Chapter 5

oOoOo

It was around 7 in the morning when Anissina woke up to the feeling that something cold is around her wrist. "Maybe I just got used to having the cuff around my wrist…" she thought at first, but when she took a closer look when she opened her eyes, she realized that there is, indeed, a cuff around her left wrist. Again. Her eyes widened as she instantly sat up and followed the trail of the chain connected to her cuff and it led to another cuff that was securely around Gwendal's right wrist. He, on the other hand, was still sound asleep and seemingly unaware that they were manacled again.

She felt weird. "Why in the world are we manacled again?" she asked out loud in disbelief before reaching for the key that she remembers putting on the bedside table with the manacles before going to sleep. Much to her panic, the key was not there. "Gwendal!!!"

Gwendal opened his eyes and gazed at her sleepily. "What now? It's too early…" he trailed off when he noticed that he was manacled again to Anissina. "What the—…" he sat up, staring horridly at the cuff around his right wrist. "I thought we…" he stammered.

"I know!" she said in exasperation before dragging him out of the bed. "The key is missing!" she declared.

"What? But why?" he asked.

"Are you sure you didn't manacle us while I was asleep?" she asked suspiciously.

He frowned at her. "No, of course not! Why would I even do that?" he answered with a confused expression. "Ooooh…. Where, where, where is that key?" he heard her say in exasperation as she began to frantically search the bed area for it. He just breathed in and began to help her. "I thought you enjoyed being manacled with me?" he asked.

"I thought we're getting engaged? I didn't dream of getting engaged or getting married while I'm chained to my future husband! A lot of people are going to perceive that in a very negative way!" she explained.

Gwendal blinked. "Come to think about it, you're right…" he said weakly.

They spent another hour and 30 minutes more just looking for the key until somebody began to knock on the door to interrupt them. They stopped and looked at each other with serious looks on their faces. "Nobody else knows that the cat returned with the key and kittens, right?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. I don't think so." He replied, although he looked unsure.

"Anissina, Gwendal? It's Yuuri." Said the voice from outside the door.

"It's his majesty!" the two exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh… can I come in?" Yuuri called out from outside.

Gwendal looked at Anissina. "Well? This is your room," he pointed out.

Anissina jerked slightly. Her mind had become disoriented because of the early-morning commotion. "Come in, your majesty!" she said pleasantly before turning to Gwendal. "Are you sure we didn't dream of being separated from these manacles last night? Like your cat really returned and it wasn't a dream?" she rambled to him.

Gwendal understood why she was acting that way but what he was surprised of was the fact that she actually admitted to actually fantasizing about getting engaged or married someday when she was a child. He just kept quiet as the door opened and there was Yuuri with the Maou's crown on his head and the royal cape draped on his shoulders. He was also holding the royal scepter and he appeared to be sneaking away from somebody. "Can I stay here for a while?" the young Maou asked with a weak smile on his face as he quickly stepped inside and shut the door.

"Your majesty, you look great!" Anissina remarked in amazement.

Yuuri blushed slightly. "Gee, thanks. Uh… why aren't the two of you dressed in your party clothes yet?" he asked.

Gwendal suddenly remembered the annual royal ball of the nobles that was to take place in 30 minutes. "Thank you for reminding us," he said before showing him the chains. "But we're still chained together." He pointed out.

Yuuri stared at the manacles with a confused look on his face. "Haven't you been chained for 6 months now?" he asked.

"Well yes, your highness, but last night, Gwendal's cat arrived but she has kittens already. Luckily when she returned, she brought the key with her." Anissina explained.

Yuuri's face lit up in delight. "Oh, so those are the kittens of Gwendal's cat! Greta was wondering on whose kittens are those. She wants to keep one as a pet." He explained.

"Really? Well she can have one or both." Gwendal answered before turning to Anissina. "And it looks like we are going to be late again."

"Yet another grand entrance." Anissina mumbled.

Yuuri smiled. "Don't worry, I'll enter with you guys. I don't really want to go out there as of the moment. The guests have begun to arrive and Stoffel's one of them… even though he was here quite earlier than the others. I was still in the middle of doing my morning exercises in the courtyard when he arrived!" he explained. He looked up at the ceiling, wondering about something. "And come to think of it, he seems excited about something." He added.

Anissina breathed in and smiled. "Well, your highness, today's his lucky day. Come on, Gwendal, I need to change into my ballgown." She declared before heading over to her dressing room.

Yuuri blinked. "His lucky day? Why? What do you mean?" he asked.

Anissina did not answer anymore; she just shut the door of her dressing room.

Yuuri sulked. "Man. I guess it's a surprise." He muttered. Then there was another knock on the door. Yuuri just hoped that the person outside was not Gunter or Stoffel, otherwise, he would have to jump out of the window. "Yeah?" he called out nervously.

It was Conrart.

"Oh, I'm so glad it's you!" Yuuri said in relief with a weak smile on his face.

Conrart stepped inside and carefully closed the door. "It's a surprise to see you here, your majesty," he told him. "I actually came here to see if the two are ready because mother is already summoning them to the ballroom." He explained.

"Anissina's getting dressed now. I think you should get Gwendal's formal clothes so that it would not be a hassle anymore for them to transfer to his room." Yuuri suggested.

Conrart smiled. "I'll do it." He said before stepping out of the room again.

Meanwhile, Yuuri was fiddling with something inside the right pocket of his trousers and he was smirking to himself. Just then, Wolfram entered the room, surprising Yuuri that he pulled out his hand from his pocket. "You startled me!" he remarked.

"So, are they up yet?" Wolfram asked.

"Well… yeah. They are." Yuuri answered.

Wolfram approached him and stared at the bed before turning his gaze to him again. "Where did you hide it?" he asked.

"In my pocket. I just hope I don't lose it." Yuuri replied with a worried look on his face.

"You wimp. If you lose that we're going to get into big trouble!" Wolfram pointed out.

"Well she wouldn't know anyway." Yuuri said.

"Right. But he can easily tell her." Wolfram said.

"My, my, it's too early and you two lovebirds are already fighting?" Anissina remarked as she and Gwendal stepped out of her dressing room, revealing to them her red off-shoulder ballgown with black lace and velvet trimmings.

Yuuri and Wolfram gaped at her as if they had seen the most amazing thing they could ever see—for that day, at least. "WOW!" Yuuri exclaimed, blushing at the sight of Anissina. Even Wolfram did not get the chance to react with a jealous fit because he himself thought that Anissina really looked very beautiful. They just managed to look away from her when they heard Gwendal clearing his throat. Yuuri and Wolfram saw that his left eye was twitching and they just smiled weakly. "I swear, brother, I didn't mean to stare for so long…" the latter stammered weakly.

Conrart arrived again with Gwendal's formal attire but when he saw Anissina, he could not help but stare as well. "Oh my goodness. You're the most beautiful lady that I've ever seen today, Anissina," he remarked in amazement as he approached her and Gwendal to hand his older brother the clothes. Surprisingly, she blushed and giggled but she smacked him on the left shoulder to express her flattery. "Oh, I'll bet you said that to over 15 ladies already for today, Lord Weller!" she said with a tone that sounded very pleased yet a little bit sarcastic. Conrart held the area where she smacked him and just smiled weakly while trying to mind off the slight pain.

"Stop that, Anissina. I have to get dressed." Gwendal said gruffly as he dragged her with him back to her dressing room.

"My, she can really get us into too much trouble if she wishes to." Wolfram muttered to Conrart.

"Relax, Wolfram, she's just trying to make Gwendal jealous." Conrart said calmly.

"How's Gwendal when he's jealous? Does he act like Wolfram over here?" Yuuri asked.

Wolfram elbowed him. "Hey, what did you mean by that? Are you trying to insult me?" he demanded.

"N…no." Yuuri stammered as he moved away from Wolfram while clutching the area of his side where he got elbowed.

Conrart chuckled. "I don't really remember too much but when I was only 20, there was this other boy who tried to impress Anissina by showing off his gadgets which he bought from his father's expedition into other cities. When Gwendal thought that nobody's looking, he pushed that boy to the ground quite hard that the boy injured his own wrists." He explained.

Yuuri's eyes widened upon hearing that anecdote about Gwendal.

Wolfram smiled proudly. "That's nothing compared to what I've seen!" he said before turning to Yuuri. "I was only 15 when this one happened: Conrart was undergoing dancing lessons with Gunter but he didn't have a female partner so Gunter made him dance with Anissina." And he began to laugh just as Conrart's facial expression turned sour.

Yuuri blinked. "Then, what happened?" he asked.

Wolfram looked at Conrart. "He cried when Gwendal threatened him, saying, 'How dare you! Are you trying to steal her away from me?'" he narrated, lowering his voice to a pitch that sounded almost like a growl to them in an effort to imitate his eldest brother's voice. Wolfram laughed at Conrart's misfortune.

"Please, that wasn't funny at all. I was very young back then and I was afraid of him that's why I ended up weeping." Conrart explained with a weak tone.

"Yeah and you ran to mother crying and she was having a meeting with a king from some foreign land!" Wolfram pointed out while laughing.

Conrart had a glum look on his face as he crossed his arms and looked away. "Like what I said, I was very young." He mumbled.

Gwendal and Anissina arrived from the dressing room. "What are you oafs talking about?" he asked gruffly.

Wolfram scowled at his eldest brother. "Who are you calling an oaf?" he demanded haughtily.

"Alright, that is enough. We have to go to the ballroom now." Conrart told the two.

"Uh… guys, do me a favor, can you stand close enough to me? Just to keep Stoffel away. I don't want him butt-kissing again or anything." Yuuri explained.

"Aha. Apparently his highness is also able to tell Stoffel's attitude. Congratulations, your highness." Anissina said with a sweet smile on her face.

"It's very obvious." Yuuri said, shrugging.

"Very well let's go to the ballroom now; I'm sure all the guests are waiting for you, your majesty," Conrart said.

Yuuri turned to Gwendal and Anissina. "You two don't seem to be reluctant anymore to go out in public with those manacles." He pointed out with an amused look on his face.

"Well we can't exactly do anything about it now." Gwendal answered, keeping a straight face as he did so. Anissina, on the other hand, was just quiet.

oOoOo

As expected by the guests, King Yuuri made his grand entrance with his usual entourage that consisted of Wolfram, Conrart, Gwendal and Gunter, but they did not expect to see Anissina with them and standing by Gwendal. They all wondered how long she will be chained to Gwendal and if those manacles were really a ploy by Stoffel so that Gwendal can really get married for his convenience.

The Welcoming Ceremony lasted for almost two hours and a half thanks to the speech cited by Stoffel and the full version of the very long nation anthem for Shin Makoku. Yuuri just sat on his throne with a bored look on his face as Stoffel was making his speech.

"It's not really a speech, he's just rambling…" Yuuri was thinking to himself while fighting the urge to yawn. He just wondered how Wolfram and the rest can endure standing without poker-faced expression, pretending to listen to what Stoffel has to say for the sake of showing respect.

The party officially began by noontime and everyone was doing any of the following things: eating, drinking, dancing or socializing.

"Oh finally I can stand up!" Yuuri said as he carefully got up to stretch his legs.

"I'd like to sit down first; my legs are killing me!" Wolfram said before heading over to the chairs. He met Murata along the way and greeted him.

When Gunter saw Murata he asked where he had been because he was required to stand by Yuuri's side during the welcoming ceremony but he was not around.

"I was just outside. The doors closed before I could even enter. Anyway, I guess it was more fun being outside than being here." Murata answered before turning to Gwendal and Anissina. "I understand you have a query in your hearts and minds?" he asked pleasantly.

The two were surprised at him. How could he possibly know? "Well, he's the Great Sage so it's inevitable…" Anissina thought silently.

"One of you was praying to Shinou. Shinou told me about it. Just so you know, he has allowed the marriage. Actually he already gave his consent several years ago the first time Lord von Voltaire even thought about it." Murata explained.

Gwendal felt his cheeks getting warmer upon Murata's revelation for Anissina, Conrart, Yuuri and Gunter to hear.

"Oh, is that so? Well that's splendid then! Gwendal, who are you marrying?" Gunter asked with a teasing smile on his face while looking at Anissina.

"You've been praying for this all along?" Anissina asked in exasperation, eyeing Gwendal with a frown.

"…Why? Is it wrong to pray to Shinou?" was all he could reason.

Murata chuckled. "Congratulations!" he cheered.

Yuuri clapped his hands before turning to the guests to call their attention. "Everybody! Look here! I have an announcement to make!" he called out.

Everybody turned their attention immediately to the Maou and stared at him in wonder.

Cecilie stepped forward from the crowd and approached the throne. "Your highness, the party's just getting started and you already have an announcement to make?" she asked, amused.

"I'm afraid this can't wait, Lady Celi," Murata pointed out before urging for Yuuri to continue.

Yuuri breathed in. "I'd like to announce…"

"Wait, your majesty," Anissina began, interrupted him. Gwendal felt his heart jump when she did so but he did not say anything.

"Yes, Lady Anissina? What's wrong?" Yuuri asked.

"I think… I need to think things through…" she began.

Cecilie already knew what was coming up and she squealed in delight. "Oh, is this an announcement of Gwendal and Anissina's engagement?" she asked happily.

The words could be compared to abracadabra because Stoffel suddenly arrived out of nowhere. "What? Is that true?" he asked, his face had a very delighted look on it.

Gwendal felt his left eye twitch upon discovering that Stoffel was there. "Mother, can you shoo him away?" he muttered to Cecilie; but she was too preoccupied with the thought that her eldest son is finally going to get married and she began to feel excited about having grandchildren that she was rambling to Murata and Gunter about her utmost happiness. She even began to cry tears of joy.

Anissina could see her father and older brother in the crowd and they were looking at her in wonder. They were beginning to notice the confusion in her eyes.

"Uh-oh. I think she's gonna back-out." Demitri told his father.

Gisela was standing was standing by the chair where Wolfram was seated, holding his drink for him while Greta was seated on his lap. "If she backs out now, she'll end up breaking Gwendal's heart again… and hers too." Wolfram said softly.

"Anissina, I'm already giving you the opportunity to slap my face right now in front of everybody." Gwendal mumbled to her.

"But I'm not…" she said.

Gisela smiled weakly. "Look at her, Wolfram, it's like she's freaked out by the idea of marriage." She pointed out while observing the look on Anissina's face.

Everyone began to whisper among themselves about Anissina, the ultimate feminist and the most influential woman in Shin Makoku. "If she gets married now, all her efforts for women empowerment will go down the drain!" some of them were saying.

"And I thought she's trying to put up a good example…"

Anissina breathed in as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "Lady Anissina," she heard Yuuri speaking to her. She immediately turned to him and when she did so, she was surprised upon seeing him smiling at her. The way he was looking and smiling at her reminded her so much of Suzanna Julia, one of her old friends. Anissina stared wide-eyed at him as he spoke in a reassuring tone, "It's going to be okay. You care so much for Gwendal, right? Besides, I know that even if you get married, you can still serve as a good example for women everywhere, but this time, as a good wife who still knows her rights as a woman. The fight isn't over, Anissina."

Anissina's mouth dropped open but she was not able to speak. She just stared at him in silence as she recalled that the same words were spoken to her by Suzanna Julia several years ago. Her thoughts were interrupted when Stoffel spoke up again, this time, he actually approached her. "Anissina, what's wrong with you? Aren't you friends with my nephew? Don't you want to save your best friend from losing his family name?" he demanded of her.

She frowned at him before deciding to turn away, forgetting that she was still manacled to Gwendal, and started to walk down from the throne's pedestal, but Gwendal kept still, preventing her from moving further. She turned back to him. "Gwendal, I don't want to be here anymore!" she said.

He stepped down with a stern look on his face before raising his right hand to her, causing her to left hand and wrist to go with it since they are still manacled to Gwendal. Everyone just stared in surprise as they watched Gwendal von Voltaire slap Anissina's left cheek with the palm of his right hand.

The whole ballroom became silent as they all stared in shock at the aftermath. Anissina just stood there. She could not believe what just happened. She was supposed to be the one to slap his face to show everyone that even women can do the proposing, but the words of Julia from before just echoed in her head.

Stoffel broke the silence by crying out in joy as he clasped his hands together. "Finally! Now, accept the proposal, Anissina!" he said.

Anissina regained her composure and she angrily turned to Stoffel and eyed him in disgust. "Just so you know, von Spitzweg, I am not marrying your nephew just because he needs to save his family name. I am marrying him for love." She smirked at him. "Well I would've married him a hundred and fifty years go but you just had to ruin the moment." She said rolling her eyes. She turned to Gwendal and smiled at him despite the stinging she could feel on her left cheek. "And I accept your proposal, Gwendal." She said finally.

Gwendal felt the blood draining from his face. "…really?" he asked breathlessly.

"You seem scared now." Conrart pointed out.

Anissina just smiled sweetly at her new fiancée.

Gwendal fainted, taking her with him to the floor.

"Goodness!" Gunter reacted in surprise as he jumped away for a moment.

"Gee… I knew this was bound to happen." Wolfram muttered.

Gisela giggled. "Lord von Voltaire was afraid that she would hurt him or nag him for slapping her face. I guess he's just relieved now that she didn't." she said.

Greta sighed dreamily. "Wow. That's very romantic!" she said, swooning.

"A… a little help here, please?" Anissina called out, reaching for Conrart and Yuuri who immediately came to her aid.

Nikolai von Karbelnikoff began to cry. "Oh… I'm about to lose my baby girl…" he said.

Demitri face-faulted. "They're not even married yet, father, stop crying! You can visit her anytime you want anyway because you're retired!" he pointed out.

Cecilie faced the crowd with an excited look on her face. "Oh, this is really a big celebration so let's all have fun for the rest of the day!!!" she exclaimed happily.

As Conrart was helping Anissina, he noticed that Yuuri was reaching for something from his pocket. To their surprise, Yuuri brought out the key to the manacles.

Anissina gasped. "Your highness!" she exclaimed. She suddenly did not know how to feel—angry, confused or happy.

Yuuri smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, Lady Anissina. Gwendal wanted me to help him. While you were asleep last night, he manacled himself to you so that he can be assured that you wouldn't run away at the thought of marriage!" he explained before finally unlocking the manacles to release them. "Here you go." He said brightly.

Anissina was still in a state of shock and she was at a loss for words.

Gwendal slowly opened his eyes just when Conrart had helped him up. "What the… did I dream of everything that just happened?" Gwendal mumbled.

Conrart smiled at his older brother. "Apparently not." He answered lightheartedly.

Anissina got on her feet and eyed Gwendal in annoyance. "You set me up!" she pointed out.

Gwendal could feel the blood draining from his face again as he turned to Yuuri.

Yuuri smiled weakly. "I told her the truth already; I just couldn't lie to her! Besides, you're engaged now so I don't think you have anything to worry about anymore…" he said.

Anissina just placed her hands on her hips as she took a deep breath before smiling at Gwendal. "Oh well. What else can I do? There's no turning back now." She said before she approached him and pulled him away from Conrart. "Dance with me, Gwendal!" she invited happily.

"What? But…" Gwendal began, feeling embarrassed. He never really thought of himself as a good dancer.

"Very well," she released him. "I'll just dance with Conrart instead." She said, turning to Conrart, who just stood there frozen like a deer that's about to get hit by a car.

Gwendal grunted and he instantly snatched Anissina's arm and dragged her to the dancefloor. "Oh no, you don't." he said, but as they were finally dancing, he was eyeing Conrart suspiciously.

"I advise that you don't look at her anymore for the rest of the day," Gunter whispered to Conrart with a weak smile on his face.

Conrart just smiled weakly. "Yes, I think that's the right thing to do." He said.

Yuuri was watching Gwendal and Anissina dancing with a soft smile on his face. Murata was observing the look on his face and he smiled. "You seem very pleased about something, Shibuya." He pointed out.

Yuuri turned to his friend and smiled. "Yeah. For some reason, I really feel very happy right now." He said, mindlessly clutching the pendant containing the crest of the von Wincott family.

"Oooh. What are these?" asked Rinji von Wincott as he approached the throne and picked up the manacles lying around by Yuuri's foot.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you. Those are magical." Yuuri pointed out.

Rinji blinked. "Really?" the little boy asked in amazement.

"Lady Anissina made those. Aren't her inventions really wonderful?" Murata asked.

The mention of Anissina's name made Rinji smile even more. "Really? Lady Anissina made these? I wanna try…" he turned around and spotted Conrart's left wrist.

"No, don't!" Yuuri reacted in shock, but he was not able to do anything else. Rinji moved too fast. He secured the cuff around Conrart's left wrist, and the other cuff around Gunter's right wrist, stunning the two.

"Oh. You little brat! Anissina didn't really teach you about restraint, did she?" Gunter reacted in disdain while looking at the manacles.

"Your majesty, I do hope you still have the key…" Conrart began nervously as Yuuri began to look for key in all his possible pockets but he could not find it. "Oh no…" Conrart mumbled.

Rinji just laughed. "You're too slow!" he said, showing the key to them before running off with it.

"Oh! Come back here, you…" and Gunter ran after the little boy, dragging a helpless and dumbfounded Conrart with him.

oOoOo

-the end.