Kyou Kara Maou Fan Fiction ❯ Inexorable Flow ❯ Part 16 ( Chapter 16 )

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Kyou Kara Maou! - It belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I'm not making any money from writing it.

Warnings: Yaoi (male x male), Yuuri x Wolfram. Some other pairings. Angst. Adult topics.

A/N 1: Age: Yuuri - 43. Wolfram…let's say he is about the same age as Yuuri just a little older. Lakarde - 10.

 

A/N 2: Faraya is the former ruler of Ekara (the planet of fire element) who went into hiding after having confronted Yuuri and lost. Faraya looks over forty years old and has the same dark looks like all local people on Ekara: dark-shaded skin, black hair and eyes. The man's face has regular features, some of the black hair covers his high forehead and is cut in a similar manner as Wolfram's only a little shorter. His quite full lips are usually pressed together in a content smile. As most men on Ekara, Faraya doesn't wear moustache either. Besides having a big-boned build, the man is built heavily, his body quite muscular. Faraya has big eyes whose dark penetrating look, while “pleasantly staying on Ekara”, Wolfram found disturbingly alluring.

 

A/N 3: Amae Sederu was born on Ekara and is Faraya's concubine. His father was originally from Shin Makoku and used to be a healer. Amae's entire family was killed by Faraya's soldiers during one of the raids on the hostile villages. Amae has been living in closed spaces since he was eleven years old. He used to be in a brothel and changed many hands until Faraya took hold of him. Amae is a half-blood and a good wielder of the water element. He also practices healing.

Amae is in his early twenties. He has got long straight black hair and blue eyes. He is slender but tall with an attractive body. He is not malignant by nature but can be cunning and vindictive once crossed. Amae is not strong physically but has a very sharp tongue and is not afraid to use it.

Until Wolfram helped Amae to escape from Faraya's palace, Amae used to control the rest of the concubines, but once out of his usual environment it appeared that he does not know how to preserve himself. While Amae was traveling together with Wolfram and Kyota back to the camp, he caught Kyota's eye. He and Kyota had sex but the relationship did not go very well, Amae leaving the other party hurt and enraged after agreeing to escape from Shin Makoku together with Faraya. Since then nobody has heard anything about them both.

 

A/N 4: Arachi Diuman is an elite guard in Blood Pledge Castle, responsible for guarding the king. He came to Shin Makoku from The Kingdom of Kojona as a sign of trust between the two kingdoms. After his contract ended, he was made an offer to stay in Blood Pledge Castle further which he gladly accepted.

Arachi is a half-blood and wields the wind element. Arachi is a brunette, of middle-build and has mismatched eyes - the right one is hazel while his left is dark brown. He usually wears his red uniform that all elite guards wear.

Arachi was also the one to travel to Ekara with Wolfram, Kyota and Asami. On Ekara, most time he spent together with Kyota looking for Wolfram. He has also met Amae there.

 

 

Inexorable Flow

 

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by Melisenda

 

Part 16

 

It was late evening already, and Yuuri was resting in the royal chambers after another hard and nerve wracking day which had dragged into infinity. The time had been wasted. There was no news about Wolfram. The men that he had sent out to search and ask questions came back empty-handed. A feeling of helplessness was starting to take hold and made him panicky.

 

No one knew when and where Wolfram had disappeared, since he was last seen on Earth intending to go back to Shin Makoku. Had something happened on Earth or when he was back in Shin Makoku? It had taken nearly a week before anyone realized that he was missing. Yuuri was sure that he had gone back to Shin Makoku, while everyone in Shin Makoku was certain that he was staying with his husband on Earth.

 

Yuuri wasn't able to sit in one place, constantly pacing back and forth in the room, nearly overcome with worry over his husband. People around him were also tense, afraid of how the events would affect the kingdom. The news about Wolfram hadn't been spread yet, but the information had already started to leak.

 

With his father missing, Lakarde had become completely unsociable, snapping at everyone and glaring daggers at Yuuri every time their eyes met. The child seemed to be sure that it was the king's fault that Wolfram was missing. Lakarde had not accused him of that to his face, but the young man was close to terrorizing the captains of the search-parties that the king had installed. The men had already been forced to report every step they took to Lakarde. Lakarde was ordering them around, and something in Yuuri lacked the strength to put the child in his place.

 

Yuuri jerked at the knock on the door that echoed loudly in the room. “What is it?” he snapped. The door opened to reveal one of the royal guards. The man stepped inside the room.

 

“Your Majesty,” the guard continued as the king gave his permission to speak. “There is a man waiting outside the gate. He is requesting an audience with Your Majesty.”

 

Confused, Yuuri looked at him. “What does he want at this hour?”

 

“He didn't say,” the guard said. “But,” he added as the king started frowning and was obviously going to admonish him for coming to him with such a trivial matter, “he had this.” He dug into his pocket then pulled out a golden bracelet. “It seems to belong to Prince Consort…” He started as the king suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the bracelet out of his hand.

 

“Bring him here immediately!” the king commanded after examining the bracelet more closely.

 

Impatient, Yuuri marched around and around in the room while waiting for the guard to return. From time to time he would rub the shiny piece of gold with his fingers. It really was Wolfram's, with the small dent near his royal sign that appeared after Wolfram had been thrown from his horse. Whoever had the bracelet knew Wolfram's location. All signs showed that he had been kidnapped and now they had come to negotiate.

 

Yuuri's head whipped around at the knock on the door. With his permission it opened and about ten men flocked into the room. When that mingle-mangle of his elite guards and castle guards spread wider, Yuuri was finally able to see what was at the center of it. Probably his facial expression said everything that he thought of this meeting, because from the circle of castle and body guards Amae Sederu gave him a sad smile.

 

“Your Majesty,” Amae bowed. “I'd say that I'm happy to meet you again, but it isn't like that.”

 

“The same here,” Yuuri muttered. He raised the bracelet. “Where is Wolfram?”

 

The younger male shook his head. “I'm afraid I can't tell you that.”

 

“You are in no position to refuse,” Yuuri said.

 

There was a short gasp, and the guards gasped as Amae slumped to his knees. Some of them stepped back, others came forward to see what was wrong with the man. One or two tried to raise him back to his feet, but the dark-haired male pushed their hands away.

 

To lose contact with his water element was never pleasant and to be cut off from it so instantly and so deliberately shockingly was heart-stopping. Trying to even out his breathing and fight the nausea, Amae raised his head. Wolfram's husband was pissed. The man's dark, usually calm and friendly eyes now were scintillating with fury, his entire posture screaming of a barely suppressed desire to crush him.

 

He was breathtaking.

 

Amae gave Yuuri a wide, albeit pained, grin. “I always thought that Wolfram must be good at choosing his men. I see I was right.” Ignoring how the comment made Yuuri's face contort, Amae shifted his weight on his hands and tried to stand up, then gave up and just stayed kneeling.

 

“Cut the crap, Amae!” Yuuri hissed. “Where is Wolfram?”

 

“I won't tell you,” Amae answered plainly. “He has been taken by Faraya.”

 

“I figured that out already!” Yuuri growled. “What is your objective?”

 

“My objective is to make matters more equal. Faraya has Wolfram, so you will have me. If you handle this well, there shouldn't be any casualties.”

 

Stunned, Yuuri stared at the concubine.

 

“I owe Wolfram a big one,” Amae said, “but this is all I can do.”

 

Yuuri stared at him for a few more minutes then pushed the bracelet into his pocket. “So you ran away,” he summarized finally. The other man nodded. “Are you sure your life is worth Wolfram's?” Yuuri asked. The shadow that he saw pass Amae's face did not assure him at all.

 

“I can only hope,” the younger male answered.

 

“You'll be under watch the entire time,” Yuuri informed him then. “And be sure that if you do something suspicious like using Faraya's element or something similar, I won't wait for Faraya to contact me…”

 

Amae nodded, accepting the conditions. He had known how it would turn out beforehand. Amae tried to stand up again. He swayed dangerously, but managed to stay on his feet.

 

“I'll tell you more about your husband,” Amae muttered, brushing his hand over his forehead then covering his mouth with it, “but I badly need to visit the bathroom first.”

 

XXXXX

 

Amae was drowsing when Yuuri entered the room, his dark eyes quickly checking on the presence of a pair of guards standing near the doorway. After the bathroom, the guards had been ordered to take Amae to the room he had been given to stay in. Yuuri had not expected Amae would take so long. After losing his patience and starting to think that the man was trying to manipulate him, Yuuri decided to see Amae himself.

 

But now, seeing the concubine lying listlessly in the bed, his face as white as a sheet and his eyes bleary, Yuuri had lost some of his anger. He had not expected that the loss of his element would affect the man so badly. He did not remember anyone reacting so strongly.

 

“Wolfram isn't okay,” Amae muttered, rousing himself after noticing Yuuri's entrance. “As I was forbidden to get near him, I didn't see much. Faraya is using Esoteric Stones to keep Wolfram inactive and it seems that they are affecting him rather badly, keeping him unconscious or making him delirious and giving him painful headaches.” Yuuri looked aghast after his words and Amae found that looking at Yuuri's face caused him to feel a good amount of malevolence. The weird combination of his own worry over Wolfram and glee over Yuuri's anxiety perturbed him suddenly.

 

“I'm afraid that the stones might leave some permanent damage,” Amae spilled, rubbing at his eyes. “I tried to talk Faraya into lessening the amount but…!” He shifted in the bed, sitting up suddenly, making the bodyguards tense. “But the fucker never listens! I wanted to…but he never lets me!”

 

Sensing something wrong in the other man's aura, Yuuri watched Amae closely as the smaller man was ruffling though his hair frantically. Only then did he realize that the concubine was nearing hysterics.

 

“Call Gisela,” he ordered one of his bodyguards. “Tell her to bring some quickly working sedative.” Yuuri turned back to the concubine and realized that he was not sure what to do. “Where is Wolfram, Amae?” he asked again. That had been probably the worst thing to do because Amae simply exploded.

 

“I said I wouldn't tell you!” Amae yelled at him. “I can't interfere! I don't fucking want to interfere at all!” He jumped off the bed. “Wolfram… I can't… Faraya…” His blue eyes blazed then. “You idiots can kill each other off for all I care! Don't fucking touch me!” he screamed at one of the bodyguards who tried to prevent him from leaving the room. “Get your hands off me!”

 

Watching his king's reactions, the guard could see that he wasn't allowed to treat Amae as a real threat or inflict any serious damage. Instead of using violent force to prevent the concubine from leaving the room and to avoid Amae's nails and flailing hands, he simply trussed Amae's right hand up behind his back and pushed the wailing man back to the bed. He kept the concubine there until Gisela came. But by the time she arrived, Amae had almost calmed down on his own. Now he was just sitting on the bed, fidgeting nervously with his hands. He was still made to drink a cup of some herbal tea Gisela had rustled up then was put to bed. Yuuri left four guards at Amae's door and also went to try to get some sleep.

 

XXXXX

 

Amae was still sleeping when Arachi and his partner entered the concubine's room to change watch. As Arachi was one of those who had known Amae from before, the king had spoken to him seeking information about the concubine, but all Arachi could do was to confirm the facts that Wolfram had related to Yuuri earlier.

 

The concubine was sleeping soundly, most likely whatever they had given him still muffling his senses. The make up was all gone from Amae's face and his skin almost matched the sheets he was sleeping on. Arachi had heard that the concubine had had hysterics the day before. The king had also asked him about this. Arachi had confirmed he knew from long ago in a camp just before the collision with Faraya's army. He had not seen it with his own eyes, but Amae's shouts that he had heard echoing had told him enough. Amae tended to break down if there were too many things piled on his shoulders.

 

Despite the unhealthy paleness, Amae was stunning. To anyone from Mearan he looked exotic with his long straight black hair. Amae didn't seem to have aged from the last time Arachi saw him. The same young face with regular features, a small pointy nose, full lips, dark eyelashes resting against the pale cheeks and thin brows that were expressively curved to highlight now closed eyes which - he knew from memory - were intently blue.

 

Silently, Arachi and his partner changed stations with the two other guards and drew up at the door. Informing them that the concubine caused no trouble and had done nothing except for sleeping, the previous guards left. As Amae didn't seem to be planning on waking up any time soon, Arachi readied himself for a boring morning.

 

“A hell of a beauty, isn't he?”

 

Arachi turned to his partner whose eyes were taking in the concubine's face with a great deal of admiration. “Don't even think about it, Kedash,” Arachi chuckled. “He would cost you your entire life savings.”

 

Kedash turned to Arachi, grinning. “Hey, a man can dream, can't he?”

 

Arachi shrugged at that.

 

The two of them spent half an hour leaning against the cold wall, then Arachi pulled a chair from the table in the room and sat down. Kedash gave him a look but said nothing, remaining standing.

 

Another hour passed, then the elite guards' attention went to the bed where the concubine stirred. The two of them started as Amae sat up abruptly. Wide-eyed, the concubine looked around then his gaze fell on the guards.

 

“Where…?” Frowning, Amae shook his head. He gave a second look at his surroundings, his face showing that he finally realized where he was. He didn't look that good either. He turned back to the guards. “Ehh…Arachi, was it?”

 

Arachi nodded. “Yes, Arachi Diuman. I'm surprised you remember the name.”

 

“Mmm?” Amae's still bleary eyes focused on him. “Five years isn't that a long time.” He pushed the covers away and started climbing out of the bed. He yelped loudly as his feet didn't hold him and he flopped down onto the carpet on all fours, hardly managing to catch himself before his face hit the floor.

 

Arachi hurried over to Amae to help him stand up. “The drugs haven't worn off yet. They weren't strong but your mixed blood must be the reason you are so shaky.” After it proved pointless to put Amae on his feet, the guard hefted Amae into his arms easily and laid him back into the bed.

 

“You know,” Amae pointed with his index finger at Arachi's chest, “you shouldn't touch people so familiarly, especially men who do not belong to you.”

 

Arachi rolled his eyes. “Want me to drop you back onto the carpet?”

 

Amae blinked up at the guard's face. “Point taken.”

 

The elite guard sighed. He put the covers back onto the younger male, tucking him in. “How many years do you think have passed? I don't know where you have been this entire time, but here, in Shin Makoku…” He trailed off then started again: “Let's say that, from my point of view, we met twenty years ago. Shhh, lie calmly,” Arachi said, pushing Amae back into the bedding after he sat up suddenly.

 

Amae laughed suddenly, the harsh laughter echoing in the room. “And I was wondering why you looked older…” he muttered.

 

Arachi watched Amae intently for a few seconds waiting for any signs of hysterics but Amae stayed put in the bed. His eyes were closed and Arachi knew that the concubine realized that he had given himself away. There were only four worlds and all one had to do was to count the proportion between five and twenty years. Arachi turned to Kedash.

 

“Go get His Majesty.”

 

Kedash nodded and left the room.

 

“Fuck it,” Amae sighed, opening his eyes after the door had closed. He looked up at Arachi then rubbed his forehead. He felt nauseated and wasn't sure if it was because of the drugs or the situation. The fear he felt was choking him.

 

Arachi watched the concubine's ashen face for a few seconds. “He had tucked you away from the rest of the world, didn't he?” he asked then.

 

Amae looked at him but couldn't hold the gaze and averted his eyes to the ceiling. He said nothing.

 

“Why did you go with him?”

 

After a long pause with no reply, Arachi wasn't sure that Amae would answer.

 

“It was… When he called…” Amae muttered. “I wanted nothing else and… Crap,” he groaned, rubbing his face fervently. “I'm a selfish whore, Arachi, and whoever Faraya is, unlike the others, he never wanted for me to be someone else other than who I am...”

 

The elite guard leaned back in his chair. “I see you haven't changed one bit. Amae, really, did you think you would be able to influence him?”

 

The topic was making him even more nauseated. He didn't even want to think about it. Amae closed his eyes. “You think I went with him so that I could try to prevent something like this happening? You think too well of me.”

 

Arachi chuckled. True, even if Faraya loved Amae, he was not someone to listen to others' opinions. “What do you think will happen now?” he asked.

 

Amae shrugged. “I… It's the second time I betrayed him. I am not sure he will ever agree to...” He shook his head and fell silent. He looked at the door as it opened. Yuuri, followed by two guards, entered the room.

 

Arachi stood up to pay honor to his king.

 

“What happened?” Yuuri required.

 

“Your Majesty, it seems that for the concubine it's only been five years, while here we had twenty pass,” Arachi informed him.

 

Yuuri did the calculating in his head immediately. “Then it's Aliran.” Yuuri frowned at Amae. “You two bastards got another ruled involved, didn't you?” he turned to the guard when Amae remained silent. “Inform the Great Sage and send him to the ruler of Earth with the news.”

 

Arachi bowed. “Right away, Your Majesty.”

 

Yuuri cast a glance at Amae then, wordlessly, turned to go. The concubine looked like death itself. It was obvious that Amae hadn't expected such a turn of events. He seemed to be nearing a nervous breakdown. Not that Yuuri cared.

 

Amae stared at the door that had closed behind the king. He started getting up. Kedash and another guard Yuuri left tensed, not sure what to expect.

 

“I want to go to the bathroom,” Amae said. He disentangled himself from the sheets and got to his feet. His legs were still wobbly, his head swimming. Walking appeared not to be a good idea. Amae stumbled, narrowly missing Kedash, but smashing headlong into the other guard, lost his balance completely and simply hung on the guard clasping his uniform lapels. Amae pressed his forehead to the wide-eyed guard's chest while trying to keep it all down.

 

“Listen,” Amae rasped out, “either take me to the bathroom or I'll just vomit on you right now and right here. No kidding.”

 

Giving Kedash a lost look, the elite guard hefted the concubine into his arms and turned to the door.

 

“Oh gods,” Amae groaned as after the sudden change in the position, his stomach couldn't wait to get out of his throat. “Are all of you idiots here?”

 

Grimacing, Kedash opened the door, and his partner carried Amae outside. Moments later, in the bathroom, the two of them stood outside the cubicle while the sounds of vomiting echoed inside it. Half an hour later, Amae staggered out of the cubicle looking much better.

 

“Alright,” he breathed while leaning heavily on the cubicle door, “get me some tea.”

 

The guards looked at each other, then Kedash motioned with his head towards the door for his partner who nodded, sighing. Amae tottered to the washbasin to rinse his mouth and wash himself.

 

Kedash shrunk back as the concubine started pulling the tunic over his head. As usual, Amae wore no trousers, pantaloons or leggings under his tunics. Amae tossed the tunic aside onto the bathroom cupboard leaving only his underwear on. The guard stared at the concubine's backside as he leaned down to ransack through the cupboard. The concubine finally found a towel and a sponge. Amae wetted it, rubbed some soap into it and turned to the guard. Disbelieving, the guard watched the concubine push his underwear down, kick it off and start washing himself.

 

“Be sure that he will demand you pay him for the show later,” Arachi said after entering the bathroom.

 

With his face all red and his trousers tight, Kedash turned to Arachi who motioned for him to follow him outside the bathroom. “C'mon, do you think he will take a jump through that window?” Arachi said while pointing at the tiny window; it was too high for anyone to escape through unscathed.

 

They left the younger male to wash himself, and Arachi knew that it was going to take quite a while. It was the only way Amae could have some time alone. Amae had many things to think about. Arachi was afraid that the concubine might go into hysterics again.

 

Nonetheless, an hour later, Arachi had to enter the bathroom as the concubine didn't answer to his calls or orders to leave the bathroom. He found Amae sitting on the cupboard near the sink and leaning his back against the cold stony wall. The man had already redressed in his tunic, but was still shivering after the cool bath. Wordlessly, Arachi pulled the quivering concubine off the cupboard and, supporting the younger male, led him outside. Amae was frozen, but it didn't seem that he had noticed, though.

 

“Do I need to get some soporifics for you?” Arachi asked the concubine on their way back to the room.

 

Amae gave him a bleary look then shrugged. He wasn't sure about his body accepting something else after yesterday. He wasn't sure about anything anymore.

 

After getting some hot tea into Amae, Arachi tucked him warmly into the bed. The concubine looked horrible and appeared to be feverish. It didn't seem that Amae would be able to eat anything. About half an hour later, the shivering stopped, and Amae fell asleep.

 

When he woke up, hardly anything had changed: the guards were still standing in his room; the situation was still grim; he still felt sickish and feverish; he still didn't know what to do. But after casting a glance out of the window he saw that it was evening already.

 

“Well, feeling any better?”

 

The bed-sheets rustled when Amae shifted to look at Arachi. “Not really,” he muttered, pressing his cheek to the spot on the pillow which hadn't been warmed by his body yet. “Thanks, really thanks for…”

 

Arachi nodded, accepting the gratitude. In his memories Amae was always someone quick-witted and sly; but at the same time rather helpless as regards his fate. Some people were just less lucky than others. He didn't think that the concubine had some plan hidden up his sleeve. The man's current situation was in no way enviable, and keeping in mind that Amae came to Shin Makoku on his own, he felt obliged to do something at least for the concubine.

 

Amae turned away, slid deeper into the covers and started drifting off to sleep again. Faraya would notice his absence after a day or two. He wished he could just sleep through all of this. Or to wake up and see that all of it had only been a morbid dream.

 

“Do you want to eat or drink something?”

 

“No, thank you,” Amae muttered drowsily. “I'm just tired.”

 

Arachi watched the concubine's slowly raising and falling side for a few seconds.

 

“Does Kyota know that you are here?” Arachi asked.

 

Amae actually stiffened then turned to stare at him with hooded but at the same time quite surprised eyes. He obviously didn't think that the other male had anything to do with him anymore. “Kyota? Ehhh… I don't know.” As Arachi was silent, he turned away and settled back to sleep.

 

“He was quite furious when you left.”

 

“I can imagine,” Amae muttered. He sighed into his pillow. “He really had some serious intentions towards me, hadn't he?”

 

“Yes. I thought you were quite fitting for each other. It would have taken time, but you could have gotten everything right.”

 

“It doesn't matter anymore.”

 

Arachi shrugged. Even if Amae thought that he had nothing to do with Kyota anymore, it was not that clear what Kyota's thoughts were on this. Arachi leaned against the wall. He decided to drop the topic. “Have you met Lakarde yet?”

 

“Hmm…? Who is he?” Amae asked, wondering.

 

“Wolfram's kid.”

 

Amae's eyes went wide. He lifted himself on his elbows to turn around and stare at Arachi. “Wolfram has a child?!”

 

Arachi chuckled in amusement. “Why are you so surprised? Twenty years is a long time.” He watched the concubine drop back into the bedding stiffly. “The boy and his father are very much alike, in several ways,” Arachi added. He wasn't sure if he should say more about the youngster. Besides, Kedash was in the room too. “To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that he hasn't come to see you yet,” he said.

 

“But… What about the King and…?” Amae asked. It would have been normal for the king to have a concubine, but for Wolfram to…

 

Arachi shook his head, refusing to talk. “It's a long story.”

 

XXXXX

 

The king came to interrogate Amae the next morning. He put many questions to Amae to which the concubine didn't give any answers. Yuuri started to consider restoring the Mazoku tradition of torture. He wondered about how Amae was able to travel to Mearan. He thought that Wolfram might be somewhere on Mearan. But with the concubine's lips tightly shut, all he could do was guess.

 

Irritated to no end, Yuuri left the concubine's room half an hour later. All he had managed to get out of Amae was that Wolfram was being taken care of. He slammed the door shut and froze as he saw Lakarde waiting on the other side of the door. The boy stared at him with an obvious demand in his eyes.

 

“He didn't say anything,” Yuuri said.

 

“Let me talk to him,” Lakarde insisted.

 

Knowing that the boy would only get frustrated and furious with the concubine, Yuuri shook his head. “It's not a good idea.”

 

The outrage that suddenly flashed in the boy's eyes was all-consuming. His mouth suddenly fell open, but then closed shut as he thought the better of it. Yuuri didn't even need to hear it to know what the boy was thinking. He could feel for the boy, but it didn't mean he was going to change his decision and let Lakarde do something stupid like attack Amae.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Lakarde said through gritted teeth, then turned around on his heel and walked away.

 

“Don't let Lakarde in. Inform the other guards,” Yuuri ordered the guards at the door.

 

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

 

XXXXX

 

There was some commotion on the other side of the door. Amae roused slowly. He started and sat up in his bed as the door opened and Arachi rushed in.

 

“Dress. Faraya is here. He wants to see you.”

 

Amae's breath got stuck in his throat. The room suddenly turned stuffy and the light coming from the windows was too bright.

 

“No.”

 

Stunned, Arachi stared at the concubine who had wrapped himself into the covers and fell back into the bed with his back turned.

 

“Amae, you misunderstood me. It's not a request - it's an order!”

 

As the younger male did not react, the elite guard leaned over to grab the covers. He peeled them off Amae, then dragged him off the bed unceremoniously.

 

“Watch your hands!” Amae yelled.

 

“Amae, I have my orders. If you resist me, I'll deal with you in a very unpleasant way.”

 

Amae's head snapped up. The guard hardly kept from stepping back before the burning gaze. He let go of Amae's wrist. The Fire Element was pulsing hotly around Amae.

 

“Don't touch me! I am not going to meet that fucker!”

 

Not sure what to do, Arachi cast a quick look towards the door. “Amae, if you don't go, he will come here anyway,” he tried to reason with the hysterical concubine. Amae's head snapped to the door. The man was shaking uncontrollably. It didn't seem that Amae heard what was behind the words, though.

 

“Amae…”

 

“No! No! Get the fuck out!”

 

Arachi walked to the door. He opened it to tell one of the guards to inform the king that Amae refused to see Faraya and was causing a fuss. He came back into the room. The concubine was standing in the middle of the room, just staring at him with eyes filled with panic and dread.

 

Yuuri, accompanied by two of his bodyguards, arrived a few minutes later. He cast a look at the panicky concubine and the tunic in Arachi's hands. His patience was wearing thin. “Dress the damn bitch,” Yuuri snapped at the elite guard. “Can't you even manage that?!”

 

“Right away, Your Majesty.”

 

Arachi grabbed Amae by his arm to hold him in place, but after trussing it behind Amae's back, it was clear that he could not manage to do it alone. But then one of Yuuri's bodyguards rushed to his aid and soon they had Amae dressed and seated on the bed.

 

“Let go!”

 

Amae tried to kick Arachi while he was putting his sandals on his feet, but then a swish of air knocked him over onto his back. Gasping for breath, Amae stayed lying on the bed until Arachi was done with his footwear and grabbed him by his arm to raise him. Dragging Amae appeared to be not an option as the concubine dug his feet into the carpet and grabbed the headboard with his right hand.

 

“Oh for fuck's sake!” yelled Yuuri, appearing next to Amae and yanking his hand off the headboard. He jerked Amae towards the door.

 

The bodyguards seemed somewhat lost as their king, with Arachi on the other side, continued dragging the concubine down the corridor. Amae was still struggling violently, but did not raise his voice anymore, the terror probably even too great to express it with a voice.

 

Finally, Yuuri threw a door open and yanked the concubine into the huge hall that was commonly used for solemn celebrations or gatherings. Today there were about twenty people present. Yuuri and his elite guards, Faraya and his men. The ruler of Ekara was sitting on one of the chairs, near Yuuri's throne.

 

“Here, is this what you've been looking for?!” Yuuri hissed, grabbing Amae by his hair with his other hand and turning his face to where Faraya stood, having gotten up from the chair at the group's entrance.

 

Amae's wide eyes stared at Faraya while Faraya watched him in return.

 

“Return my husband!” Yuuri demanded, shaking Amae, his fingers pulling painfully at the long hair. “Return him, or I'll have fun with yours!”

 

“I'm not…” Amae yelped, not finishing as Yuuri's heavy hand flew across his face.

 

“Shut your trap!”

 

The impact tossed Amae down onto the carpet. His nose started bleeding.

 

Watching Amae's wide blue eyes, while he was trying to stop the bleeding, Faraya could see the desperation in them. Yuuri, usually a calm and composed man had turned into a beast and Amae was afraid that this meeting might end not as he had planned.

 

Stupid whore. Damn him.

 

Amae winced in pain as Yuuri grabbed him by his hair again and pulled, forcing him to stand up.

 

“Where is Wolfram?” Yuuri demanded again, yanking Amae's head back, the concubine's hands reaching to Yuuri's that was holding his hair, to try and pry his fingers open. Yuuri did not even notice, not feeling the sharp nails digging into his skin. All that mattered now was that Yuuri knew he had won as soon as he saw anger reflect in the other ruler's eyes. Now he was ready to tear Amae apart, limb by limb, right here in front of Faraya if he still opposed the Mazoku king.

 

Yuuri raised his hand again. Faraya's eyes narrowed.

 

“Alright,” Faraya spat. “Let's make a trade.”

 

Yuuri lowered his hand. “Bring Wolfram here!” he hissed.

 

A circle of fire engulfed Faraya and he blinked out of sight. Seconds, minutes, and then an hour passed… and, torn, Yuuri started thinking that he might have made a huge mistake. He threw a vicious look at Amae, who now was sitting on one of the chairs surrounded by the guards. If the concubine's idiotic plan failed… Yuuri had no idea what he would do to the concubine, but it would be nothing pleasant. Just to make sure that justice was served. As they waited, with nerves tense, Yuuri was joined by Gunter, then by Gwendal, and ultimately, Shori arrived.

 

Finally, nearly two hours after he had disappeared, Faraya appeared exactly in the same place. But this time he was not alone. He had brought Wolfram and one other man with him. Wolfram was unconscious. He was being held by one of the guards, bridal style. His blond head lolled on the man's shoulder and one arm trailed nervelessly down. Yuuri resisted the urge to call out. He motioned for his bodyguards to bring Amae to him.

 

Wolfram was being carried while Amae - with a royal guard at his side - walked to the middle of the hall and passed each other. The man carrying Wolfram stopped in front of the guard Yuuri had sent forward. The royal guard left Amae standing next to Faraya and turned back. The man who had brought Wolfram passed the unconscious prince off, and then did the same.

 

The two men and the new one who had just come with Faraya, and who had remained standing at Faraya's side during the exchange, made Yuuri very cautious. He was sure Faraya did not intend to let this end with just this. Yuuri himself had no wish to end it like this either. Yuuri had his brother, Gwendal, Gunter and other men at his side, but if one of the men at Faraya's side was the one who he presumed he was, this was going to turn out messy.

 

Squashing down the screaming desire to hurry to his husband, Yuuri stayed still, letting his suite of guards take care of Wolfram.

 

Faraya grinned at Yuuri. “Now that this formality is out of the way…”

 

Yuuri's head snapped to the side where Shori had blocked a huge fireball that had just materialized in midair. A gale force blast of air sent it back towards Faraya, slamming it into the opposite wall, blasting it outwards. The castle shook with the enormous noise, dust and screams filling the air.

 

Yuuri felt the dimension shift and knew that Shori was taking all of them away from the castle before it was destroyed. In a second they appeared in a green field, near a lake that Shori had visited a few times with his brother. The dust that had traveled with them started settling, and Yuuri saw that nearly everyone who had been in the hall, had been transferred here. With a quick scan, Yuuri was reassured to see that his husband was not here.

 

The short pause in the fight that had been created by the sudden change of their surroundings ended with one of Faraya's men splitting the ground. The new born abyss that tore towards Yuuri and his men made Yuuri's hair stand on end. He would have probably lost many of them if not for Gwendal, reacting at the last second, cracking the ground in parallel with them and diverting the direction of the growing abyss aside. The new crack razed the lake and the water started rushing into it.

 

Yuuri's water dragons rose from the lake and the newly formed ditch and flew towards the enemy. Yuuri could only gap in disbelief as his dragons were slowed by the same man who had just opened the abyss. The man had summoned a huge vortex.

 

A couple of other men with Faraya tried to do use the opportunity and launched a few fireballs and lightning bolts. That did not cause much trouble as Shori neutralized the bolts, and Gwendal instantly formed a shield from the ground to escape the gusts of wind. Just before they were surrounded by Gwendal's growing fortress of soil, Gunter's own lightning bolt struck one of the enemies to death.

 

The gust of wind that Shori summoned to repay Faraya for his earlier attack tore through the air with maddening power but was suddenly stopped with a horrendous noise as it smashed into an invisible barrier. It had been created by the same man who had already used the earth and water elements. There was no doubt left as to who he was.

 

But it was a too big strain to hold back Yuuri's dragons and create such a powerful shield at the same time and the vortex that had been keeping the dragons away suddenly swayed, lessened and the dragons plunged through, towards the enemy. They connected with Faraya's suddenly raised wall of fire and the deafening wham echoed in the mutilated valley, white vapor spreading thickly, the people now being hardly able to see anything.

 

“You know, Nuuos, Faraya tricked you. These men have no idea where Eola is.”

 

The ruler of Aliran turned around to look at the Great Sage who had somehow appeared next to him, amidst the vapor.

 

“You? What are you doing here?”

 

“You know, I also wonder about that at times,” Murata huffed scratching his short-haired head. “I prefer not to interfere when the rulers fight, but… Never mind that. Did you hear what I just said about Faraya tricking you?”

 

Nuuos looked lost. “But he said Yuuri kidnapped her. He would not lie.”

 

Murata rubbed his forehead; he always found it difficult to deal with fallow Nuuos. “He lied. Very likely Faraya is the one who is keeping Eola imprisoned. Just as Faraya did with Yuuri's husband.”

 

“But Yuuri was first to kidnap Amae!”

 

“Faraya kidnapped Wolfram. Amae surrendered to Yuuri of his own will. Amae and Wolfram are friends, so Amae wanted to make the matters more equal.”

 

The vapor around them had become thin, and Murata hoped that Nuuos would digest the new information quickly. For now though, Nuuos was just staring at Murata with his dirty green eyes.

 

“Nuuos! Clear away the damn mist!”

 

Nuuos' head turned to the side where Faraya's voice echoed from out of the thinning steam. His eyes suddenly caught with a mad flame. Behind him, Murata grinned and flickered out of view.

 

The whish of air that cleared off the vapor revealed a scene that stunned Yuuri: Faraya was fighting his companion. His other man was already lying on the ground, rendered unconscious. The ground under Faraya's feet suddenly shook and separated and he fell into a suddenly opened hole. Water poured into it, but it started hissing and evaporating as it was met by a flaming inferno. A fireball flew past Nuuos, but then Yuuri's dragons flowed into the newly created crater with Faraya, gradually overpowering his flames and casting huge amounts of steam into the air. As it was nearly impossible to see anything, Shori created a barrier around Faraya, making sure the man did not escape.

 

Faraya alone could not fight off the other three rulers. After trying to open the gate, he realized that he was not allowed to - at least two of the men had him trapped. Seeing that it was no use, Faraya stopped resisting. Slowly, the vapor faded, leaving Faraya buoying up in the middle of the crater, surrounded by the invisible barrier.

 

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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