Summary: A long-forgotten valley. A mysterious chest. The return of a queen. The Shinou's mysterious past… What will happen to all our favorite KKM hunks? Warning: Yuri and Wolfram don't have a guy-guy relationship here, but they still have a guy… Read to find out! Rated K+.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh. (duh) But I DO own some Snicker chocolate bars and that's good enough for me!

Thankyouthankyouthankyou so much for those who previously reviewed! I would like to dedicate this chapter to all of those who read (and reviewed) this story but this chapter is dedicated to someone who has been reviewing all my previous chapters; KythAnDra.I thank you for being such an awesome reader/reviewer. :')

**The Queen, the Maoh, and the Forgotten Valley**
by CARohanne
Dedicated to KythAnDra

Chapter 6: The Reminiscence of a King
Part 1

A dark and ancient castle stood in the middle of the vast valley, looming proudly above all else except the tall trees that hid it from view. Even thousands of years could not erase the feeling of majesty and grace the old ruins had. Anyone could see that it was once a place of great importance and nobility.

And it still was so in his eyes.

'I'm back.' Shinou thought, almost elatedly. 'After all this time, I am finally back to where it all ended… and began.'

So he closed his eyes as nostalgia overtook him; all the memories he had locked tightly away because she had told him to flooded back into his mind.

---

Long ago…

"…And after the briefing about the financial status of the Halsvernn territory, you are required to attend a meeting about the agricultural progress in the Celorenian islands..." the dark-blue haired man babbled on about Shinou's schedule for the day.

The young blonde listened attentively, knowing full well that this was nothing compared to the amount of work he would be doing once he had succeeded the role of royal adviser that his father Lord Joredan Dontres currently held.

His Uncle Peter, the king of all of Avalor, and his wife -the lovely Queen Arabella Biefield- was in a meeting with the Milseans on Willor Mountain. Now Shinou's father, the king's younger but more responsible brother, was stuck with all the work.

And he knew he would feel guilty if he didn't help his own father out after he saw the literal mountains of paperwork almost as high as Willor Mountain itself.

"My Lord;" Zaron his assistant said, snapping him out of his space-out. "Her Majesty Queen Arabella requested that you visit your cousins, too. It has been quite a while now, and it would be near miraculous if they could even remember you."

Shinou nearly froze at the thought. His little cousins.He remembered that seven years ago, when he had heard that the Queen had given birth to twins, he went into a complete rampage.

Twin children were cursed to be their mother's death, as the old legend went, and the young him couldn't help but be angry at those little babies who would cause his beloved Aunt Ara to die.

But now he felt ashamed that he hasn't even looked at Rufus and Catherine in four years, after all the times he spent in Cidel Castle. Avalorians should never have a chidish tantrum for so long, even if they are twelve years-old.

Because Shinou was always a very traditional man, and he couldn't help but hear the words echo in his head once he saw those two pairs of bright innocent emerald green eyes; 'The cause of their mother's death...'

So he had been forced to come visit his baby cousins once a year until he turned fifteen, when he had the excuse of studies.

He knew, though, that this visit was unavoidable. He had to see his cousins some time, since one of them would be the future ruler of Avalor, and even then the other would be head of the Biefield territory since they were children born from a king and a nobleady of direct line of Biefield heads. Rufus and Catherine were truly a powerful pair.

Shinou sighed as he prepared to face the music (literally, happy tunes were heard from the children's playroom) and walked briskly down the hall. He tapped on the door twice before a dark-haired nurse opened the door, laughing a bit probably from something the twins had done.

But her eyes widened in shock as she gaped at the blond man before her. She knew about his hatred towards the royal children.

"L-Lord Shinou," she stuttered. "It's b-been so long..." But she soon recovered and remembered her duty. "Please come in, Sir. Rufus and Catherine would be delighted to see you." Shinou raised an eyebrow at this as he entered the colorful nursery.

The mere nurse had called the royal children by their first names without even adding anything else in respect. It was preposterous...

He did not have time to think anymore about the nurse's casualness toward the heirs to the throne, however, when a cute little angel with her golden hair tied in two braids skipped towards them. "Who is this man, Rina-san?" the little girl asked innocently, tugging at the older woman's white skirt.

Shinou was surprised at the maturity in the seven-year-old's voice and (most of all) at her angelic beauty.

His memory of them was blurry since he wanted to avoid remembering those innocent emerld eyes and the threat that they hid, but he had always heard the other nobles talking about the twins' beauty, expecially Catherine.

He had thought that they were just exaggerating, but now he knew they weren't.

"He is Lord Shinou Joredan Dontres II, Princess. He is your first cousin on your father's side." Rina gently explained to the little girl. "Oh." she remarked, not sounding the least bit surprised. "So he's the cousin who hates me and Ruffy."

Shinou stiffened at that. The girl had a sharp tongue.

But the young princess wasn't done yet.

She turned to him, her emerald eyes suddenly turning ice cold. "I'm afraid, dear cousin, that you have given me quite a bad impression already." she said coolly. "Prejudice is not something I would like to see in my subjects, most of all in someone I'm related to."

Shinou wanted to cringe and laugh at the same time. Her words were bold and heavy, yet that couldn't change her childish voice. But he was once again shocked at the maturity and strength in the young girl's voice, something he has only heard from her father when he was making speeches and giving out royal commands. It was the voice of a powerful ruler.

A little golden-haired boy who looked almost exactly like Catherine walked cautiously towards them, looking like a confused little animal. "Who's he, Cathy?" he asked from behind his twin. She turned to him and smiled a bit.

"He's the cousin we haven't seen for a long time, Ruffy. Now he finally grew up enough to see us."

Content with his sister's answer, Rufus went to play with a wooden sword. On the other hand, Shinou was extremely annoyed at his cousin's reply, a frown evident on his handsome face.

Catherine looked up at him, a tiny pout on her angelic face. "You aren't the type to smile much, are you?"she said thoughtfully. 'What the...' was what a confused Shinou thought.

She looked at him more closely then shrugged, as if reaching a conclusion. "I'm going to make you laugh, I'll make sure of it." was all she said before joined her brother in a game of Hide-and-Seek with Pooky, their pet baby dragon.

Shinou sighed again. This was going to be a long play date.

Back to the Present...

The troop had been riding the whole day before they finally stopped in front of an inn in the mountains.

They were tired from a day riding in the tense, fearing each second would be the end of their lives if they made a certain brooding blond girl who emitted a deadly aura angry.

Every time their eyes lingered to her slender figure, they could feel the deadliness in her deadly aura increasing and started fearing for their lives. Angering a powerful fire Mazoku, after all, was suicide.

As they started unsaddling their horses, a friendly and familiar voice called out. "Hey!"

Yuri turned to see the previous Great Sage walking up to them, wearing some common clothes. "Murata?!" he cried in surprise, jogging towardshis best friend. "What are you doing here?"

Murata faked a sad look on his face. "What? Can't I go with my best buddy on his adventures?"

Yuri sighed. He did not have time for up-to-no-good-double-blacks since he already had his hands full with a girl-turning fiance...

Wait. Did he just say fiance?

He mentally hit his forehead. 'Damnit Yuri, remember! Girl or guy, Wolfram von Biefield is no longer your fiance, so get over it!'

He turned to Murata. "I meant what are you doing here BEFORE us..." But the other man was no longer paying attention since his eyes were stuck on the beautiful blond girl who was patting and feeding her horse an apple, wearing a dress that only added to her adorableness..

For some reason, Yuri couldn't seem to help the feeling to need to punch his friend in the face.

"Yuri;" he said, his glasses glinting. "What are you doing with such a lovely lady?" Said lovely lady turned her head towards them, then tilted it sidewards in confusion.

"I'm hurt, how could you not tell me that you already found a new love interest so soon after your engagement to Wolfram has ended. And a gorgeous one, at that."

Before he knew it, Murata's sleeve had caught on fire and he cried for water. His wish was granted-in an uncanny way. Freezing cold water was poured on his head, and the blonde he was admiring just ten seconds ago was holding an empty bucket.

"Excuse me Your Eminence." she said icily. Even Gwendel couldn't help but shiver at her tone.

"But I am no longer engaged to that wimp of a king." She walked calmly towards the inn, the soldiers making way for her.

The Great Sage was left on the ground, dripping in ice cold water and gaping. "Wolfram?!"

She turned her head and said only two words. "Who else?"

A/N: Finally! After weeks of not updating, I have finally done it! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but you have been warned beforehand about my late entries. I promise I'll make it up to you by dedicating the next chapter to the first person who reviews.

Oh, and I know Shinou is OOC. I meant it that way, because, come on! It happened more than four thousand years ago. He couldv'e been a totally different person then. Especially because... I'm not telling!

And I wanted Murata to be left speechless for once since he's always the one getting the last laugh.

Once again, I'm very grateful for all those who have previously reviewed, and I hope you will continue to read my story despite my procrastination.

A million hugs and Pooky plushies to those who review! Any questions, comments, complaints, and critisism will be happily accepted!

Yours truly,
CARohanne :3

P.S. Press the green button. You know ya want to!