsuspecting victim.
“It’s always the same with these two,” he said, putting on his gloves. “Surprisingly, they always find someone to badger.”
“Well, they probably look good after a few shots of whiskey,” Wolfram said. “So where are we going?”
Eldara glanced at Fajdal at Wolfram’s side. It was probably pointless asking for the bodyguard to leave. It would just cause suspicion and even more guards would join them. Wolfram probably had similar thoughts while he was looking at Karela behind his back. The duke decided to just leave it be.
The four of them stepped into the cold wintry night with the guards holding lanterns to light the way. They climbed down the stairs and turned right, then they passed the garden and turned right again; now Wolfram had no doubts about where they were going.
They reached the stable a few more minutes later. Wolfram jumped at loud barks that suddenly shook the cold air. Two gigantic dogs immediately appeared and he instinctively raised his hand, his fire element soaring to life.
“No!” Eldara hissed, grabbing him by his hand.
Swords jingled and in a blink of an eye Fajdal and Karela stood with blades pointing at each other. The dogs were happily jumping around Eldara, the echo of their excited barks adding to the eerie sight.
“Stand down!” the duke spat. “Sheathe your sword this instance, Karela, or gods help you!”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the captain muttered reluctantly.
“Fajdal, go back to the castle,” Wolfram said, pulling his hand out of Eldara’s grasp. “I don’t think I’m in any danger in the stable.”
“No can do, Sir,” Fajdal said, sheathing his sword.
Wolfram turned to him. “Are you trying to make me angry? Because you’ve been doing great so far,” he said, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “I said to wait for me in the castle. Which part of that you don’t understand?”
“Karela, go back with him,” the duke said, taking the lantern from him.
After offering deep bows, the two bodyguards walked away into the night. Wolfram watched the swaying circle of light that was the receding lantern. He reached out to stroke one of the beasts’ head and it let out a happy yip.
“Sorry I nearly fried them.”
“I should have warned you about them.”
“I haven’t seen them before.”
“We release them only at night. It’s best not to wander near the stables alone.”
Eldara held out the lantern and the two of them walked forward until they reached the stable doors. After hearing the duke’s voice, the stable boy rushed out to meet them.
“Your Grace, Lord.”
“We have come to see the horse.”
The stable boy quickly looked from the duke to Wolfram, then back again. “Which one, Your Grace?”
The duke looked perplexed. “What do you mean ‘which one’? The one I…” Eldara turned to Wolfram, who started laughing softly. “What are you laughing ab-? Oh. <i>Seriously</i>?”
Wolfram nodded. “Seriously.” He laughed again. “The good thing is that if we don’t like each other’s gift, we can always switch them back.”
Eldara burst out laughing. “Indeed,” he agreed. Motioning further into the stable, he said, “Well, let’s proceed, then.”
“Let’s see your surprise first,” Wolfram said, following the stable boy inside. “But shouldn’t we have come in the morning? We’ll hardly be able to see anything, and they will be sleepy.”
Eldara closed the door behind them, shutting the yowling dogs outside. “That’s true,” he said, “but I was so eager to see your reaction that I could not contain myself anymore. And tomorrow, with all the guests milling around, there won’t be any time.”
Wolfram chuckled. “That must be a lovely beast.”
“She is!”
It was much warmer in the stables, the smells of hay, horses, and fresh manure filled their nostrils. The stables were packed full with Eldara’s own and the guests’ horses. Beasts woke at their voices and footsteps, and whinnied softly. They followed the stable boy through the rows of stalls till they finally stopped in the middle of the stable, next to a particular stall. Eldara and the stable boy raised their lanterns to enable Wolfram to see inside. The duke clucked his tongue to call the horse forward.
A white muzzle appeared from behind the bars and Eldara took his gloves off to let the mare sniff at his hands. The curious animal seemed to recognize him and let the duke stroke her neck.
“I bought her from the horse trader in Big Cimaron a few weeks ago. A wonderful animal, very gentle and clever. She is still stressed from the long journey and the change of the environment, though. It seems as though she also misses her previous owner.”
“It’s one of the Cimerian, isn’t it?” Wolfram said, awed. He took his right glove off and slowly stretched his hand forward to let the horse get familiar with his scent. The mare puffed at his hand and turned her head aside. “I haven’t seen many of them. Must have cost a fortune.”
“It’s a pity you can’t clearly see the color. It’s almost silver,” Eldara said. “Her back is so soft that one can almost ride without a saddle.”
Wolfram tried to stoke the horse’s neck but she avoided his fingers by moving her head to Eldara’s side. She bumped his shoulder accidentally and he chuckled, patting her forehead. It was going to take a few days for the mare to get used to her new owner, but she would be perfect for Wolfram’s rides here. He was already looking forward to spending his time with her.
“What’s her name?”
“Rendar.”
Wolfram saw the mare’s ears perk up at the sound of her name. “What a peculiar name,” he said.
Eldara nodded in agreement. “You’ll get used to it. She’s been trained to respond to it, so giving a new one would just cause unnecessary trouble.”
Wolfram shook his head. “No, I won’t change it; it’s not bad, just unusual.”
Eldara looked so proud that Wolfram couldn’t help chuckling. “Thank you, I really like her. I will make sure to take good care of her.”
“I’m glad you like her,” the duke said, his face glowing with satisfaction. “She’s such a good girl.”
Wolfram nodded. “I’m sure she is. I can see why you were so excited.” He put his gloves into his pockets, and motioned for the stable boy to move forward. “It will be hard to beat that. I wanted you to see yours in the daylight but since it has come to this…
“I know you said you didn’t have enough free time for your horse, but you promised to race me. Yours is a good traveling horse: an obedient and tough animal. But she isn’t very fast, so I thought to surprise you with a real racehorse.”
They stopped nearly at the other end of the stable. A dark chestnut head shot out from behind the bars to give people a curious look. Eldara raised the lantern to see the beast better. The horse whinnied at the light but didn’t step away. It was a dark chestnut stallion, his sleek coat and powerful body glowing in the lantern light.
“It’s a challenge if I ever saw one,” Eldara said, admiring the animal. It was a breed called Demonic Light, the most sought out racing breed in Shin Makoku and its surrounding countries. Fast, curious, and fearless. It was, however, not easy to bend them to one’s will, especially when it came to stallions.
Wolfram chuckled. “Indeed. But I’m sure he’ll soon be like clay in your hands.” He watched the duke evaluate his gift. “I had to choose between him and a black one. I found this color more attractive.”
“Yes,” Eldara agreed thoughtfully. “Besides, black is the color of horses your former fiancé prefers.”
“Yes,” Wolfram said simply. “He’s called Hadorian.” The horse whinnied at his name and Wolfram reached out to pat his neck. The stallion stood still, enjoying the attention, then, tentatively, watching for Wolfram’s reaction, tried to nip at his fingers and the blond flicked over his nose lightly. Hadorian stepped back but in a second his head was over the bars again. With his muzzle, he nudged at the blond’s shoulder demanding to be stroked again.
“He’s pretty playful,” Eldara noted. He reached his hand out and had to retract it as, at once, Hadorian tried to bite him.
“He’s barely two years old. Very young, but he has received all the necessary training. He’s been testing me these past three days. At first he was trying to bite me all the time but now we got to the point where he nearly abandoned the thought. Just show him that you won’t tolerate any nipping and he’ll stop. Surprisingly, he’s good with other horses – doesn’t try to bite them or anything.”
Eldara nodded. He watched Wolfram stroking the stallion’s neck and wished he could chase away all the guests out of his castle and just spend a day with Wolfram and the horses. “Well, I don’t want to switch our gifts,” he said. “Hadorian is an asset to any stable.” He gave the second lantern for the stable boy to hold.
“Indeed,” Wolfram said and laughed. “Just like Rendar.” Again, he watched Eldara swell with satisfaction. This was how a gift was supposed to be chosen and given. Not like a sword that had been dumped on him just because Conrart was told to get something for him.
He was probably being petty, Wolfram realized but, while moving away to allow Eldara to try and establish some sort of contact with his stallion, he also knew that there could hardly be anything petty about it when it hurt so much.
“Little bastard,” Eldara grunted when Hadorian tried to bite him for the third time.
Wolfram chuckled. “It will take a few days. Let him get used to you.”
“Well, of course, but I’m so eager!”
Wolfram laughed softly. It was rare to see the duke enjoy himself so unreservedly, just like a child. He watched the older man’s back while he stared at the stallion adoringly. It was pleasant to watch a man sharing his passion for horses. When he thought about it, he and Eldara had more than a few things in common.
“Does your offer still stand?”
The duke turned to Wolfram. It took him several seconds to understand what Wolfram was referring to. It was only the blond’s unusually soft voice and uncertain stance that helped him. He nodded slowly. “Yes, it still stands.”
“Then I would like to accept it.”
At first, Eldara didn’t react at all. He just stared at Wolfram motionlessly. To put it mildly, he was surprised at how straightforward the blond was being. Nothing had changed after that night in his bedroom and he had figured that the blond had forgotten all about it. He didn’t think that Wolfram had been considering the offer, much less, that at some point, he had decided to accept it. Then he realized that maybe he shouldn’t be so surprised – the spar with Wolfram a few days ago and his searching and somewhat troubled gaze afterwards should have been enough of an indication.
The duke turned to the stable boy and took one lantern from him. “Leave us,” he ordered.
Wolfram hadn’t been certain if Eldara had been serious back then in his bedroom. Not once had he wondered whether the duke had only said that to get out of the situation. It would have been embarrassingly unpleasant if that had ultimately been the case. Eldara’s gaze was hot on him and, not being able to keep the eye contact, the blond concentrated on the door bolt next to the duke’s arm.
The blond wasn’t looking at him, he was probably blushing but Eldara couldn’t see that in the poor light. He stepped closer to Wolfram, and the younger man’s eyes focused on him again.
“So I’ve made a miscalculation introducing you to Reikia, haven’t I?” the duke said.
“Yes,” Wolfram said softly.
“Well, in my defense, I can say that it’s not easy to figure you out.”
A flash of amusement appeared on Wolfram’s face. And he was hearing that from Eldara, the master of manipulation games? “I think you are being falsely modest now…” he drawled, smiling.
“A little bit,” Eldara agreed. “You’ve been sending too many mixed signals, though. Besides, I thought you could have done better with a younger lover.”
“That… Let me decide on that.”
“Very well,” Eldara said, chuckling. “Don’t think that I’m complaining. Far from that,” he said.
He and Wolfram now stood so close to each other that there were only several centimeters between them. Wolfram’s eyes widened lightly when Eldara reached out towards him. His shoulders tensed when the other man’s fingers slipped under the high collar of his coat to brush over his nape. Eldara drew him closer and their lips met in a soft, slow kiss.
Wolfram was just as clumsy as the duke remembered. Most of it now was probably due to the tension that he could feel in the younger man’s shoulders. Wolfram was still alert, not certain what to do with his hands, his body rigid.
Eldara drew back from Wolfram to lower the lantern to the ground. He was aware of the blond’s eyes following his every movement. He was a little puzzled by Wolfram’s edginess but the younger male was always on his guard with everyone and it was probably going to take some time for him to get into the mood. That was fine with him – he liked long foreplays.
Straightening, the duke met the blond’s eyes. Wolfram was sheepishly wiping saliva off his lips. He was blushing furiously. There was something incredibly arousing about that.
“Don’t bother,” Eldara said, drawing Wolfram close by the lapels of his coat.
Further into the kiss he finally felt the blond relax. Wolfram’s lips were pliant under his, the blond’s arms soon wound around his waist and shoulders. His strong fingers curled into the coat greedily. The blond smelled of sweat and his usual cologne, the blend of which was most exciting.
At some point, Wolfram felt his back press against one of the stalls behind him. He grunted in surprise when Eldara’s hand slid under his coat to grab at his backside. The grip was firm, possessive and, with a soft moan, Wolfram turned his head aside, breaking the kiss. Both of them were slightly breathless. Despite a few unbuttoned buttons in his coat and relatively cool air in the stable, Wolfram was sweating. His body felt feverish, the skin underneath Eldara’s hand was burning and he badly wanted to shed the stifling coat. He wanted the other man badly and he could tell that Eldara shared his craving.
“Should we continue this elsewhere?” he asked the duke, ruffling through the long dark violet hair. He had liked the feeling of the silky strands on his fingers and played with it until the hair band had given up and slid away.
“Yes, we should,” Eldara agreed, still somewhat breathless. “But I’m afraid that if I take you to my chambers, your people will think that I kidnapped and raped you.”
Wolfram laughed. “And if we go to my room, they will probably think that you broke the door down and attacked me in my sleep.”
“Well, since I end up being the evil bastard in any case, I’ll let you choose the option you like best,” Eldara said, chuckling.
Subtly, the duke was letting him choose his own comfort zone and Wolfram was grateful for that. “I think I’d prefer my room,” he said, moving his hands away from Eldara’s back. “I think I lost your hair band,” he admitted, twirling loose strands of violet hair around his index finger. He didn’t quite want to let go of the silky mass yet.
Eldara winked at him. “You’ll have to compensate for it.” He looked around him in the half-light and saw the strip lying on the stable floor.
Regretfully, Wolfram let the strands slip out of his fingers when the duke bent down to pick up the band. It was dirty and Wolfram doubted Eldara would wear it again. Wolfram picked up the lantern and hoisted it higher, to his shoulders. His head above the bars, Hadorian was curiously staring at them.
“Shall we go?” Eldara asked, shaking the straw off his band.
Wolfram nodded, turning to the exit. Eldara’s hair was a mess and it was quite obvious what the two of them had been up to. While seeing them off, the stable boy bowed continuously as if he were guilty of something and offered his lantern to the duke. Eldara refused it and the two of them walked into the cold night with Wolfram lighting their way.
“I think he knows,” Wolfram said.
“Well, of course. Does it bother you?”
The blond thought for a moment then shook his head. “No, not really, but I’m not certain about my mother’s or Gunter’s reactions. I think I’ll have an earful.”
Eldara laughed softly. “That’s true. Von Christ has been giving me an evil eye ever since he set foot in Kardera.”
While they were walking, the duke had gathered his loose hair in his palm and pushed it inside his coat then buttoned it up again. Barks echoed on his left and Wolfram started again. In a moment, the two dogs appeared. The beasts followed them all the way to the castle and up the stairs then ran off into the night again.
The walk back to the castle made Wolfram realize that he was tired. It was two o’clock in the morning and he had spent a tedious day with over a hundred guests. He was, however, more excited than tired. He was having a hard time containing his imagination. As he and Eldara walked side by side, he had been wondering whether they should take a bath first or it was fine as it was. He was nearly completely ignorant when it came to such matters.
Fajdal appeared as soon as Wolfram set his foot inside. Karela was not far behind.
“Why don’t you go to sleep?” Eldara told his captain. “I’m certain you have more important things to do than this.”
Karela took one careful look at the duke and nodded. “Very well, Your Grace. See you in the morning. Have a good night.” He turned to Wolfram. “With your permission, Sir.”
Most of the time, Wolfram had some difficulties understanding what the duke’s captain said in his attempts to communicate and, as usual, didn’t understand him at all when he spoke his native language. Wolfram, however, had mastered the basics of greetings and goodbyes. Karela’s eyes spoke volumes and Wolfram was certain that the captain had doubtlessly included him in his wishes for the duke.
Fajdal lingered around then, while Wolfram and Eldara were taking the stairwell, disappeared as well. If the guard at the blond’s door was surprised to see both of them enter his room at such a late hour, he didn’t show. Wolfram summoned his fire element and the candles flared to life, lighting the room.
“I’d offer you a drink,” Wolfram said, taking off his coat, “but I’m afraid a certain someone has cut me off from all the possible alcohol sources. I can offer only water.”
“Are you still bitter about it?” Eldara asked, draping his coat over one of the chairs at the table.
“No,” Wolfram said. “You had to do what you had to do.” He reached his hand for Eldara’s coat. “Give me that, I’ll hang it together with mine in the closet.”
“I’m glad you think so; you can be pretty unreasonable at times. I wasn’t certain of your reaction.”
Wolfram closed the closet door. “I think you were. You thought I’d flip out.” He walked over to the table where he took the carafe with water.
Watching him pouring two glasses, Eldara laughed. “Well, yes, I was certain no one would be able to talk to you for a few weeks.”
“I can be pretty reasonable, after all. But we haven’t come here to talk about that, have we?”
Eldara’s eyebrows rose. “I hope not!” he said, taking the glass Wolfram held out for him and clinking it against the blond’s.
Tbc
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