DISCLAIMER: Kyou Kara Maou belonged to Tomo Takabayashi. If it had been mine I would have had Yuri and Wolfram together a looong time ago. sigh Oh, well. And feedback is very welcome, people! ☺

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Actually, I'm a little too late for Valentine's Day but just in time for White Day. So, enjoy!

FAIRYTALES: GRETA'S WISH

By Arayelle

"And so, the prince and the princess returned to the castle. And they both lived happily ever after. The end," Wolfram finished, snapping the book close. He looked down at his adopted daughter's beaming face.

"That is the best story among the lot. Thank you for reading it to me, papa," she gushed, giving her blond father a peck in the cheek. She grabbed the book from Wolfram's hand, stood and started spinning around, hugging the book in her arms. "I declare this my favorite story now and forever."

Wolfram chuckled, watching her do one of her cute dances. "Well, it is about time you outgrow those Anissina's adventure books, though I'm not quite sure that these ferry-tails books that Yuuri brought from Earth are what I call the best…" he let himself trailed off, looking at the whole bunch of 'ferry-tails' books lying on the grass. It had taken him five hours to finish reading the volume of ten, not counting the other countless books Yuuri called something that sounded like 'Esoap Fabels' that he had read last night before tucking their daughter to sleep.

"But I love them, papa," Greta protested, gathering all the books. "They make Greta wish that my life is like one of these tales. Princes, princesses, fairy godmothers, stepmothers, enchanted castles."

He smiled at the dreamy look on his daughter's face. He pulled her on his lap and tapped her nose gently with his index finger. "Ahh… but little Greta forget that her life is like these stories. She is a princess living in a castle, remember?"

Greta pouted. "But I'm too young to have a prince of my own. Who will rescue me when I'm in distress."

Wolfram gave her a shocked look. "Why me, of course. I was a prince once, you know. And you can count on me to rescue you whenever you're in distress. After all, who has been rescuing you from one of Gunter's boring lessons?"

"Oh, papa, you're different," she replied, curling her arms around his neck. "You're my prince-papa, you'll always rescue me no matter what. But I want my own prince… no, I want to go on an adventure, kidnapped by an evil sorceress, rooting for my prince charming as he slay the big bad dragon."

"Uh, Greta. There is a law against slaying dragons, remember?" He saw her pouted, so he sighed. "Tell you what. Wait another four or five years, when you're old enough, you'll have a prince charming kneeling before you and rescuing you from the evil long silver-haired Mazoku advisor who refused to give you your 15 minutes break and then he can whisk you off to his enchanted castle, how's that sound?"

"Five years is too long," Greta responded, her pout became more… for lack of better words… pouty. Then an inspiration hit her. "I know. Tonight, I will make a wish under the stars. I will wish for a chance to see a prince, that is daddy Yuuri, rescue a princess, that's you papa, from an evil… bad guy."

Wolfram frowned. "Hmm… that doesn't sound right."

She reconsidered, tapping her cheek with a finger as her brows furrowed in deep thoughts. "Yeah, daddy Yuuri is the Maou and you're a prince." She snapped her fingers. "I know! I'll wish for a chance to see the Maou, that's daddy Yuuri, rescue a Mazoku prince, that's you, from an evil prince of darkness who plans to tear both of you apart, leaving their daughter, me, all broken-hearted."

"That's not what I meant," Wolfram protested but was interrupted by her.

"Oh, no! This won't do," she exclaimed, looking at him over while her tongue made a tsk… tsk… sound.

"What?" he asked, bewildered. He looked at himself, trying to find a stain on his blue uniform or a missing button or something.

"You don't look like a prince at all," she commented as he sputtered over her words. He was wearing his blue uniform, with his sword latched on his belt. He should've looked at least… princely, right? So why did she… "Every princess and prince in the books has crowns." Before he could respond, she snapped her fingers again. "Hey, I know!" she exclaimed, giving her father another quick peck on the cheek. "Wait here, papa," she said, before running off towards a patch of flowers.

Still taken aback, Wolfram was left scratching his head in confusion. That was the weirdest conversation he had ever had with his daughter. He had not expected a simple reading during one of their weekly picnic turned into… this? What was this?

Suddenly he groaned. 'Oh, I can't believe that I would be having a conversation like that. I sounded like a… a mother!' Before he could contemplate any further, he heard the sound of excited squeals and saw the guards and maids rushing along the corridor. Instantly, Wolfram realized one thing; the Maou is back!

"Yoo-hoo! Wolfram!" a familiar voice called out. Wolfram turned to see Yuuri jogging towards him. Behind him Wolfram could see Ken Murata talking to Doria, Sangria and Lasagna. Glancing at their daughter, Wolfram waited until Yuuri reached him.

"Food!" Yuuri gasped, picking up what look like a sandwich. He took a bite, munched and swallowed. "It's delicious!" He reached for another.

"You eat as if you hadn't had your lunch," Wolfram commented, offering him a cup of juice so his fiancé would not choke at the rate that he was eating. Yuuri took the offer with a grateful smile and took a deep drink to wash down the food.

"As matter of fact, I hadn't even had breakfast," he told him. Blonde eyebrows raised in a questioning look so he continued. "Mom and dad left yesterday on a vacation. And this morning I woke up late for practice so I was rushing and forgot all about breakfast."

"Are you saying you went to practice without having any breakfast?"

"And lunch. Murata and I came straight here."

"That's insane. Do you know what could've happened if your body gets too weak?"

Yuuri pouted. It reminded Wolfram so much of Greta's pout. "Ano… Wolfram. I was hoping you'd spare me a lecture. I am dying of hunger here, you know."

At that, Wolfram felt his temper dissipated. He handed his fiancé some fruits, seeing that he had completely polished off the sandwiches. "I'll have Sangria and the others prepare an early dinner then," he sighed.

"Thanks, Wolfram. You're a life saver."

"Don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

"Yes, mom."

Wolfram had wanted to slap Yuuri behind his head but fear that he might've choked the Maou. So, when he saw the items which were abandoned by Greta, he decided to change the subject. "Ano… Yuuri. What's with the books you brought from Earth? What's all this about evil stepmothers, glass slippers, poison apples and a beauty falling over a beast? Don't Earth have better read than flying carpet, swimming girl fish and thumb-sized little girl? Those things don't make sense at all."

"They're fairytales. They're not supposed to make sense. On Earth fairytales are the more appropriate read for kids at Greta's age. Not like the ones she has been reading from Anissina's collection. Some of her work tends to be too… graphic."

Wolfram winced, remembering the many time he had to omit some of Anissina's description that he found not-so-appropriate for their little daughter. Luckily, he and Yuuri would go over the books beforehand and Greta was too absorbed in the story to notice the omission.

Yuuri turned to look at him. "What? You don't like them?"

He shook his head. "They're okay but they sort of gave Greta… ideas," he replied, blushing a little.

Before Yuuri could ask Wolfram for an elaboration, their daughter chose that moment to reappear. "Daddy!" she shouted, throwing herself into Yuuri's arms, knocking the double black onto the grass. "You're back!"

"And you're looking so well, Greta. Did you like the books I left you?" Yuuri asked, as he rightened himself and pulled Greta on his lap.

"Uh…huh," she answered, reaching over to pick up one of the books. "This is my favorite."

Yuuri looked at it. "Oh, Snow White. What a coincidence! It's my mother's favorite too."

"Really?" Greta beamed. "What's your favorite? Papa Wolfram seemed to favor the one with a girl in a red hood and a wolf." Yuuri glanced at Wolfram's red face, nodding to himself. "He did, didn't he?"

"Oh, speaking of papa Wolfram," Greta detached herself from Yuuri's embrace and turned to the other boy. It was then they saw the flower crown in her hand. "I made you this, papa," she said, placing the crown on his head. She looked at him over and nodded in satisfaction. "Now you look like a prince!"

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't I get one of those?" Yuuri teased. Greta shook her head.

"Yours already been kept in the treasury. When you go and rescue papa, you can wear it."

Yuuri gave Wolfram a confused look. "Huh?"

"I told you your ferry-tails are giving her ideas," Wolfram replied from the corner of his lips.

"Oh?" he made a note to ask the other boy later when they were alone.

"Greta!" another voice interrupted them. Ken Murata came over, carrying a paper bag in his hand. His face was all smiles.

"Geika," Greta greeted.

"I have something special for you," said Murata, rummaging through the bag. Greta clapped her hands, jumping in joy. "Ohh… goody! A present," she squealed. Wolfram saw Yuuri sighed and shook his head in dismay.

"Ta-dah!" the Great Sage presented a small box wrapped in pink paper wrapper and a red ribbon. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Yippie! A candy," Greta exclaimed, cradling the gift as if it was the most fragile thing she ever held. She turned to her fathers. "Can I show Grandma?" Yuuri nodded his head while Wolfram looked on in confusion. Clearly, his daughter knew more about what had just happened than he.

"And this is for you, Wolfram," Murata pushed the last box into his hands. The blond prince looked at both double black in confusion. "What's the occasion?" he enquired, suspiciously.

Yuuri sighed. "On Earth, we're currently celebrating Valentine's Day."

"Well, I've heard that a few seconds ago and I hate to be demand and all but would one of you tell me what the heck does that mean?"

Murata's eyes glinted, mischievously. "It's a day where lovers spend with each other, giving presents or take them out to a nice romantic dinner. Usually, the guy would give the girl a box of candy or chocolates or a bouquet of flowers but in Japan, on Valentine's Day it is the girls who'd be giving the candy and chocolate to the guys while the guys would return the gift on White Day."

"What's a White Day?"

"It's a day only celebrated in Japan and some parts in Asia. It's some time in early March, a month after Valentine's Day," Murata explained patiently.

"Oh," Wolfram responded, examining the little box wrapped in red wrapper. It was slightly bigger than Greta's. Suddenly, Murata's words came back to him. Quickly, he turned to Yuuri, grabbing his collar. "And how many did you get from your girl friends? Or were you planning to spend on a romantic dinner with a girl, you cheater? Answer me, or I'll burn you into crisp."

As if expecting this outburst, Yuuri sighed. He pulled himself away from his fiancé. "Chill out, Wolfram. I'm here, aren't I? How am I suppose to be having a romantic dinner with a girl when I'm here?"

"So, you're planning to have a romantic dinner with a girl from this world! You cheater, I oughta…"

Murata watched as the two got into one of their epic argument. As usual, Wolfram von Bielefeld was quick to jump to conclusions while Yuuri failed to say the right words to reassure his fiancé. It was time like these one could see how right they looked with each other. Ahh… if only Yuuri was not so stubborn as to not being blinded by what seemed so obvious.

After a while, Murata decided to break them up. So, he cleared his throat. "You're still here?" the fiery blond spat, seemingly surprised to find the other double black still there, not making his exit like others would whenever he and Yuuri got into their fights.

"You forgot to say thank you," Murata reminded him. "I mean, after all, it is most appropriate after one give you a present."

"Right, thank you. Now scram," the blond prince said, turning for another row with Yuuri when finally Murata's previous words hit him. "Hey, are you giving me a candy because you perceived me as a female?" he turned his burning green eyes towards the Great Sage. Before he could grab the other double black, Yuuri pulled him down.

"Now, now, Wolfram. Calm down. Murata gave everyone a candy. He thought of introducing the tradition here in Shin Makoku." From the tone of Yuuri's voice, Wolfram could tell that he was not so keen on the idea.

"I see," Wolfram nodded to himself. Then he remembered. "Then where's mine?" he turned to Yuuri. "Surely you must give something to me on this day. We are betrothed after all." His face darkened. "Or have you given it to someone else."

Yuuri quickly pushed him off, standing up. "Don't be ridiculous, Wolfram. I'm not planning to celebrate Valentine's Day this year." He straightened his rumpled black uniform.

"Oh, no. You are not skipping out on the tradition," Wolfram said, standing up as well.

"It's an Earth tradition, not Shin Makoku," Yuuri protested.

"It is now. And you are taking me out for dinner tonight."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"This is ridiculous. We are not going out tonight," Yuuri stated, putting his foot down.

"Why not? This day is for lovers, right? And we are engaged. So why not?" Wolfram asked, rolling his eyes.

"Because we're not involved. Because we're not a couple. And finally because we're not in love," Yuuri all but shouted. His words startled Wolfram, halting their argument for a moment. "We're both boys, Wolfram," Yuuri said, in a quiet voice after finally calming down. "It doesn't feel right."

Wolfram nodded. Yuuri's words finally put him in place. "It doesn't feel right for you, Yuuri. Only you," he said, almost inaudible. He took a step back. "If you'll excuse me, I'll have other duties to attend to." He nodded at Murata. "I thank you for the gift, geika. I'll see you both at dinner."

Yuuri and Murata watched as the blond prince made his way towards the stables. Once the fiery Mazoku was out of sight, Yuuri finally let out a long deep breath. He's definitely going to get it that night. "My, that went pretty well, don't you think?" his friend commented.

Yuuri returned Murata's comment with a glare of his own.

xxxXxx

Unexpectedly for Yuuri, dinner went smoothly. Whatever tension from the hour before seemed to have been forgotten. Wolfram prompted Yuuri on school and he answered him with the same enthusiasm as when he answered Conrad's prompts on his baseball practice. Then Yuuri would ask Wolfram and Conrad about their recent border patrols before groaning when Gwendal reminded him of the papers to sign the next morning and hearing Gunter's schedule for him for the next two weeks. He had a nice, confusing conversation with Anissina about her latest project, before Cheri decided she had enough and enquired about Yuuri's mother's latest endeavors.

Then that night, after tucking Greta to bed, he and Wolfram had another conversation about his sword and riding practice. And both agreed to see Gunter the next day to see if they could convince the silver haired advisor into sparing Yuuri some time for the lesson with Wolfram as well as the daily quality time with their daughter. It was as if the earlier argument had not taken place. But as he lie down in bed, dousing the fires with a wave of his hand, Wolfram could not stop a single tear from rolling down his cheek.

xxxXxx

Meanwhile in the royal chamber of the daughter of the Maou and his fiancé, Princess Greta sat on the bed, looking at the stars decorating the velvet midnight sky and clasped her hands together. Closing her eyes, she made her wish.

And a shooting star flew by.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ha... ha… was it good? Should I end it here? Review and tell me how much you like it and how much you want me to continue.

Nah, even if you don't tell me, I'll continue anyway. I'm not that cruel.