Lighthouse

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Tomo Takabayashi and various publishers and studios. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Warning: AU after the end of the second season.

Pairing: Yuuri/Wolfram eventually

Note: Very sorry, there were many unforeseen things I have to do last month so this part took longer than I predicted to finish. Also,thank you very much for Sabriel, priestessmykala, and flame-demon for the reviews. I really appreciate them =>

Chapter II

The weather was nice and the sea was calm. He has been informed that if nothing changed, they would arrive earlier than scheduled. Yet somehow, it seemed strange for Yuuri.

He groaned inwardly. He used to think of Wolfram’s inability to take a sea journey without getting sick in the process, coupled with his stubbornness to follow him anyway, as annoying. Then he got his wish and suddenly it felt alien.

And why did he think about Wolfram in the first place? He should think about Lady Flurin, whom he would soon meet.

He had wanted to bring her some gifts. Unfortunately, he has no idea what a woman would like. Asking Anissina or Ulrike was out of question, since he did not think they could give him suitable advises. He also could not ask Gizela. Lately, she has taken to give him cold shoulder. He has toyed with the idea of asking his mom, but there was no time to go back to earth. In the end, he asked the maids.

His mind wandered to the bracelet he kept in the bottom of his bag. They had convinced him that one could not be wrong with jewelry. Originally, he wanted to buy a necklace, since a ring would be too forward. But then he saw the bracelet, and decided at that moment it would be the perfect thing.

It was a thin one, made of platinum with braided design. The only ornament decorated it was a greenish gold stone that the jeweler has assured him as a rare stone. It reminded him of her, simple and elegant.

Gwendal’s letter must have reached Caloria when the ship was entering its harbor. He wondered whether she would be there waiting for him.

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“Do you have one in sky blue?” the young woman asked, “I think it will suit my dress better than this grey one,”

“I think I have some. Please, wait a moment,” Wolfram turned around from her, striding towards the racks on the East wall. If he remembered correctly, he has put the ribbons there.

The bell chimed, telling him that another person has entered his small shop.

“Excuse me; do you have a dinner set? My old one was broken and I will entertain some guest tonight,” a woman voice, older this time, called him.

“Yes, I have some. It was on the rack near the door,” He answered, straightening his body and moving back to his table. Mentally, he made a note to purchase some more ribbons. This was his last stock.

“This is the ribbons, Miss,” he said, giving it to the first woman when the bell chimed again. This time, it was two sailors.

“What can I do for you?” he asked, automatically pasting his smile. His face was hurt from smiling. It was not something he was accustomed of. Yet, he also never thought of becoming a store owner and looked where he was.

After Lady Flurin let him stay, he was at a lost for a moment. He never planned farther than getting refuge. He even did not let himself to believe, despite his own hope, that Flurin would give him permission. After all, it would hardly endear Caloria to Shin Makoku.

Lady Flurin has done more than that and even offered him to stay indefinitely in the palace. Yet, his pride could not let him accept it. It was one thing asking for a citizenship. It was another to leech of the woman Yuuri liked. Yes, even if he tried to deny it most of the time, he did realize Yuuri’s infatuation with Caloria’s leader. Besides, he knew that with their peace in peril, sooner or later Yuuri would come to Caloria, seeking assistant. He did not think he could face Yuuri when it happened.

He has carried with him all of his money and jewelries. He would not be hungry for a long time. But he knew if he was there for good, he has to look for a job.

Many of the skills he learnt on his old life would not help him in Caloria. As the previous maou’s son, he was well verse in politic and history, despite everybody’s, especially Yuuri’s, assumption that he was nothing but a freeloader. Yet, he has refused the invitation to stay in the palace and most human’s children have no need for Mazoku’s history and language lessons. There was his skill with sword. Even without his fire, he was still a good soldier. But in the odd chance that his brother or Yuuri sent a scout to locate him, a soldier or even mercenary would be their first suspect.

He was walking around in town when he saw the sale sign on the store’s window. It was a small shop which sell a little of everything, from clothes to potteries, from candies to fisherman’s equipments. The owners, an old married couple, planned to move into next town to stay with their daughter. It was something he never considered before, yet at that moment he realized it was perfect for him.

The busy store kept his mind from wandering back home most of the days. In addition, no one from Shin Makoku would suspect him of becoming a shop owner. Better yet, he could track the news without actually asking for them. A lot of his customers loved to gossip and even the sailors were often talking when they were waiting for him to fetch their items.

“Do you have some new fishing net?” one of them asked him.

“I think I have one left,” he said, heading to the shelf for fishing equipment. The shelf was in the back of his store and he has only kept a little supply since most of the fishermen chose to mend their old ones than to buy a new ones.

It was when he was rummaging on the fishing equipment he heard the news.

“No, I am not kidding. I saw the ship myself when I came back from the sea this morning. It is definitely Shin Makoku’s Maou,”

“Is it a private visit? It has been quite sometimes since their last one,” asked the second sailor.

“I don’t know. It can be. Just the other day, I overheard my wife and her friends speculated about romance between the maou and our lady,” said the first one with tone that clearly said he did not think it was important.

“Yes, the women love to gossip. It won’t hurt Caloria any though, if it was true,”

Wolfram found his heart was beating faster. Yuuri was here.

‘Calm down, Wolf. He came for lady Flurin. There is little to no chance he will came into the town,’

Still, it did little to assuage the barrage of thoughts which invaded his mind. Did it mean the war would really start? Or maybe Yuuri’s visit, like the sailors suggested, was strictly personal? It seemed unlikely, unless Tarleton has decided to take back their accusations. He missed Yuuri, he hoped he could meet him. He did not want Yuuri to find him out. He should accept the offer to stay on the palace. Maybe he could sneak out there? Did Yuuri still angry with him? Of course he would, this was Yuuri after all.

He shook his head trying to make the thoughts vanished, grabbed the net and walked to the sailors.

He should stop thinking about Yuuri. It would bring no good to him.

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Flurin has acquired mixed feeling since she received the letter from Shin Makoku. In a way, she was glad for Yuuri Heika’s coming visitation. It has been quite sometimes since they seen each other. Yet, the trouble implicated on the letter disturbed her. A few peaceful years have not erased the memories of last war from her mind, nor did she know from her citizens’s.

Lord von Voltaire did not dwell into details in his letter. Instead, he promised that Yuuri Heika would explain it all when he came to Caloria. Yet, she could guess what it was about, thank to Lord von Bielefeld.

Lord von Bielefeld. He was another matter that troubled her. She has harbored him because it seemed cruel to turn him away. Besides, she convinced it was not as bad as he seemed to believe. Surely, he was just overreacted. After all, he did tend to be emotional and self centered. But reading the letter, she started to question whether she had been wrong.

He had informed her of settling in the town. As far as she knew, he has not had any communication with Shin Makoku since. Should she tell Yuuri Heika if he enquired after his errant fiancé?

She saw Shin Makoku’s ship arrived in Caloria’s harbor and felt another trouble born. It was faster than the plan. The welcome party was planned for another two days.

She took a deep breath. It would be all right. Yuuri Heika would understand. She would wait for his explanation before making any conclusions. And she would play by the ear about a certain blond mazoku.

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“Yuuri Heika, Sir Weller, what a nice surprise. You are two days earlier than I expected,” Flurin greeted, smiling.

“Lady Flurin, it is nice to see you again. I hope we did not trouble you. We had better weather than expected,” Conrad replied.

“Yes, it is very nice to see you again. How is Caloria?” Yuuri added. She was far prettier than in his memory.

“Not at all. I hope you don’t mind that the welcome party is delayed, though,” She answered, “Caloria is well, Yuuri Heika,” she turned to Yuuri.

“It is all right. I believe you have received Gwendal’s letter?” he asked, offering his arm to Lady Flurin, which to his relief and joy, accepted it in a heartbeat.

“Yes, although Sir Voltaire only gave the cursory explanation, so I would be glad if Heika can give me a clearer picture of it. We could talk while dinning, if it is convenience for you,”

There was a flutter of something on her stomach. Looking at the grim look exchanged between her two guests, she did not sure whether it was excitement on having Yuuri Heika here or the foreboding for whatever news Yuuri Heika would impart.

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“It was one of the journeys we made to inspect the border’s towns. Gwendal, Conrad, Wolfram, Jozak and me went at that time. There have been some reports about unrest on that region. We planned to check it out ourselves. Normally, someone always stayed with me. But Wolfram was angry and throwing wild accusation to me that day. We fought and he left. Then Conrad tried to get him back, Gwendal had some business or other with the local’s chief, and Jozak was out collecting information. So, I was alone,” Yuuri began the story.

“It supposed to be safe. After all, I was in a crowded tavern. Yet it seemed we were set up. I remembered eating dinner when suddenly I felt so dizzy. I thought I was unconscious in a minute or two,”

“Next time I knew, it was fire everywhere. People were shouting and screaming and the air was filled with smoke and the odor of burning fleshes. Yozak was in front of me. He said he would explain everything later, but then was a very good time for me to be conscious and it would even be better if I could change into the ‘maou’ and used my water power,” Yuuri glanced at Conrad, silently asked him to fill on the details.

Telling the story made him ill. He never faced death that close, that horrible and that many. He had nightmares for days afterwards.

That thought sparked his anger to the blond mazoku again. People’s lives were precious. Why could not Wolfram understand that simple concept? Worse, he even got nerve to act as if he was the one who has been hurt, as if he has done nothing wrong. Did he have no conscience? Or maybe, it was because all the victims were human. After all, Wolfram’s dislike to human, although not a prime time news, was not a secret either.

“When we came back to the tavern, we found that someone has kidnapped Heika. Through information gathering and some interrogations, we found out that Heika has been brought to Sloanne, a region of Tarleton bordering with Shin Makoku’s town we visited. So there we went.” Understanding Yuuri’s unspoken words, Conrad began to continue the story.

“We prepared to fight a small troop of rebels. But what we met was a huge number of people who has been trained with military’s skill. It was clear we were outnumbered. The leader has Heika poisoned and unconscious. He told us that mazoku was evil and since humans would be better off without us, he would eliminate all of us, starting with our king.”

“I thought we were kind of panic. All things were on their favor. They get greater number, they knew the landmark better and they had hostage. There were even some sorcerers on their number and they brought houseki, preventing us from using our magic. We were fighting, but they had gotten heika surrounded by their numbers and we could barely break the outer layer. It was quite chaotic and I could not follow nor remember the events clearly, but then Wolfram snapped. Somehow − we could not understand how − he managed to summon the fire. We realized something was wrong when the air was getting really hot. When I looked at him, instead of his normal fire attack, the fire became kind of a big ball in his hands. Then, before either of us could really react, he unleashed the fire towards them.”

“It reminded me a lot about when I was sent into the war. The fire burnt most of our attackers. I thought the rest of us were too surprise to act at that time,” Conrad took a breath.

He could still recall Wolfram’s face at that time. He suspected he would remember that picture for the rest of his life. He was quite familiar with almost all of Wolfram’s expressions, but that one gave him chills despite the fire. His younger brother has looked like death’s own representative. The fire’s light has made his brother’s hair glittering and the fire seemed like dancing to some unheard song, framing Wolfram. He was used to wear his emotion clearly for everybody and anybody to see, yet at that time his face was cold and expressionless.

He shook the reminiscent away and continued telling his story.

“I do not know how long it lasted. Then suddenly there was a big storm and it put the fire to rest. It was at that time we realized that while we were busy fighting, Jozak has stealthily made his way into heika and give him some antidote,”

He also did not know where Jozak has gotten that antidote. Once, Jozak has told him that being a spy has given him a habit to carry necessary medicines with him everywhere, since he was always at risk of getting wounded or poisoned. He supposed they were lucky one of Jozak’s antidotes was a perfect match for the poison heika was given.

“We saved heika, but it was too late for Sloanne. Wolfram’s fire has vanquished most of the town that day. “

Flurin could not think. She did not want to think. Lord von Bielefeld has said that they went in a trip to check the truth of a rumor. He has told her that Yuuri was kidnapped and they were overwhelmed by the enemies. Yet, his account of the battle that followed was only that he was worried and in his effort to liberated Yuuri he has killed. This has made Lord von Voltaire, Sir Weller, Lord von Christ and Yuuri Heika angry with him.

At that time, what little that she knew about them has lent a credible support to his story. After all, it was no secret that Lord von Bielefeld has a tendency to guide his acts by his emotions. It was also a common knowledge that Yuuri Heika would forgive even the person who tried to assassin him. Why, there was even a rumor that the reason he found his adopted daughter was that she tried to kill him. In addition, it was not difficult to predict who the rest of the palace would support if they must choose one.

But she has lived through wars. She knew that sometimes it was impossible to avoid killing when you were in the middle of one. She has also believed that once the anger dissipated, the rest of Blood Pledge Castle’s residents would see it as well. She never imagined that number of casualties, though.

“Which brought us to our current situation,”

Conrad’s voice stopped Flurin’s thoughts. This was neither the time nor the place for thinking about them.

“Thanks to Wolfram’s action, we are on the brink of war with Tarleton,”

“Their king won’t let us eliminate one of their towns without retaliation. Currently, Gwendal was pursuing the diplomatic venue, but the threat of war was still strong and true,” Conrad continued the explanation calmly, as if Yuuri was never interrupted.

“You came to ask for Caloria’s support if the talk is failed,” Flurin surmised.

“Yes. I know that this is really unfair, but we really need Caloria’s support” Conrad admitted.

“Besides, I have a lot of confident on Gwendal and Gunter’s abilities to negotiate,” Yuuri chimed in.

Conrad was right. It did put her in a difficult position. In one hand, she could not condone a callous killing. Furthermore, they were human, just like her and her people. Yet in other hand, Shin Makoku has helped Caloria tremendously in the past. These humans were the one at fault, for they began the conflict. Either way, supposing the war would break out it would put back the gulf between mazoku and human. Something Yuuri has worked hard to bridge. Besides, Caloria’s support could help showing others that this was not a war between mazoku and human, merely between Shin Makoku and Tarleton. Besides, even the killing was not Yuuri’s fault. It was Lord von Bielefeld’s.

‘And you harbor him,’ a voice in her head reminded her unhelpfully.

“We will help you. After all, Caloria and Shin Makoku are allied. Besides, it will help in overcome issues that this war is a war between races. “

“Thank you, thank you Lady Flurin. It will really be a big help if we are to have Caloria in our side. Although I still have high hope it will not need to end up on a war,”

Conrad tuned out Yuuri Heika’s thanks and Lady Flurin’s answers. He was quite sure the ruler of Caloria was hiding something. He has observed her face when she considered their proposal and there were some conflicting emotions in her eyes that seemed too personal to be caused simply by their plight. He only wished he could be that certain on whether Lady Flurin’s secret would affect them or not.

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Tried as she might, Flurin could not erase the conversation they had that night from her mind. Nor she could erase the nagging feeling that she had made a big mistake by letting Lord von Bielefeld to stay.

He has murdered a lot of people. If Shin Makoku ended up fighting a war, the blame would lie on his feet. Is that the kind of a person she wanted to release upon her people?

On the more personal level, she could not condone his causing that much distress on Yuuri Heika. It was clear to her that a war was the last one on Yuuri Heika’s wish list. Why, the man was even desperately grasped on the hope of successful negotiation. Personally, she was not that optimistic and she could see neither did Sir Weller.

Yet, she has promised him that he could stay. He maybe has no compunction about lying, but she has. She has also said she would not tell heika about him staying in Caloria, so she has to solve this herself. Granted, at that time she thought he would go back to Shin Makoku in a month or two. Unfortunately, a promise was a promise.

She would confront him, then. She wanted to hear his reason for lying and gave him a piece of her mind. Yes, she would search for him the first time she could. After all, she did not want heika to become suspicious. It made tomorrow was out, since she has promised to give Yuuri Heika a tour around her resident.

For now, there was nothing she could do but sleep.

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“This is a nice garden. I don’t remember seeing it the last time I visited here, though,” said Yuuri. He was not exaggerating. The garden was really beautiful, with big fountains and the flowers all in blossom. Conrad really missed out when he said he wanted to scout the city instead.

“This was quite new. We just built it last year,” Flurin explained. She was glad Yuuri Heika liked it. This garden was one of her favorite place in the palace.

They have walked around most of the garden when Yuuri decided that maybe it was the right time to give Lady Flurin the bracelet he carried on his pocket. There was no one else near them and it seemed like the mood has lightened from the night before.

“Em, Lady Flurin, I brought something for you. I planned to give it last night, but there were so many things to discuss…”

“A gift? You shouldn’t have, Heika. I am sure you have more than enough in your hands currently,”

Secretly, Flurin could not deny the please feeling on her heart.

“It is nothing. Just something I saw in the town that reminded me of you,”

Yuuri decided he would never tell Lady Flurin that he hunted it all around the town. It was simply too embarrassing. Instead, he took out the box where the bracelet was rested from his pocket and gave it to Lady Flurin.

She accepted the box then opened it carefully.

“It is very pretty, Heika. Thank you very much,” she said, lifting the bracelet to have a better view of it. She did not lying. While she did have a lot of jewelry, she never saw a precious stone like the one on the bracelet. Instead of reflecting light, it seemed to shine by itself. Even the workmanship was superb.

When he saw Lady Flurin put it in her wrist, Yuuri let out a breath he did not realize he held. Despite the assurances he has received, there was a tinge of doubt in his heart before whether Lady Flurin would like it or not.

“It suited you, Lady,” Yuuri said, smiling.

Flurin could feel the hope kindled in her heart. Could it be that Yuuri Heika has some feeling for her? No, she should not raise her hopes. It was easier to accept that he was unreachable from the start than to entertain vain wishes and have them dashed later. It was, after all, very likely that the gift was just to thank her for her support or the common token a ruler brought another when they came to visit. Yet, a stubborn voice inside her head kept on reminding her that Yuuri Heika has waited until there was just the two of them before he gave it while he could just do it last night regardless of the atmosphere.

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Conrad could not say what exactly that prompted him to visit the little store in town. He had heard some talks when he visited the pub. He had intended to search for useful tidbit of information and news about a new, handsome store keeper was not what he came there for. Still, something in his mind, called it instinct, did not let him to ignore it. Now, he was glad he followed it.

He had planned to scout around the store a little before entering and enquiring for some insignificant item or other. He has not planned to face his younger brother the moment he stepped into said store.

“Wolfram?” he asked, disbelieve was clear in his voice.

From the other’s expression, it was clear that Wolfram was as surprised as he was. Yet somehow, he succeeded on gathering back his composure.

“My name is Wolfgang,” the younger mazoku said. He has dreaded this chance meeting since he knew they were coming to Caloria. His only consolation was that it was Sir Weller and not Yuuri.

“We are worried. Why did you leave like that?” Conrad said, disregarding Wolfram words about his name. He did not plan to make it sounded like accusation. He did not even plan it to be the first question he would ask if he found his errant brother. But it seemed that his tongue has a will of its own.

Wolfram was very aware of the ears perked curiously when Sir Weller first addressed him. After all, the people’s partiality to gossips has been one of the reasons he became a store proprietor in the first place. It did not mean he wanted to be in one of those gossips. His life has been enough in a mess without it, thank you very much.

“What can I help you with, Sir?” he asked instead.

“Wolfram!

“I am afraid you are mistaken me for someone else, Sir. Like I said before, my name is Wolfgang. Or is that something that you search?” he put what he dubbed his merchant’s smile for good measure. This was successfully making his customers back to their businesses, having apparently decided that there was nothing of interest happened. Unfortunately, Sir Weller – he knew− would not be that easy to deter.

Wolfram sighed. There was no escaping the coming interrogation, it seemed.

“Came again tonight, after the store was closed,” he added in low tone so only Sir Weller could hear that.

The bell chimed again before Conrad could say another word. So instead, he gave a slight nod and made a beeline towards the door. Tonight, he would get his answers.

Wolfram pasted another smile and greeted the new customer. He desperately hoped that tonight Sir Weller would not bring Yuuri.

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“How is your day, Conrad?” Yuuri asked as soon as Conrad entering the room.

“It was…informative. I took it you have a good day, Heika?” Conrad deflected the query back.

Even when he said the words, Conrad knew it was not necessary to ask. Yuuri was beaming. He squashed a peculiar feeling on his heart. He has more important matter in his hand right then.

He was not sure whether he should inform Yuuri about Wolfram was being in town. There was no question that Yuuri deserved to know. But he got a feeling that doing so would be the same as betraying his little brother. He has no doubt that Yuuri was part of the reason why Wolfram left.

Then there was also the matter of their meeting that night. If he told Yuuri about Wolfram, Yuuri would insist to come. He wanted some explanations and Yuuri’s presence has a big chance of preventing him from getting them.

“We took a walk on the garden. It was beautiful, Conrad. Too bad you could not join us,”

“And?” Conrad teased.

“I gave her the bracelet. She liked it,” Yuuri blushed. “You said it was informative. What did you find?” quickly, he changed the topic.

No, he would not tell Yuuri anything. Yet. He would give Wolfram a chance to explain first.

“Well, the usual, Heika. There was…”