A/N: Hello everyone! This is a story that I hope will turn into a quite good one, as I have a few ideas for it, and I think it'll turn out well. :D It's based off of an image I found on Tumblr: http:/25(dot)media(dot)tumblr(dot)com/tumblr_m15m4oqCnu1r015jwo1_500(dot)jpg

And if there are any Italian speakers out there, please tell me if I spelled/wrote the title wrong; I don't want angry messages pouring in my inbox because of a title mistake! D:

Hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Chapter 1

"Verdammt, Gilbert, stop it!" Ludwig Beilschmidt exclaimed, trying to shrug off his eager older brother's constant dragging him towards the crowd. Couldn't his brother see he didn't want to go anywhere at such an hour? After a successful yank, he glared at him in the eyes, brushing off the dust from his green coat and wiping his forehead, which was covered in sweat from being forced to run extremely quickly. "I told you before, I don't want to come to some silly little children's circus!"

Gilbert stopped for the first time ever since he dragged Ludwig out of the house. Leave it to his brother to not want to come to the Night Carnival. "First of all," He held up his index finger, "It is not a circus, little Ludi. Circuses are filled with non-awesome clowns and creepy-ass future-telling women." He shuddered, his small golden pet Gilbird cheeping from his head in agreement, "There's a difference, you know, West. Second of all," He added his index finger, "the English loser from the bar-"

"Arthur Kirkland?" Ludwig asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, him! He recommended coming here, claiming that it was a lot of fun, and that-"

"All he said was that you wouldn't be awesome if you didn't come, and you, being the extreme stubborn ass you are, couldn't afford to reject that challenge, even from a constantly drunk idiot."

"Aw, c'mon, West!" Gilbert punched his little brother in the arm, grinning, "It's not everyday we go out and have fun! I mean, after you come back from work, all you do is lock yourself up in your room like a total sissy, crawl in the corner and read your little dirty books and vide-"

"Shut up!" Ludwig slammed his palm over Gilbert's mouth, his blue eyes glaring at his brother's red orbs. "I don't do that, and you know it."

Gilbert smirked for a brief moment but then shook his head, his silver hair falling over his face. "You know what I mean. We never actually anything together. Ever since Mum and Dad passed, you just work all day, come home, work all night, and then practically pass out at two in the morning. It's about time you took a break. And even if I have to take the word of a drunkard, I think that this place will be kinda fun."

Ludwig sighed deeply, a small cloud of fog flowing out of his mouth as he scratched his head. It was true, though. Neither of them had a single ounce of rest since both their parents had died and the entire debt they owed to their previous boss had fallen on the two brothers, who were now forced to work until the debt was paid off. "Fine." He said, "But just one night, all right? I still have to finish the paperwork from today's work."

The pair of red eyes immediately brightened as Gilbert heard the words, and he grabbed Ludwig by his light brown scarf, dragging him through the gates and the crowd. "Well then come on!"

The blonde sighed, knowing this wouldn't be an easy night.

"What kind of carnival opens at night?" Ludwig thought, his arms crossed over his chest. He watched as children hyped up on the sticky caramel he saw being sold earlier ran around, waving their arms as they watched a few magicians hold up their sleek black hats, pulling up pearl-white rabbits by their rosy ears. He couldn't believe that Gilbert had to drag him in, and then was immediately charmed by a female "fortune-telling master", patting him on the shoulder and telling him to go have fun. A few adults were charmed as well, as they were fascinated by a few of the mechanic-based tricks. He looked around, a bit surprised that nearby spectators were simply letting themselves be aroused by the machine-made tricks of cheap magicians in tacky-colored robes, their bushy mustaches kissing the hand of a giggling, blushing lady or smiling at an applauding gentleman. A sickly scent of roses and lilies bushed together danced around his nose, and he rubbed it, sneezing slightly in the process. Damn allergies. He smacked his forehead with his palm, upset. "Of course Gilbert would want to come to a crazy place at such an hour, and then leaves me alone to go 'have fun'. What did he think, that just taking a few pictures of him with the carnival 'magicians' would make him immediately awesome because of the word of a drunkard? What is he, idiotic or childish?" He shook his head and looked up at the dark blue sky, shuddering as he placed his gloved hands in his emerald green coat pocket. The upper atmosphere looked like a dark sapphire cloak, with snow-white stars strung around, decorating the entire area as it hung over them. The cool wind breezed over and made him shudder again, yet he felt relaxed as it swirled around him, as if for once, he had taken a true break from work. No, he did not take out an engineering book and read it, or even look at a world atlas, imagining the places he had always wanted to travel to when he was young. Just staring at the dark, beautiful night sky admirably, and doing nothing else.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the sharp cold air and then letting it out. Maybe Gilbert was- for once in his life- right. The blonde needed some time off, as he always thought he was the one of the two that had to work the most, seeing as Gilbert would always go off and party almost every other night, leaving him to work. "And this isn't so bad," He thought, watching as another purple-cloaked magician held up a torch and then threw it in the air multiple times while kissing a giggling elder lady's hand, "I mean, sure, I can tell which mechanics they're using to perform all these tricks, but..." He shook his head, the sound of squealing children and the smell of the flowers both getting worse, "Screw this. I've gotta find Gilbert and get out of here before this little children's fantasy eats me alive. Besides, I've still got paperwork to finish from today morning."

He started to walk quickly, pacing forward as his arms swung back and forth by his side in an attempt to help himself walk faster. He took multiple turns whenever he saw different, multi-colored and multi-patterned tents, asking many people questions as to where the entrance was, knowing that was the last place he saw his older brother before he started panting like a dog in front of the brunette gypsy. He sighed and looked around, beads of sweat forming on the side of his neck as he nervously bit his lip.

Shit.

He, Ludwig Beilschmidt, who memorized the layout of his university the first day of freshman year, was lost in this carnival hell.

Ludwig started to run, turning around random corners and pushing past spectators and magicians when-

"AAAAH!"

He immediately came to a halt, but it was no use. He crashed into the person in front of him, and fell back into the dirt, rubbing his head. "S-Sorry," He mumbled as he tried to ease the pain throbbing in his forehead, "Are you alright?"

"Goddammit, you bastard!" The voice retorted, and Ludwig looked up. A rather short Italian brunette in a cream-colored cloak and suit was yelling at him angrily, his dark brown eyes glaring at him behind the bronze mask he wore on the upper part of his face. A small brown curl that stuck out from his right side of his head twitched angrily as he stormed towards the blonde. "Watch where you're going!"

"Look, I said I was sorry," Ludwig said, his temper rising a bit, "And if anything, I'm sure you weren't looking where you were going, either."

The man growled angrily, taking off his white gloves. "Dammit, you're annoying! I'm going to rip that muscle off of you right now!"

"I don't want any trouble!" Ludwig tried to explain, frantically looking around for Gilbert, as people were now starting to stare at the ongoing commotion between him and the brunette, "I'm just trying to find my brother!"

"I don't care! Because of you, bastard, my clothes are ruined!"

"It's just a bit of dirt-"

"WHAT? DAMMIT, YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG-"

"Lovi!" A higher voice exclaimed, and the two turned around, another Italian running in between them, picking up the fallen gold hat and extending his two arms out in an attempt to halt their fighting. "Please stop!"

He wore a navy blue hat with a gold lining on the top, a large white feather attached to it with two red ribbons hanging down. His hair was a lighter brown than his brother's, and had a curl as well, but it stuck out from his left side rather than his right. He bowed down apologetically towards Ludwig, his dark blue cloak falling over his black and cerulean suit, and folded his white-gloved hands. "I hope you will forgive us! Big brother Lovino doesn't see where he's going sometimes, and so we deeply apologize." He turned to Lovino and brushed some dirt off of the hat and his back, handing his hat back cheerfully, "Here you are, Lovi!" He grinned, "Just a speck of dirt! Now, say sorry to the nice man."

Lovino mumbled an angry apology and stormed off after slamming his hat onto his head. The shorter man now turned to Ludwig, still grinning. "Did you say you needed help finding your brother? I can help you, if you'd like!"

Ludwig blinked, a bit taken back by what all had just happened. The little man in front of him had a mask on his face as well, a golden one, but that's not what struck him. The eyes that shone underneath them were a light amber, and seemed to shine, even in the darkness of the scarcity of light in the carnival. He blinked again and then nodded quickly, a small grin forming on his lips. "Y-Yeah, that'd be great. The last time I think I saw him was by the fortune-telling area near the front, and-"

"Ah!" The brunette clasped his hands together excitedly, "Elizabeta!" He exclaimed, his eyes shining happily, and started to walk forward, Ludwig following him silently, "She works in that section, unlike me, but we're still really good friends! She's one of the really nice people here, saying that she believes I can help bring this carnival up! Big brother Francis often says that I'm stupid and I can't handle even my way around, even though I work here, but I love helping people, and I can't stand seeing someone hurt, especially when they're hungry." He took a short gasp and continued to rattle on quickly, his words mixing with this about pasta and that about traveling through Europe and all, leaving Ludwig in a daze as they walked. "Oh, mister, what's your name?"

"E-Eh? Oh, Ludwig."

"Do you have a last name, Ludwig?"

"Yeah, but the last thing my parents told me was not to talk to strangers."

The man laughed merrily, seeming to enjoy the blonde's company. "You're funny!" He exclaimed, and then turned around. "Well, do you have a guide for tonight, Ludwig?"

"A...guide...?"

"Yeah! Has anyone truly shown you around the carnival yet?"

"N-No, not really. My brother dragged me here, and then left me once he saw the fortune-telling area."

"Excellent!" He clasped his hands again, excited, "I've always wanted to show someone around, because no one ever lets me, claiming that I'll mess it up, even though I won't! Well then, let's get started, shall we? I'll introduce myself so that we're not strangers, and you can tell me more about you." He bowed down again, placing a hand on his chest, "Welcome to Carnival. My name is Feliciano Vargas, and I shall be your host tonight."

A/N: Like it? Review if you'd like another chapter, as I'd like to know if people are actually interested in reading more or not! :D