It was a relatively quiet evening. The near setting sun shone in through the windows of the Beilschmidt household, illuminating a single figure inside. Aldrich sat on his bed, braiding his long hair for the night, as was customary. He breathed in the fresh air wafting in through the open window. With a house full of children, he had started to cherish these rare moments of peace very much. Speaking of which, thought Aldrich and glanced at the clock, it should be about time now... Just then, the silence was broken by the loud thumping of feet and the sound of cackling laughter. Ah, right on time. The footsteps grew louder until the door was thrown open and a tornado in the shape of a boy with silver blonde hair and red eyes came speeding through it, closely followed by a younger, blonde boy with blue eyes. "It's story time, Vati!" yelled the older one gleefully as he leapt onto the bed and plopped down next to his father. "Really, Gilbert? I had no idea," Aldrich smiled while he turned to lift his second son onto his lap. "Then it's good we came and told you! Right, Lutz?" Little Ludwig brushed his blonde bangs out of his eyes and nodded from his new seat, leaning against his dad.
"So, what kind of story do you want to hear?" Aldrich asked, not bothering to get up to browse the bookshelf. For some reason the boys had always preferred it when he told the stories himself instead of reading, whether he told ones that he remembered from his childhood or made new ones up as he went. Ludwig's thoughtful silence was abruptly broken by his brother. "Wait, let me tell a story!" he exclaimed, positively brimming with excitement. Aldrich eyed the boy, who seemed to just not be able to sit still, kicking his feet and gesturing with his hands. "All right then, let's hear it." Gilbert grinned from ear to ear and took a deep breath before beginning.
"Once upon a time, there were two princes. One was really awesome, no wait, actually he was the most awesome person in the whole kingdom! The other prince wasn't so awesome, but he was the most beautiful person ever! Then, one day, the beautiful prince got lost in the forest. The awesome prince saved him and then they lived happily ever after!"
The little boy looked up at his dad after ending his, if he may say so himself, very awesome story, eagerly awaiting a response. The adult German moved Ludwig, who had fallen asleep, into a more comfortable position before he turned to Gilbert again. "That was a very nice story," he said and smiled as the young boy's posture become a little straighter at the praise. Aldrich glanced at the silver haired child before tentatively questioning: "Is there a reason why there were two princes?" Gilbert beamed. "Because the awesome one is me, and the beautiful one is Roderich!" The corners of Aldrich's mouth twitched into a smile. He supposed he should have expected that. Absentmindedly watching as the red eyed troublemaker continued to grin while now poking his sleeping little brother, he imagined the coming years of a certain Roderich Edelstein and shook his head. For all of their sakes, he hoped the Austrian boy had the patience of a Saint.
