My Turn

Author's Note: This is strictly from Wolfram's POV, and the title was his idea. He's finally fed up with Yuuri forever cheating on him, and when the opportunity approaches for Wolf to take revenge—with someone he's close to—well, wait and see.

I heard their voices, saw their shadows. Around the corner, Yuuri, my Yuuri, held a human girl in his arms. I saw her long hair swaying in the wind, saw him take her hand and lead her up to the gazebo above the river, where the moonlight met the water just perfectly. I had seen him put his arm around the small of her back as he led her, as I had seen him lead so many young girls this way. For four years I'd seen him do this, with twenty-three maidens. I had seen enough.

I broke off in a run, sweat pouring down my forehead before I even took the first step. I bit my lip to hide the flow of salt water from my eyes. I would not cry, not until I was safe in my quarters. I was not a wimp, not like Yuuri—but I couldn't think of him without opening another floodgate. I forced my mind to go numb, and listened to my footsteps, allowing them to rewrite over the sounds of their kisses. Why had I been spying on him? Perhaps I wanted to prove to myself he was a cheater, that his character was far from spotless, as everyone believed. Perhaps I was sickly interested. Perhaps it was driving me insane. I told myself I didn't care. I rounded the last corner, and flung open the door to my rooms. When I locked it shut again, I slid down the wall into a ball, my head between my knees and my arms wrapped around me, crying like I had just lost my best friend. This was how it always was. I called the space behind my bed, against the wall my crying corner, because every time Yuuri cheated I went there for up to an hour to cry. I had to express my emotion somehow, and this seemed the best way. However, tonight there was something different. A sound froze me in mid-wail, and my ragged breath ceased. I listened quietly, and wiped my eyes in case it was Mother or Conrad or even Gwendal, though he never came into my rooms.

The sound was a footstep, and then the creak of a door. I turned around, knowing my bloodshot eyes would betray that I had been crying. Oh well, I thought, damn it all anyway. I don't care anymore. A tall, slender figure appeared from the bathroom, and I knew when I saw him that he'd been waiting for me.

"Murata!" I said without thinking. My voice wasn't choked, it was childishly curious.

"Lord von Bielefeld," he acknowledged with a nod, and then gave me this unexplainable smile, "I understand Yuuri no longer honors your engagement. Nor does he value your devotion." He paused, waiting for my response. I gave him none, but turned away so that he would not see two more tears slip down my face.

"Wolfram," he spoke my given name for the first time, "why do you continue to torment yourself like this? Why do you come here every time and cry, alone? You could be free of all this. There are others who care about you."

I couldn't stand this; I spun on the spot to face him. "I don't want your pity!" I snapped, sounding like a five-year-old with a scraped knee, "And I don't want your lies!"

He took a step towards me, and said, "Why do you assume I'm lying to you? You know Yuuri is cheating, so is it not within your rights to break off the engagement?"

Perhaps on a different night I would have told him off, sent him away, taken offense at that question. But now, my defenses were down, and the truth escaped me. "Where else would I go? Yuuri is all I have," I explained hollowly. I was looking at the floor, at the wall, anywhere but in his eyes.

He took another step closer. One more and we would have collided. "That's not true. You underestimate yourself, Lord von Bielefeld." Again with the surname! I must have looked confused, because he said, "Your passion, your skills, and certainly your beauty are enough to win the love of any man you choose!" And then Murata took a deep breath, and spoke softly, "They've certainly won mine."

For a moment, neither of us spoke, as an awkward silence filled the air. Then my lungs unfroze, and I was able to comprehend the beauty of those words. He'd said more than Yuuri ever said, and I realized that I could love Murata Ken. But for now, I spoke plainly. "I don't know what to say."

He removed his glasses, to rub his temples. Presumably he was quite stressed. Then he looked up at me and said, "Sit down, Wolfram, and we can talk some more. You barely know me; so of course I wouldn't expect you to make a life-altering decision on a whim." So I sat down on the bed, and he crawled up to sit beside me, and asked, "Shall we begin at the beginning? It seems the most fitting place to start." I nodded, and he folded his glasses and set them on my nightstand. I was now looking directly into a pair of black eyes that rivaled Yuuri's. No, I corrected myself, where Yuuri's eyes are latent with mystery; these eyes are trustworthy and strong. I could willingly get lost in these eyes. I found that I'd missed his first two sentences, hadn't heard a word.

"And when I saw you that first time, outside the temple, do you remember?" I nodded, but he didn't wait for me to speak. "I was taken aback by how beautiful you were. You see, von Bielefeld, you were glowing." He spoke as an older man recalling his first love. "Yuuri didn't even look at you, but I was working to keep my gaze off of you." He gestured to my nightstand, smiling innocently. "The glasses helped with that, of course." Finally I found my voice.

"You noticed me then? I thought no one was looking…"

"Of course. You were always waiting for him to acknowledge you."

"I was, wasn't I?" It was a rhetorical question.

"We all were. Yozak, Conrad, Gunter, even myself. He was captivating, this new coming Maou. And for a while, he deserved it." His voice dipped, sorrowful. "I watched him interact with you, not as a fiancée, but as one interacts with a subordinate, or a rival player. And, though it may be selfish of me," he blushed, and I felt my heart skip a beat, "I felt hopeful. Surely you would realize what a waste of time he was."

"And I never did. I followed him like a prepubescent fangirl," I hung my head. But he reached over and gently nudged my chin back up with two fingers, saying, "It's not your fault you were enamored. Shinou intended you two to be married and love each other all your lives."

I was dumbfounded. We did not speak for another long silence, and then I asked the question I desperately wanted answered.

"What did I do wrong?"

It was a question I'd asked myself three times. Once, the first time Yuuri had left our bedroom, and publicly requested his own. Second, when I'd found him with the first girl, just six days after that request. Third, when I faced Greta and told her that I loved her very much, but her daddies were not in love. That was a memory I tried my hardest to suppress, because Greta's tears melted my heart. That question was burned into my subconscious, and made me self-alert at all times when Yuuri was present. But Murata's answer turned my world upside down.

"You did nothing wrong. You see, Wolfram, Yuuri failed to keep up his end of the covenant when he turned you away. He's chosen to disobey a direct order from Shinou."

"Let me try to understand this… Shinou ordered that we be together?"

"Yes. Ulrike told me so when I confided in her that I loved you. She read me his exact words." Murata sounded weary. "My chosen Maou must have a worthy soulmate. His heart must belong to someone courageous, loyal, protecting, and trustworthy. Therefore I have chosen Wolfram von Bielefeld, from the long noble line of Bielefelds, to be Yuuri's mate. They will meet, and Yuuri will propose, though he won't know it." Murata sighed. "He had everything planned out to the last minute detail. He knew you would find Greta, and rescue those BearBees, and become trapped in that snowstorm. And he always intended Yuuri to rescue you, to win you. He wanted Yuuri to gain confidence in himself as he grew closer to you. But Yuuri fought his will, and fights him today."

"So what happens now?" I felt very small, as if I was an insignificant mouse, and Yuuri was the Lion who was to eat me.

"Well, Yuuri's not the only one who can fight Shinou's will," Murata said, with a smirk tugging at his lips. He extended a hand, and I placed mine in it. His hands were warm, mine were freezing. He continued, "I say if Yuuri wants to cheat, let him. One day he'll realize what a prize he gave up. How he exchanged a diamond for a cheap imitation. He's off chasing a mirage, while I'm sitting here, at the doors of paradise." I couldn't help but smile, his smile was contagious.

"Wolfram, do you want to be the ruined Prince of Shin Makoku? Or do you want to be a legend?" He asked me, and I saw that his eyes were vast orbs filled with the space of two galaxies. I thought before I answered.

"I want to be yours," I said simply, "I believe it's my turn."

Author's Note: Take that where you will, I'm not writing a porno. Reviews are much appreciated!