The return to the castle took much longer than their departure. Wolfram led the way at an easy pace out of consideration for the two incapacitated members of his squad, one of whom was seated woozily behind him. The new hoseki user was very different from the young girl who'd recommended him. Giro Reinhild had short spiked white hair and an overly sober glower that reminded him too much of Gwendal. He suspected the man also had a soft spot for cute little children, considering the one who'd recruited him as a replacement. Giro was also admirably strict and considerably more powerful than the girl had been; having brought his own hoseki, he used them with a skill that made Wolfram doubt his back story. He'd run the name past Gunter before allowing his squad to do another drill with the man. As it was, he had no one but himself to blame for their current condition. He'd ordered Giro to gradually increase the magic until he gave the word to cease, and Giro had done just that. Unfortunately his own stubborn pride had led him to resist much longer than was safe for some of his men, none of whom would willingly speak up to remind him that he was the leader for a reason. He was supposed to be more responsible than that.

The young man behind him swayed with each fluid step the horse took, one arm propped on the back of Wolfram's shoulders with his head ducked in the crook, his other arm wrapped loosely around Wolfram's waist. Wolfram kept a tight hold on the second arm. Daniel was riding at his side and would warn him if the man passed out and threatened to slip from the horse, but Wolfram wasn't taking any chances. Besides, Daniel had his own incapacitated soldier to watch out for. Wolfram knew it was a morale booster for the younger members of his squad to see how weakly Lukas was seated, doubled behind his third in command. That would be a point to tease him over after they recovered; for all his experience, Lukas had behaved every bit as stubbornly as Wolfram himself and now he was paying for that. Having suffered sea sickness his entire life, Wolfram had nothing but sympathy for the two drunkenly dazed men. He'd still take part in the teasing of Lukas because, as his second in command, Lukas was the one who should have reminded him to stop before half of his squad was almost too weak to guide their mounts back to the castle. If it hadn't been for Daniel, who had more than his share of pride to make up for his lack of foolhardy stubbornness, they would have ended up spending the night in the field.

Despite having let the drill run too long, he knew it was a good practice session. Even the weakest of his squad had remained conscious, and Giro had used two red hoseki the size of his large fists before Wolfram was forced to concede for the day. He still hadn't managed any form of shielding against the magic. He didn't know if that would even be possible. The point was to build a tolerance, and they were certainly progressing on that front. He hoped Giro's background would check out because finding another hoseki user with that much strength who was willing to stay in the city would be next to impossible. If he did come out clean, the next step would be actual duels against the magic, at an increasingly closer range so the trial would be double; withstanding the activated hoseki and retaining enough concentration to control their magic at the same time. Once again he resented Gwendal's stubborn refusal to let them cross the border into human territory. Maybe they weren't ready for that at the moment, but it was only a matter of time. And with Yuuri's return they had more than enough human allies with unused land that it shouldn't be difficult to find one willing to permit his small group entry. Any strengthening of Shin Makoku's forces was a benefit to allies, after all. Still, it would be a while before they were finished with the training they could do on their on land. He'd raise the issue again when they'd reached that point. A small demonstration for Gunter and Gwendal should be enough to prove his point. Neither of them had as much resistance to the mere presence of hoseki as even the weakest of his squad now had. Yes, a demonstration would be just the thing. And if either of the men became sick, well, that wouldn't be so bad, either.

"Ah," Daniel called, his quiet tone forcing a garbled groan from the boy behind him, "I don't like your smile, Captain."

"You would if you knew what I was thinking," Wolfram smirked.

Daniel nodded sagely, the movement earning him a weak punch to the shoulder that he firmly ignored. "You could always share."

"I could," agreed Wolfram. But he wasn't going to and Daniel knew better than to ask. It was one thing to insult his brother in his thoughts, and another to say it aloud in front of his men. He tilted his head, addressing his swaying passenger in a quiet tone. "Can you handle a trot to the castle? Five minutes at most."

"Yes, Captain," came the thready response, followed by a slight tightening of the arm around his waist.

Wolfram sniffed at the title. He wasn't a captain and likely never would be. Daniel had coined the term, his calm influence on the group such that whatever he said they automatically repeated. So long as they didn't use it in front of anyone outside their squad, Wolfram wouldn't complain. He turned an amused look on the two riding to his right. "Are you going to slow us down, Lukas?"

The boy raised his head high enough to glower through sweaty bangs, his tone thick and droll, "No, Captain."

"That's what I like to hear," Wolfram said, his voice loud enough to carry to the entire group. "There are no weaklings in my squad."

There was an immediate affirmative, even from the boy behind him, and Wolfram grinned as he picked up the pace. They weren't the elite for nothing. Each one of his men were handpicked and each one would hold his head up to the bitter end, no matter the odds. Even the newer members who were so wary of his temper were loyal at the end of the day. That was more important than anything.

He slowed when they reached the courtyard, immediately calling out to the stablehand who came to meet them, "Fetch Gisela."

The man looked them over with wide eyes and ran off without asking any questions. Wolfram watched him for a moment. That was enough to spot Yuuri across the way, playing catch with Conrad. The scene was so familiar, something he hadn't seen in so long, that he stared for nearly a minute before he realized Yuuri was staring back at him. He gave a grudging nod, only because he'd never ignored Yuuri in front of anyone who wasn't family and had no intention of starting now. He bit back the furious 'cheater' that tried to spring from his mouth. There was no point. If everyone at the castle knew their engagement was a fraud, that included his squad. He turned his attention back on his men. They were waiting silently for him. He dismounted carefully and reached back to help his passenger to the ground. Daniel followed, and then the others. The most fit of them took care of the horses, leaving him and Daniel to support their burdens across the yard. The boy beside him was turning pasty white, biting his lower lip with an expression Wolfram recognized instantly. His own stomach roiled at the thought. He told himself firmly that if the boy threw up on him it would be his own fault. He would not yell at him. And he absolutely would not throw up with him. No matter how much he wanted to.

Yuuri ran over to them and paced alongside him, "What happened?"

"Nothing," Wolfram snapped. Yuuri was looking at him more than the obviously suffering boy hanging off his shoulders. For some reason that annoyed him. "We were training."

"You're bleeding," Yuuri protested, staring at his stained uniform with the same expression the stablehand had given him.

"I'm not," Wolfram said sharply. Was Yuuri making an effort to embarrass him? The soldier beside him gave a stilted lurch and Wolfram's throat tightened. The boy was definitely going to vomit. Not here, not in the courtyard in front of startled servants and his fiancé and Conrad, who, for some unknown reason, was watching with blatant amusement in his eyes. Wolfram stopped in his tracks and gave Yuuri an embarrassed frown, his voice coming out thick due to the nausea roiling in his stomach. "I'll explain later."

He dropped to his knees and pulled the sick boy's arms over his shoulders with a muttered, "Up." The boy gave a feeble protest that Wolfram ignored as firmly as he was ignoring the sick taste creeping up into the back of his throat. The kid could throw up on him as soon as he got within lunging distance of a bedpan. Not here. He knew this was his own fault, but that didn't make him any more willing to be sick right here.

Yuuri took a few steps, his mouth open to offer his help because honestly Wolfram didn't look much better than the poor boy he was carrying. Conrad caught him before he could speak, laying a heavy hand on his shoulder. Yuuri glanced back and was startled by how calm Conrad looked, as if he wasn't the least bit concerned. When he looked back again, Wolfram had already disappeared into the castle.

"Don't worry," said Conrad. "It's nothing a little rest and some help from Gisela won't cure. They're training to resist hoseki," he explained, when Yuuri gave him a doubtful look. "Those with high maryoku suffer debilitating nausea at close contact, remember? A person might cough up blood if the exposure is prolonged, but there isn't any permanent damage." He gave a smile, letting that amusement spread from his eyes to his mouth. "They've been working on this since you left. Wolfram knows what he's doing. You can bet that whatever mistake he made today, he won't be making again. He takes good care of his squad."

"Oh," Yuuri blinked, sending another look at the door.

He turned to look at the boys exiting the stables. They looked back as they filed past, some of their expressions wary, but just as curious as his own. All of them appeared exhausted, too pale, and a few had as much blood splattered on the front of their uniforms as Wolfram had. It reminded him of the first time he'd seen Wolfram's "elite guard" and wondered, only half jokingly, if they'd been chosen because they were all young and pretty. The last one to exit the stables was the only one who didn't look as if he'd just been through a day of torture. He was a full head taller than the others and looked almost as old as Shori. Yuuri didn't have to ask to guess this was the token half-mazoku member of the squad; hoseki wouldn't have bothered him no matter how long the training lasted. He did wonder, though, why he hadn't helped support one of the two incapacitated boys. The boy stopped and bowed respectfully, and Yuuri decided not to ask. It was probably the sort of thing that would make Wolfram angry with him.

"Heika," the boy greeted, "Weller-kyo."

"How was the training?" asked Conrad.

"Good. We have a new hoseki user. Much better than the last one."

"Too much better?" Conrad ventured, that amusement dancing over his eyes again.

"Possibly," the boy said. "The Captain's going to check him out."

"Nothing to worry about, then," smiled Conrad.

The boy gave another half bow and wandered off across the courtyard.

Yuuri stared after him. "Why didn't he go in with the others?"

"He's one of mine," said Conrad. "He can't quite match swords with Wolfram, but hoseki has no effect on him, so he's very useful in the squad. They never go out without him now."

Yuuri shot him a disbelieving look. "Wolfram asked for one of your men? Willingly?"

Conrad laughed and prodded him towards the castle. "I assure you, he didn't enjoy a moment of it. But, yes, he did. And despite Florian being one of my men, he's quite tight lipped about what goes on during Wolfram's training. Just between you and me, Heika, I think he has a crush on his new 'Captain.'"

Yuuri stopped in surprise, whipping around to stare in the direction the older boy had gone. Conrad gave another soft laugh and patted his back.

"Don't worry," said Conrad. "I doubt you'll ever have to worry about Wolfram being unfaithful."

"I wasn't worried," Yuuri said quickly, his tone just shy of an outright pout. "It's just...weird, is all. Ordering around someone who has a crush on you? That'd be really awkward. And don't call me Heika, Nazukeoya."

"Ah," Conrad smiled. "I'm sorry, Yuuri. It should be safe to go after him now," he nodded, with another light prod toward the door. "You might want to hurry, though, if you plan to catch him before dinner. I doubt he'll be making an appearance tonight. Hoseki has about the same effect as a ship, where Wolfram's concerned."

"Oh," Yuuri grimaced.

In that case Wolfram probably wouldn't be in the mood to talk to anyone tonight, let alone him. But it couldn't hurt to check. Probably. And if Wolfram chased him off, he'd just try again tomorrow. Even Wolfram wouldn't be stubborn enough to take his men out again after dragging them home so exhausted. He gave a cheerful wave to Conrad, feeling more hopeful than he had since he'd first realized his fiancé was avoiding him. It wasn't until he stepped into the hall that he realized he had no idea where in the castle Wolfram had gone.

.-.
TBC

-notes-
Other chapters will be longer. Keep in mind the first two chapters were written in the same day. They should even each other out.