A/N: I really hope you guys like this one. I think it's one of the best fics I've written to date.
"Your majesty! This is far too dangerous! I implore you to reconsider!" Gunter pleaded.
"I'm sorry Gunter, but I feel it's my duty to do all I can to help everyone in my kingdom, and in the kingdoms of our allies."
"Well, if that's how it is, I'm just going to have to come too!" scoffed Wolfram.
"Actually Wolfram, I'm thinking it may be better if you stay here this time." Yuuri replied cautiously.
"WHAT?!" Wolfram exploded, "No way! You think I'm just gonna let you go gallivanting all over the country side, sleeping with every hussy and trollop you come across?! I'm sorry Yuuri, but you're far from having earned that much trust!"
Yuuri sighed, "I knew you were gonna say that, but I've really thought about it this time. I'd like you to stay here to watch over Greta and as pathetic as it sounds, I want to prove to myself that I can get something done without having to be rescued every second. Besides, Conrad will be with me, so it's not like I'll be completely on my own," Yuuri rationalized.
Wolfram looked away and crossed his arms, "I'm sorry Yuuri, but I simply can't allow it."
Yuuri sighed again then stood up straight and put on his best stern face, "Wolfram von Bielefeld. It is an order from your king that you do not accompany him on this trip."
Wolfram snapped back around, "Excuse me?! How dare you suddenly act like you're king!" Wolfram hissed.
"But he is king, Lord Wolfram," Gunter pointed out.
"He is no king! He's a wimp!"
Everyone in the room was uncomfortable now, but finally Conrad stepped in, "Wolfram, if you don't heed his majesty's order, you'll be seized for treason."
"Oh please, like he'd ever let me be arrested!" Wolfram looked over to Yuuri, fully expecting him to butt in any moment to tell Conrad that he didn't have to be so serious. But instead, Wolfram only saw Yuuri looking away from everyone, trying to keep his composure, "Fine! If the wimp wants to pretend to be king all of a sudden, I'll stay! But only so I'm not detained for treason!" Wolfram stormed over to the door, "Have a safe trip, your majesty!" he yelled as he slammed the door shut behind him.
"Your majesty," Gunter began, "If I may ask. Why are you being so strict with Lord Wolfram when it comes to this mission? Why insist that he stay behind?"
Yuuri sighed, "I don't know. I just worry when he's out fighting to protect me, and I'd rather not see him get hurt this time."
Everyone stood silent for a moment, not sure what Yuuri was trying to say. Actually, Yuuri wasn't even sure what he was trying to say. But it didn't matter right now. They had to get moving if they wanted to arrive at their destination by sundown.
Yuuri and Conrad had been traveling for two hours straight. As they came up over the hill, they spotted a small town down in the valley below.
"Finally!" Yuuri exclaimed, "That's Rasim, right Gunter?"
"Yes your majesty, that's the town where all the burglary is taking place."
"Well, the sooner we get down there, the sooner we can put a stop to it. Let's go!" Yuuri gave his horse a few kicks in the side and took off at a full gallop towards the town. Conrad followed behind.
Back at the castle, Wolfram paced impatiently in his room. Greta sat on his bed and followed him with her eyes, "That's it! I can't take it anymore! I'm going after him!" Wolfram headed for the door.
"No! Don't! You'll be arrested!" Greta yelled after her father.
Wolfram hesitated then slowly turned to face the little girl, "Greta, you're too young to understand, but I can't have him running around out there all alone. If something were to happen to him while I'm sitting here doing nothing, I'd never be able to live with the guilt of knowing I could have done something to save him. I have to go to him…for both our sakes," Wolfram turned back around and made his way out of the bedroom.
Greta sat for a moment on the bed, worried about her father being arrested, but eventually a smile spread across her face, "I might not understand it all, but I see that Wolfram feels the same way about Yuuri that I do about them both. He loves him," she broke out into a giggle as she sat on the bed hoping for both of her fathers to return home soon.
Wolfram rushed into the stable and began saddling one of the horses. A guard, one of Wolfram's army men, came running in to see what was going on, "Lord Wolfram, what are you doing this late at night?"
"I need a horse," Wolfram ignored the soldier and continued to ready the animal.
"Forgive me for assuming my lord, but you're not planning on going after King Yuuri are you? You'll be arrested for treason."
Wolfram turned abruptly to face the man, "It is none of your business what I plan on doing. I am your superior and you'd be wise not to interfere. If anyone does ask, tell them that I went for a night ride. Tell them I went to see my mother. Hell! Tell them I went after Yuuri. Frankly, I don't care. But one thing I will say soldier, is that if you try and stop me, I will not be held responsible for my actions," Wolfram mounted the horse and galloped out of the stable into the darkness. The soldier stood stunned, not sure of what to do.
Yuuri flopped down on the bed in front of him, "Man, I'm beat. Let's get some rest Conrad, we're gonna need it tomorrow."
Conrad smiled politely, "I'd have to agree with that sentiment," he put out the light and crawled into the other bed that was in the room.
After several hours riding, Wolfram finally came to the top of the hill over looking the small village, "It's too late to get a room. I guess I'll just camp out here tonight," he tethered his horse to a tree just off the road and took off his outer coat. He balled it up and placed it between his head and the rough bark. Luckily it was the middle of summer, so he didn't need to worry about cold. He took a moment to situate himself, then closed his eyes to gain some much needed rest.
"Help!! Somebody stop them! Please! Someone!!" Wolfram hadn't closed his eyes even a minute, when he suddenly heard screams coming from the village. He quickly sat up and peered down at the town trying to discern what the commotion was all about. There appeared to be two or three men fleeing down the center of the city while a woman stood outside a building screaming for help. Wolfram didn't normally consider these kinds of matters as concerning him, but he knew Yuuri was down there somewhere and that his Good Samaritan fiancé would most likely get involved. This knowledge in hand, he quickly untied his horse and galloped down into the streets.
Yuuri's eyes flew open in surprise. Someone was screaming for help, "Conrad."
"Stay here your majesty, I'll see what's going on," Conrad lit the lantern on the nearby nightstand and quietly peered out the door. After a while he looked back in at his king, "It appears a female villager has been robbed just now. The thieves are making a run for it."
Yuuri jumped out of bed and threw on his shoes, "We've gotta stop them!" he dashed for the door.
"You're majesty!" Conrad blocked the door, "Are you sure? They could be armed."
"Conrad! I came here to help! We can't let them get away," Yuuri waited impatiently.
Conrad stood hesitant for a moment then moved aside, "Very well."
Yuuri raced out into the street and quickly untied his horse from the hitching post in front of the inn. He mounted her quickly and set after the robbers. In no time he had caught up to them, Conrad following right behind, "Stop! Thieves! Stop I say!"
The thieves turned and looked back to see who was yelling, "Ha! Some punk kid's gonna stop us, huh?! That's a good one! Hyah!" the criminal dug his heels into the horse and gained speed.
Yuuri determined to stop them did the same, "I said stop!"
The two bandits looked at one another then, to Yuuri's amazement, actually came to a full stop. Conrad had a bad feeling about this. Why were they stopping all of a sudden? Yuuri galloped up to them and stopped a few feet in front of them, "Get off your horses!"
The two men glanced at one another once again, then chuckling, climbed down from their mounts, "Oh, right away. Please don't hurt us," one of the men said sarcastically.
Yuuri, oblivious to the fact that something wasn't quite right dismounted his horse and walked up to the men, "I'm placing you to under arrest for -"
"Yuuri!!"
Yuuri started to turn to see who had yelled his name, but before he could, he was lying face first on the ground with some considerable weight on his back. The two bandits broke into laughter as they mounted their horses and tore off into the darkness. Yuuri, still not exactly sure what had happened, attempted to stand up, "Conrad! What's going on?!"
Conrad rushed to Yuuri's side, "Wolfram! Don't move!"
Yuuri's face went blank and his eyes grew wide, "Wolfram?! What?" he quickly scrambled out from underneath the weight on his back to discover it was Wolfram, "You're bleeding!" Wolfram lay motionless on the ground, an arrow piercing his back on the right side.
"They must have had a third man," Conrad explained, "He tried to shoot you, but Wolfram jumped in front of it just in time."
Yuuri looked at the blonde bleeding on the ground and felt a surge of rage course throughout his body. He felt his consciousness all but disappear as a new being took its place, "They will pay," he turned and looked in the direction the thieves had headed, "You steal from a woman. You terrorize a town and you cut down anyone who tries to stop you and your evil ways. I am here to end your mayhem. You will know justice!"
Suddenly the packs on the two men's backs that were filled with their spoils seemed to spring to life, "What the?!" the pieces inside the bags flew out and began attacking the thieves. The third thief who had been hiding in an alley suddenly came running out into the street screaming as his crossbow chased after him firing over and over.
Yuuri looked over to Conrad, "Conrad, see that these three men are taken into custody. I'll take care of Wolfram."
"Yes your majesty," Conrad said without hesitation.
Yuuri carefully lifted Wolfram off the ground and carried him back to their inn room. He laid him face down on one of the beds. He suddenly felt himself change back as always, but this time was different. He knew he had to help Wolfram fast and instead of passing out, he simply became a little light headed while still remaining standing, "Wolfram. Are you ok?"
"Mmm…It hurts a lot…" he whispered.
Yuuri carefully tore the blonde's shirt off so he could get to the arrow, "It doesn't look to be in too deep. I think I can pull it out. First I need some bandages though. One second," Yuuri ran over to his bag of supplies he'd brought and rummaged through it, "Aha! Thank goodness!" luckily he had happened to bring a roll of gauze just in case. It wasn't a very big roll, but it should last until he got Wolfram back to the castle. Yuuri assessed the injury one more time, "Do you think you can sit up?"
"Mmm…I'll try," with much groaning and some help from Yuuri, Wolfram managed to pull himself into a sitting position.
Yuuri placed himself on the bed behind the other boy and took a deep breath, "You ready?" Wolfram squeezed his eyes shut and nodded his head. Yuuri placed his right hand on the arrow's shaft and his left on Wolfram's left shoulder, "One. Two. Three!" he yanked with all his might, making sure it came out on the first try. Wolfram's eyes shot wide open as his body heaved forward in pain. He gasped but made no sound. Yuuri quickly tossed the arrow aside and grabbed the roll of gauze. He swiftly but carefully began wrapping the bandage around Wolfram's torso. Every time he reached his arms around the front of the blonde, he caught a whiff of his, now mangled, but still beautiful hair. For a moment he almost forgot what exactly it was he was doing as his thoughts trailed off to ones of him wrapping his arms around Wolfram in a loving embrace, keeping him safe. Quickly he snapped back. What was he thinking? Wolfram was injured and he needed to focus on the situation. He finished bandaging Wolfram and helped him lay back down on his stomach. Yuuri's thoughts drifted once again as he looked on helplessly at Wolfram laying there in pain.
"Your majesty," Conrad burst through the door, "I've apprehended the three men. The town's people say they'll detain them while we take Lord Wolfram back to the castle."
"Right!" Yuuri jumped up quickly, "Can you help me get him on my horse?"
"Are you sure you'll be able to ride with him on there? I know you're not exactly proficient at riding yet. I can carry him if you like."
"No, it'll be fine. I can carry him," Yuuri said confidently.
"As you wish," Conrad said still a bit concerned.
He helped Yuuri carry Wolfram out of the bed and up into Yuuri's saddle, "We've got to hurry Conrad. He's pretty bad."
Conrad nodded and mounted his horse. The two of them headed out as fast they could without jostling Wolfram too badly.
Two hours later and they finally arrived at the castle once again. Wolfram was now a sickly pail color and completely unconscious. Yuuri dismounted quickly and called for help. Several soldiers came running and carried Lord Wolfram into the castle. All throughout the complex windows lit up one by one as people awoke wondering what the noise was about.
"You're majesty! You're back!" Gunter came running out to greet Yuuri.
"Where's Gisela?! We need her quickly! Wolfram's been hurt!"
Gunter's smile faded, "I, uh, I'll get her right away," he rushed off to the find his daughter.
A few more hours passed as Yuuri sat impatiently outside Wolfram's room where Gisela and Gunter worked nonstop. Finally Gunter slowly emerged from the room then burst into tears, "Your majesty!" he collapsed around Yuuri sobbing.
Yuuri felt his heart skip a beat as his eyes grew wide. He pried the bawling man from his shoulders and burst into the room, "Wolfram!!"
Gisela jumped and turned to look at the door, "Your majesty. Please don't shout like that. He needs rest," she tucked the blankets up around Wolfram's neck.
Yuuri nearly collapsed on the floor he was so relieved. Gunter came stumbling back into the room, "Oh you're majesty! It was so terrible! He almost didn't make it, but then my dear Gisela brought him back from the brink of death!"
Gisela grabbed Gunter by the arm and dragged him back out the door, "Come on father, I think you need some sleep."
The door closed and Yuuri was left standing alone, still slightly in shock, "You just…gonna stand there…wimp?"
Yuuri suddenly snapped back to his senses at the sound of Wolfram's voice. He cautiously made his way over to the bedside. He pulled up a chair and sat down where Wolfram could see him, "Wolfram…I'm sor-"
"I don't wanna hear it you wimp," Wolfram cut him off.
"But if I had stayed here, you wouldn't be hurt," he said remorsefully.
"And if I had stayed here, you'd be dead," he retorted, "Let's just call it even. But from now on, promise me you won't go trying to save the world on your own."
Yuuri chuckled slightly, "Yeah, I promise."
The two sat quietly for a moment, then slowly Wolfram reached his hand out to the side and laid it on top of Yuuri's. Yuuri looked down surprised, a slight blush spreading across his face, "Thank you for saving me life, Yuuri."
Yuuri looked back up at Wolfram, "But, but I didn't. I just endangered you and then you saved me, and then it was Gisela who-"
Wolfram squeezed his hand gently, "Thank you for saving my life, Yuuri."
Yuuri sat confused for a moment, then eventually smiled down at the blonde, "You're welcome, Wolfram."