Chapter 1

A messenger ran through the halls, his plain uniform thrown on haphazardly, the brown material wrinkled and stained with dirt as he hurriedly knocked on the large wooden doors, quickly trying to straighten out his clothes, in order to look presentable to his king. The large door opened, allowing the young soldier into the room. He entered kneeling hurriedly when his blue eyes feel on the maou, holding out the letter that lay in his shaking hands.

Yuuri stood from his chair, taking the letter from the man, smiling as he sent him on his way, seating himself once again in the large chair, flipping the letter over in his hands, smiling as he recognized the handwriting. Taking the elaborate letter opener off its stand, the teen placing the blade against the edge of the paper, allowing it to be torn, lifting the thick, creamy paper from the envelop, unfolding the perfect edges. The words scrawled across the page in elegant script depicted pain, instead of the undying love that he expected, a growing animosity instead of the blooming affections that had been spoken between the sender and himself. His lightly calloused hands began to shake, the letter slowly growing smaller as it was crushed in his fist.

Dear Yuuri,

I have an urgent request to ask of you, and please grant it. I'm tired, Yuuri. I'm tired of the lies, the falsely sweet words, the actions that you have forced yourself to do. I'm so tired Yuuri of your pretending, of your false love, that i can barely stand to look at you, at myself for that matter, without thinking of the stale air of our relationship, or the way you force yourself to pretend to love me, when you truly just want to be rid of me.

Release me, Yuuri. Allow me to heal, allow yourself the opportunity to find the person that you love more than you ever thought was possible. I know, that I already have. So, please Yuuri, I beg of you, as your friend and companion for these past two years, release me of our bond.

~Sincerely,

Wolfram von Bielfield, Son of the former Moau, Queen Cheri von Spitzberg

P.S.

Give Greta my love, for I will not return to give it. I ask for her forgiveness, I just wasn't strong enough.

Yuuri sat silently at his desk, his head bowed, as his shoulders shook with sobs that wrecked his body. The double black clutched a letter in his hand, the parchment clenched and ruined by tears and the force of his fist on the paper, smudging the perfect penmanship that had written the letter, the seal that had held it closed fallen to the ground along with the small petal that had found it's way into the cream colored letter.

Gwendal stood by the door, his back straight, his icy blue eyes neutrally trained on his king, watching the scene unfold before him, anger welling up in his body at the scene Yuuri was creating, drudging up as much sympathy as he could before moving on with his life, forgetting who was the real victim here.

"Stop!" shouted Gwendal, pounding his fist onto the desk, his blue eyes hard and tired.

Yuuri looked up, surprise and fear flashing across his face as he looked up at he man that stood before him. "What?"

Conrad stepped forward, settling his hand on his brother's shoulder, trying to pull the larger man away from the king, only to be shaken off. "Gwendal, please, not now." said the captain, his voice soothing edged with and urgency.

"Stop pretending that you care about him, stop acting like you will marry him, stop causing him pain!" Gwendal said, his voice sharp.

"I do care about him!" Yuuri shouted back at him.

"No you don't! He could have had anyone, he could have had so much, a lover, a family, he could have gone without the pain you caused him!" he shouted, his anger growing with each word that fought past his lips.

"He's my best friend!"

"He loves you more than you could understand! He gave up his whole life to be with you, and this is how you repay him? By shoving his love for you in his face, stamping on his pride, spitting on him?! That doesn't sound like friendship, that sounds like you refuse, garbage, nothing!"

"I...I.."

"Nothing! That's what my brother was to you. Absolutely nothing." he whispered, retreating from the room.

Conrad smiled sadly, looking over at his godson, walking to the young man's side, placing a hand onto the teen's shoulder, offering any type of comfort he could to his king, though he knew, that Yuuri didn't deserve it.

"I...I really hurt him this time, didn't I?" asked the boy, his head falling into his hands, defeat setting into the line of his shoulders.

"Yuuri," Conrad began, feeling the boy flinch under his given name being used, knowing that his guard wasn't talking to the king, but to the boy, "you used Wolfram. You used his body and then broke his heart, what do you really expect from him? You broke his heart, and after all these years of this pain, I don't know that Wolfram will be able to recover from the hurt you inflicted on him."

"Loving someone, it is something that is enduring, it comes with a price, heartache. Gwendal and I, we tried to protect him from as much heartache as possible. But, we entrusted you with his heart. We thought it would be safe with you. We thought that you would protect him from this heartache, learn to love him, to cherish him. Now, we are not so blind as to believe that a boy would understand the love we had wanted for our little brother, the love we believed you could give him."

"Conrad," Yuuri sobbed out, the words of his godfather hitting and hurting worse than what he had anticipated.

"Let me finish, Yuuri, then I will leave you be. You have broken my trust, Yuuri, and along with it my baby brother's heart. I don't know if i can forgive you, Yuuri. I won't know for a very long time. Excuse me, I have some matters to attend to, Heika." He said, bowing at the waist, his polite, kind smile in place on his face as he began to leave the office.

"Wait!" shouted Yuuri, standing from his chair, his eyes desperate."Where are you going?" he asked more timidly, lowering his eyes to those hurt cold eyes.

Conrad turned to attention, his heels clicking together as he looked at his king."I am to collect Lord Wolfram von Bielfields things and have them brought to Bielfield, Heika." he said, his eyes looking above the boy's head.

Yuuri stood still, his heart hammering in his chest as he looked at the man who had become like a father to him, a close friend, turn into someone who was bound to him by duty, no longer the love that had brought them together."Can you tell him, I'm sorry."

Conrad's eyes darkened, before he nodded, turning once again on his heel, briskly leaving the room, his steps sharp, the beat of a heart described in ever step away from the door.

The wind blew gently, rustling the leaves of the trees surrounding the small cottage, casting shadows on the beach, the waves gently lapping at the sand dragging the small particulates, into the water, no matter how hard they fought for freedom. Pale blonde hair cascaded down to the small of a diminutive back, slight waves that mimicked the sea playing along the white of the tunic that caressed baby smooth skin. Perfectly delicate features seemingly cut from alabaster by the gods, a coral pink mouth as though from the sea, was set in a sad smile, casting the entire face in a countenance of mourning, the jade eyes sparkling with tears yet unshed, as small, nimble hands gathered the dark confines of his pants.

Wolfram von Bielfield stood next to the house, his head leant against the post, watching as the sun set against the sea, his eyes sad. Trunks of things were being brought into the cottage, things that seemed to be priceless to others, but almost worthless to him, as he watched out of uninterested emerald eyes, watching as the last of his things were brought to his new home. Conrad stepped out of the house, coming to stand next to his younger brother, the older of the two leaning against the twin pole, his dark eyes staring out into the same sunset.

"He asked me to give you a message." said the captain, his eyes trained on the colors of the ending day.

Wolfram shrugged, tucking a piece of hair behind his shell like ear, keeping his eyes on the sun, his heart beating with hurt as the idea of the king making the pain all the more real.

"He says, 'I'm sorry.' " repeated Conrad, his eyes slipping over to that of his brother's, watching, waiting for the blonde's reaction.

Wolfram sighed, shaking his head, his eyes shut as though in silent laughter. But, Conrad could see through it, see the pain that went through his little brother as he heard those words, feeling the insignificance of those words penetrate and cause more pain.

"Thank you, for the message. I will remember it." he said, his voice strained as he returned his eyes to the sea, the sun only a sliver of light above the horizon.

Conrad sighed, looking at the younger boy, his eyes sad, his mouth frowning. "I wish, that all could be as it was. I...I don't want to protect, not anymore--"

A sharp sound reverberated off the calm night, coming back to hit them in the face, the noise startling Conrad.

"Stop it, brother!" Wolfram said fiercely, his eyes narrowed, his hand stinging from the blow he had just dealt his older brother. "You are the Maou's most trusted, most loyal guard and advisor. Nothing is going to get between our king and danger if you aren't there to stop them! What you are saying, right now, is treason, and I won't hear of it."

Conrad touched his cheek, before looking at his younger brother. Wolfram was panting, his hands forced down at his sides, his head slightly bowed as he struggled to keep his tears in check. Silently, almost imperceptible sobs escaped the boy's delicate throat, tears slowly dropping onto the wood floor of the porch. Conrad grabbed his brother, pulling him into a fierce hug, gently shushing the teen as he cried, his body shaking with every sob that forced it's way out of his body. Quietly settling onto the deck, Conrad held the boy, his heart breaking with every tear that fell from those emerald eyes, pain etching another notch into his heart.

"Wolfram, Wolfram, Wolfram, " he whispered, nearly cooing, as he rocked the boy, rubbing soothing circles into the small back.

The blond shook his head, trying to pull away from his older brother, trying to get away, but Conrad held him tighter, one of his hands entwined in thick blonde hair, keeping his head from moving from the nape of his neck.

"I'll torture him." he whispered, tugging the boy ever closer.

"Don't do that," Wolfram sobbed, a small sad smile slipping on to his face, "then my baby will have a maimed father."

Conrad quickly, but gently shoved his little brother away, looking at the blonde in the eyes before scanning over his body, murder blazing in those brown eyes.

"I'll kill him!" he said trying to stand, only to be pulled down by the blonde, his jade green eyes desperate.

"Then my baby won't have a father. Please, brother, just leave his majesty be." Wolfram pleaded, his hands gathering the fabric of his brother's uniform in his hands.

"He needs to pay for what he has done."

"He doesn't need to know."

"What?!"

"I won't tell him that he has a child."

"The nine families will want an heir."

"Then they will get one."

"Yuuri can only have a children with the person he impregnates first, unless that person dies or they divorce by mutual terms. When they find out that he has already had a child with someone, they will be furious. He will look all over for you, and ask for the child when he finds you."

" What makes you think I will give him my child? No, brother, Yuuri must suffer for what he has done to us." he said, his hand settling over his small, flat stomach.

"This child will be your revenge?"

"No. This baby, is the only thing I have left to cling to in this world, I will not allow him to take that away, not after what he has done to me."

Conrad sighed, leaning back against the post, his younger brother tucked in his arms, his anger calming as he looked out at the calm sea, the moon reflecting against the surface. He nodded slowly, placing a kiss on to the blonde head, sealing their partnership.