Arthur looked down at himself, scowling and rubbing tears from his eyes. The white dress that he had been forced into by the various servants of the Red castle reached down past his ankles, the hoops of the skirt raising the skirt just a little bit off of the ground because of the way he sat. The trim of the dress was done in red thread, and was woven through the white silk so tightly that it looked almost like roses made of bloodstains covered the skirt of the dress. He had thought it odd at first that he had been put in such clothing, but as he had been the only one of his family to be removed from the dungeon he could only assume that there was some reason for it. He had learned, to his horror, that his parents had made a deal with the leaders of the Red Kingdom- who currently held them prisoner, Arthur himself included- that he would be given to the Red Kingdom in exchange for the freedom of his people, and the end of a war between the Red Kingdom and his own kingdom of Green. Nobody had expected such an offer, so of course when it was made Arthur's parents had handed him over without so much as a second thought. Arthur didn't blame them, of course, but it still hurt him to think that he was being given as a peace offering to a people that he loathed so. Whoever had been sent to collect Arthur- or "Alice", as he was being called now- had mistaken him for a woman, because now he was to be married to the only prince of the RedKingdom. Arthur had never met the boy in his life, and was completely opposed to the idea. If it hadn't been for the deal made between their parents Arthur probably would have found a way to escape and would have left without looking back. A small noise at the door to his dressing room caused him to jump, he not having expected anyone to come for him. He could see the blue eyes of the prince peeking through the door and he hurriedly rubbed his eyes on his long gloves, shivering fearfully.

Francis smirked a bit to himself. He had been watching "Alice" through a small crack between the door and the wall, eager to see his bride before the wedding started. He had heard that he had been given a beautiful princess from the now conquered kingdom of Green, although he had wondered about whether or not it was true due to the rumors going around that the Green royal family had only been known to have sons; five of them. To his disappointment, he found that the rumors were false, and that there was a young woman sitting inside the dressing room and preparing herself for the wedding. He would have rather been married to one of the sons, having little interest in women. He leaned against the door just enough to cause a small creaking sound, causing the young woman to notice him. He silently pushed the door open, taking in the appearance of the person in front of him; she had short, blonde hair and a thin frame, although her face was hidden by the wedding veil that covered it. "Are you mon petit wife?" he whispered softly, a small smirk tugging at his lips but disappearing when he noticed her tears. "Don't cry now, amour, I have only just met you and today is our wedding day. I'll take you down there, alright?"

Arthur defiantly covered his face with his hands, wanting to scream at the other to leave him alone and go away but fearing some further punishment from the guards. He had been beaten around well enough during his time in captivity and had the marks to show it, most of which were either hidden by the dress of had been carefully covered by makeup. He had barely even been listening to Francis. He tried to say something but all that came out was a choked sob, after which he sealed his lips and looked back at him in terror. All of the small red beads and gemstones clinked together of his veil when he turned his head, moving on one fluid motion with the movement of the translucent fabric over Arthur's face.

Francis's smile faltered with this, but he walked up to him and lightly brushed some of the Englishman's hair behind his ear. "If I don't marry you, your weak and pathetic kingdom will die and your parents will most likely die with it. Your brothers will be forced into slavery." He whispered softly, beginning to get irritated with Arthur's sobbing. "My sweet, little dove, I won't hurt you though, you're a treasure, you're going to be my wife…" With the word 'my' he placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder, gripping him tightly. "Trust me, I'm doing this to save you, they're going to kill you if you don't do this…" he whispered. As hard as Francis tried to be gentle and loving he found it difficult to do so with Arthur, seeing as the younger man hated him already. "Please, we need to go. Now." His grip on Arthur's shoulder tightened.

Arthur winced, his eyes widening with the harsh words. He slowly stood up, thinking sadly of his youngest brother, Peter. The poor boy had gotten sick during their capture so many times that they thought it was a miracle that he wasn't yet dead. After their surrender, Peter had gotten all of the medical care he needed, and was as healthy as he could be. Arthur took a shaky breath.

"You have to do this…" He mentally told himself. "Do it for Peter…" He turned his head toward Francis, catching only a brief glimpse of his face before the veil hid it from view again. "F-fine…" He murmured fearfully, tears still rolling down his cheeks although he wasn't really crying. "I-I'll do what y-you want…" His eyes drifted downward to where he assumed the ground would be under his dress. He hated wearing the stuffy dress almost as much as he hated the jewelry that went with it. They had made him pierce his ears just so that they could put earrings in them, although they were forced to use small golden studs instead of large heavy ones that matched everything else. With the exception of the two golden studs, all of the jewelry was golden with red gemstones that matched exactly with the thread of his dress and the beads of his veil. Most prominent was a heavy gold necklace, which weighed down on his chest and fell nearly to the chest padding in his corset. The stones on it got a bit bigger as the space between them narrowed, creating a sort of upside-down triangle of golden chain connecting them. Arthur found the entire thing to be quite vulgar, and while he was a prince himself he had never had the luxury of such rich jewels and found them to be horribly gaudy looking. He wore the colors of his sworn enemy, and here he was marrying said enemy. "Monster…" he whispered, the word almost inaudible.

Francis's smirk returned when his bride stood. "Bien." He chuckled softly, taking Arthur's arm in his own. "Be quiet until the priest tells you to cher, or unless I tell you to." His smile darkened a bit and he moved his face closer to Arthur's. "Your family is watching the wedding. We managed to let them out of that horrid prison. However, once we say our vows, you will only be able to write to them. No contact except on holidays…" He whispered roughly, and then the darkness in his face disappeared. He led Arthur out of the small dressing room and into the long hallway. Their footsteps echoing off of the walls was the only sound heard on their walk to the grand hall, making their seemingly endless walk there feel even longer. Francis stopped when they approached the door, smirking a bit. "I'll meet you at the altar. Walk down the aisle like a good little bride." He chuckled and smirked a bit, starting his own long walk down the aisle. He was able to walk a little quickly, taking his place to the right of the priest and giving Arthur a small smile. It was a long walk down the rose-petal covered aisle, but he was sure that "she" wouldn't be able to run away in such a heavy dress.

When Francis had taken his arm, Arthur had only barely reminded himself not to pull away in disgust. Once he was outside the room on his own he stood still, waiting for Francis before starting his own slow walk down the aisle. He now regretted having been so easily forced into heeled shoes, wobbling a bit with each step on the three-inch heel. How in the hell could women walk in these things? Arthur tried to keep his eyes up to keep his mind off of his imbalance and noticed his own family; His mother, his father, and two of his four brothers- Peter, the youngest, and Allistor, the eldest. The sad, blue eyes of Peter lit up when he saw Arthur. He gave his brother a little wave and Arthur smiled in return, but didn't stop to wave back. He knew that if he messed anything up that they were all done for. After what felt like an era had passed Arthur made it to the end of the aisle and stood by Francis, feeling not unlike a dog would when he approaches his master for a non-deserved punishment. He kept his eyes down after that, having been able to see his mother crying when he smiled at Peter and not wanting to have to see it again for fear that he would start crying with her.

Francis struggled to retain his smile as Arthur slowly walked down the aisle. He could see that "she" had next to no experience walking in heeled shoes, if not none at all. He nearly lost his smile completely when Arthur looked at his saddened family and smiled. It seemed such a strange thing to do. Her steps were almost painfully slow, and Francis found himself watching her feet just to keep himself from glancing around the attendant out of boredom. When Arthur finally made his way to Francis's side he took up Arthur's slender hands, trying to suppress his urge to pull back the veil. The priest began speaking loudly and somewhat slowly, with several mentions to the RedKingdom and how it would rule all and forever, and keep the future couple happy.

"Francis Marius Bonnefoy, do you take…" the priest hesitated a moment, peering closely at the paper. Someone had blotted out Arthur's first name in ink and hurriedly written in some other female name to hide his identity. The handwriting was messy, but just enough ink had been left off of the first letter of Arthur's name to make it look like it could have been blotted out for a misspelling, and leaving his new female name above the printed letters. "…Alice Kirkland to be your wife, and your future queen?"

Francis hesitated a moment, looking up at Alice. He could see small tears falling from the end of her chin, sparkling for a moment like small crystals as the light reflected on them perfectly for a fraction of a second before they fell silently into the carpet. He felt a bit bad about having made her cry, and even worse remembering that she had been forced into this with the sure alternative of death. "I… I do…" he mumbled hesitantly.

"And, ah, Miss Alice, do you take Francis to be your husband."

Arthur took about half a second to regain enough composure to manage a small, stuttered "I-I do". He bit his lip. He heard the room break out into a sort of mechanical clapping, but didn't raise his eyes to look around. He knew already that his own family couldn't be clapping. He was sure that this would be the last time in his life that he would ever get to see them. The RedKingdom wasn't exactly famous for its treatment of captives- infamous really- and they all knew it. A small shiver ran down his spine, letting another tear slip unnoticed from his eyes and down his cheek. He wished that his true lover had been there, but as they were still in the kingdom of Blue he knew that there was even less chance of him seeing them than there was of him escaping with his family. Hell, by the time they even heard about the marriage of Prince Francis and "Princess Alice" they would probably all think him dead. He desperately hoped that the other would find out of his true location someday. He glanced up at his new husband fearfully, a small whimper escaping his lips.

Francis smiled a little, looking out in to the attendant of the wedding. Red flags were dropped from small windows high in the walls, making the silk flags shine their kingdom's color throughout the room as red rose petals were thrown about. Red. The color of desire, of lust, of blood which he had seen so often in the battles on Green territory that made the battlefields look like the enemy had intentionally painted them their color before leaving the ravaged land triumphantly. The final few words were said and Francis took out the two rings, a simple band of gold for himself and a ring with a large green emerald on it for Arthur. Francis raised Arthur's right hand a bit and slipped the ring onto his fourth finger as the priest closed his book, smiling a bit as everyone was happy for the new couple.

"You may kiss the bride."

Francis wrapped an arm around Arthur's waist and pulled him closer, pulling the veil away from his face and closing his eyes as he pulled Arthur into a kiss. It wasn't a rough, forceful kiss as had been expected. It was just a simple pressing together of the lips, a bit sweet even, and Francis lightly cupped Arthur's cheek with his ring hand just to lengthen the kiss a little longer. The cheers got louder and some even cried with pride and happiness- and extreme sadness from the Kirkland family. Francis pulled away from the kiss but didn't allow Arthur to pull away yet, looking into his eyes. "Tonight you are mine, lapin…" he murmured against his lips.

Arthur had shut his eyes tightly as Francis kissed him, a bit surprised that the kiss hadn't gone on longer or have been a bit more passionate but was by no means disappointed. Arthur looked down once Francis pulled away and noticed, for the first time, how large the emerald was on his ring. How vulgar. His eyes were wide and fearful from the words whispered against his lips, and he looked at his own family for some support. Only Peter, the youngest of his family, was smiling. Peter was clapping vigorously, so innocently happy to see his brother married although confused as to why he was wearing a dress when the other person clearly looked more like a woman with their long hair. Peter ignored the glare he was getting from their eldest brother, who had spent the rest of the ceremony staring coldly at Francis from his seat. Arthur gave them a small smile and then looked at Francis, laughing nervously.

Francis let the veil fall over "her" eyes again and opened his own, wanting to keep "her" beautiful face to himself. He looked at Arthur's family, a sudden pang of guilt striking him when he noticed how sad and desperate they looked. He gave them a look as if to say "I promise I'll take care of your daughter". None of them seemed to notice and he started to walk with Arthur back down the aisle until his own pair of cerulean eyes met another, a pair that belonged to the youngest of the Kirkland brothers. The boy smiled at him a little before sitting back down with his family. Francis was stunned, a small fluttering starting in his heart as he was smiled at. He had thought that everyone in the GreenKingdom had wanted him dead. He decided quickly that he loved this boy like his own brother and returned the smile and a little wave, unconscious of the small tears running down his cheeks. He turned back to Arthur and took her arm again. "Let us live together now, my dear, as this castle is ours and it always will be…" He said softly, leading Arthur up the aisle just a little more quickly that he was capable of walking in the high-heeled shoes. He looked back down the aisle again and saw Peter smiling at him again, and this time he gave him a small smile back. He was curious as to why the boy looked at let alone smiled at him when it was so forbidden to meet eyes with an enemy. He found it a bit sweet, and looking at "Alice" made him feel bad to be taking her away from such a caring family. "I…I'll do anything not to hurt you, okay?" he whispered at her.

Arthur simply turned his head away from him. He didn't believe Francis's words for a second, and he hated the way he kept looking at his family. He was a little upset that his own younger brother had been naive enough to actually smile at the man. Arthur glanced back at them, stopping suddenly. He was both a bit happy and completely mortified to see the little boy running down the aisle after them, drawing the attention of the entire attendant with him. "Peter!" Arthur yanked his arm away from Francis and knelt down near the boy just as he ran up and hugger his around his neck. Arthur quickly pulled him away, much to the boy's surprise and confusion. "Peter, you go-" but Arthur stopped as Peter, to the horror of both himself and his parents, hugged Francis's legs for a few seconds before running happily back to his parents. Arthur's face paled and he stood back up quickly, urging Francis to leave the room as quickly as possible, regardless of his near inability to walk in his heels. Once they were alone outside the large room Arthur stopped Francis, looking up at him in terror. "I-I'm so s-sorry, h-he doesn't… W-we couldn't… I-I'm sorry!" he said, words tumbling forward desperately in hopes of saving the boy. "P-please, don't be angry with him, h-he's only seven years old, h-he doesn't know any better!"

Francis hated how shy and nervous his new wife was, wishing only to relate to her and to make her happy after her long suffering. He was startled by the sound of footsteps behind him, fearing that someone had come to take his lay from him, but relaxing a little when he saw that it was only the boy from earlier. He watched enviously as Arthur was hugged by him, and how Arthur hugged him back, wishing that he had younger siblings of his own. The only "siblings" he had were the many bastard children his father had with various women- mostly prostitutes- before being forced to settle down with his mother. He sighed, his gaze lowering until he noticed the boy hugging his leg. The shock caused him to stay in his place, unable to react before he had run off. He was just about to hug him back when Arthur began to lead him away from the room. "Doesn't know any better?" he repeated incredulously, shaking a bit. "That boy has the only happy face I've seen in years… I have wanted you to be happy but you're practically afraid of me!" He went quiet and walked with Arthur, his face dark but his expression blank.

Arthur bit his lip and looked away from him. He could only imagine what his parents would say to Peter, if the guards didn't get to him first. The idea of Peter being locked up again terrified him. "I-I am afraid of you…" he admitted. By this point he didn't care what trouble his words got him into. "Y-you… your army… th-they destroyed my home. I-I watched your army cut open the stomachs of m-my brothers' corpses…" Arthur shuddered at the awful memory. For weeks after the incident all they could do was sit and cry, wishing that the two boys were still with them. Their bodies had been burnt, the soldiers calling them "bastard scum" and thinking them not worthy of a proper burial. He unconsciously clung more tightly to Francis's arm, hoping that he would forget about Peter all together. The boy had been treated almost as badly as Arthur himself had, and yet the boy still had heart enough to be kind to the man responsible for his treatment. "Th-that happy face… I-I hope you never see it from him again. He doesn't deserve to be in this place…"

Francis was silent for the rest of the walk as he led his new bride to their room. He knew that everyone was expecting for them to begin planning their honeymoon, but Francis wouldn't allow such a thing yet. After what he had seen of the remaining Kirkland family, he just didn't think it appropriate. He walked just a little faster as they got closer to the room and locking the door behind them once they were inside. He sat Arthur down on the bed and clamped a hand over his mouth, kneeling in front of him and looking up desperately. "I know, they've told me everything about our families… they hate each other. Mine wants yours dead, and vice versa… I-I want to help you, I can't stand to see you cry, Please." He babbled on in French for a minute before looking up at him to translate, tears in his eyes. "I'm going to set you free. I won't let them hurt your family anymore. I'd rather have my father hang me for letting you all free then see your kingdom die. I hate my kingdom more than anything and I know you think I'm lying, making this all up and everything, but you don't have to love me. Please, run away as quickly as you can, I'll disguise a maid as you if I have to! Protect yourself Alice." He pulled his hands from Arthur's and sobbed softly.

Arthur just stared back at him in shocked terror, thinking that he had gone insane. He was completely speechless for a few agonizingly silent moments before the memory of Peter's sweet, innocent smile returned to him. He sighed, putting a gentle hand on Francis's head. "I-I think that attempting something like that is crazy… insane even. B-but, if you really want to help us… g-get them out first." He said quietly. "Th-they're all much more important to the kingdom, and it would draw far too much attention if I suddenly just disappeared…" he sighed. He knew that this would probably be his only chance to escape from his hell of a life, and he was giving it up so easily. "B-besides, it's anything but safe over there… I know, y-you probably think that you know what our kingdom is like, b-but… w-well, it barely even exists anymore. Your armies… wh-whatever they didn't destroy, they conquered. Th-the capitol, the castle, th-they took those out first…" He stroked Francis's hair absently, feeling as though he should have been crying although he knew that he had no tears left to cry.

Francis sobbed on, listening to his words but failing to notice the slight masculinity in his tone. "Non, you need to get out of here as quickly as possible. They could be killing your family as we speak, I'll risk my life to do this for you. Sil vous plait, I need you to listen to me…" He sat up a bit and tried to look past the veil. "Earlier I ordered a coachman to take your family to the BlueKingdom. They are to live there until your own kingdom is rebuilt. Listen, you're going to be safe, I'm making it that way." Wish a nervous sigh he reached up to Arthur's face and pulled the veil up, taking a moment to study his features. The makeup covering the scars on his face gave him an almost baby-faced look, making his usually pale and gaunt face look round and sweet. The light dusting of pink across his cheeks looked almost like a real blush, although it was really just rouge applied to his cheeks to make him look feminine. His blue eyes his the dazzling green of Arthur's own and even with his bushy, unsightly eyebrows, he looked so very pretty. "M-mon Dieu…" he said softly. "Y-you must be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life…"

Underneath the rouge a light blush really did appear across Arthur's cheeks, although it was deeper than the mere pink of his cheeks and was nearly a reddish color which only showed on the tips of his ears with the makeup. "I-it's very kind of you to do this for us, but… I-if anyone noticed us missing, the kingdom of Blue is surely the first place they would look… The GreenKingdom simply isn't going to rebuild itself." He pulled himself away from Francis, taking his smooth hands in his own rougher, more beaten looking ones. "Besides, if anyone saw us… s-saw you…" Arthur stopped, shaking his head. "Just get them out… please. I highly doubt that anyone would notice their absence. I… I-I'm your wife now, if they were to come looking for me and find that I was missing…" He choked a bit, hiding his eyes in Francis's hands. He sobbed quietly without a single tear shed. He didn't care for anything else that Francis had to say or do, he refused to let another word be said on the matter. As much as he wanted to escape, to leave this hellhole which he had spent so much time in behind and to run back to the home that no longer existed, he would do no such thing at the expense of his family. Especially Peter. The veil fell back down over his head and Francis hands as he sobbed. Some of the makeup was beginning to rub off, including a small amount that had been covering a rather nasty bruise on his cheek.

Francis felt another sudden fluttering in his heart as Arthur took his hands. He pulled one hand away and rubbed circles on Arthur's back with his thumb, hoping to give him some comfort. "Mon lapin, I'll do whatever I can. If I cannot get you out of this, then I'll do all that I can to be your loving husband and take care of you." He frowned a little as the veil fell back down, wishing that he could meet "her" eyes again. He moved to sit on the bed next to him and wipe away his nonexistent tears, placing a hand on Arthur's side. He suddenly went silent when his hand found her hip, barely able to believe what he felt. She was so thin, her hips felt caved in and barely even full. His heart nearly broke. She would be unable to bear children, or would at least die if she attempted to do so. He felt tears prickle in the back of his eyes and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her face, giving a small sigh of broken dreams. "Desole… I'm so sorry…" he whispered, running his hand down his hip.

Arthur rubbed his eyes, a bit confused as to what he meant at first. When the realization finally hit him he smiled a little. "Oh, th-that… d-don't worry about that. I just haven't really been eating is all. I-I haven't actually had a decent meal since…" he stopped, blinking in surprise. "…a good few months actually." He had forgotten a good few thoughts in his fear of marrying Francis, one of them being how starving he really was. It was really no wonder that Francis though him too weak or frail to …procreate. He suddenly realized exactly what Francis was talking about and the heat of blood rushed back to his cheeks. 'God, I'll have to tell him at some point…' he thought. And even if he were a woman, he knew that he probably wouldn't want to do that with him, although he had always dreamed of someday having children… granted, he had always thought that he would be marrying a woman to do so. "If it turns out to be a problem, then I'll find a way to fix it… w-we'll cross that bridge when we get to it, as they say." He laughed weakly, giving Francis a hesitant but loving smile. Surely there would be a way for him to do something to help the problem. He had heard stories of magic-users being able to do wondrous things, surely things that were more complicated that turning a man into a woman. 'Oh good god, what am I thinking?' he thought, both mentally kicking himself and laughing a little at his thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, he could learn to have affection for Francis.

Francis's eyes widened in shock at the beginning words. "I was going to ask why you seemed so off. There will be a feast tonight in honor of the wedding, and then after that… w-well… I'll just say that the night is a big choice." He sighed and looked away from him at the second words. "Je suis desole. In my family children are very, very cherished. That's why I have so many older siblings. But… we're going to have to soon. If my parents find out that you are unable to… conceive, they'll kill you for sure…" Francis was silent for a few moments, but he returned Arthur's loving smile and placed a kiss against his veiled face, nuzzling his neck tenderly. "I still love you the way you are, and I'm fine if you're just a bit different…" he said softly. It seemed odd that he would act so lovingly to this "woman" when he had originally wanted to marry a man, but the sight of Arthur's family, of Peter, of their sadness, he thought that he owed it to them to take good care of her. He didn't mind the slightly low tone in her voice, or the slightly broad shoulders. She was so slender and pretty everywhere else that she looked beautiful anyway, and made her dress look even better. "I'm going to do everything that I so that we have a happy life together, alright?" He smiled at her.

Arthur nodded, smiling a little. "Y-yes, alright…" he murmured, losing himself in his thoughts. He was worried about what would come of his inability to bear children if he kept his secret for too much longer. He knew that Francis would be furious with him if he found out that he was really a man, and would have him killed on the spot. He would probably even do it himself. He had to find a magic user if he wanted to make the marriage work, even if only for the sake of making sure that his family was kept safe. His stomach growled loudly and he jumped, a bit startled. "O-oh, um, e-excuse me…" he mumbled, blushing a bit and laughing. He looked at Francis again and his blush deepened when he realized that Francis's hand was still on his waist. He felt nervous tears prickle in his eyes and wrapped an arm around Francis's neck, burying his face in Francis's neck to hide any more tears that could come to him. He was felt so lucky that Francis thought him beautiful, otherwise he was sure that he would have been killed as soon as the man saw him. He shuddered at the thought of what would have become of Peter or Allistor if he had tried to escape with them… they would probably all get caught and die. Arthur shivered a bit, biting down on his lip to keep himself from whimpering.

Francis sighed, giving her a gentle kiss. "It's fine cher, that's not until much later. We won't have to have children until we're good and ready." He mumbled, hoping to comfort her. His gaze lowered to the ground until the sound from Arthur's stomach jolted him from his thoughts. He was a bit confused for a moment until he realized where the sound had come from, his eyes finding their way back to Arthur's veiled face with a smile painted across his lips. "N…Non, it's alright." He mumbled. When Arthur began being affectionate towards him he felt almost ready to cry. She had hated him only an hour ago and was now starting to love him? He thought it a bit odd, almost suspicious. "You know, Alice… You look like one of the Kirkland men. We probably killed him though, because he wasn't at the wedding. His name was Arthur." Francis stated simply, suspicion rising in him. It felt a bit strange, having Arthur be the one to give him love rather than the other way around. "Alice… it's almost evening now. I'd like to show you around the castle a bit before the feast." He looked at her, his eyes narrowed just a small bit.

Arthur's face paled slightly at the comment about Arthur, glad that the makeup still covered most of his face. "Y-yes, I suppose so…" he murmured. He tried to keep his calm on the outside, although on the inside he was tearing himself up, wondering what he could have done to give himself away. Was it something he had said? Or had he done something? It didn't even occur to him that it could have been no more than a suspicion, or even just a comment. He wracked his brain for some way do dismiss Arthur's existence completely from Francis's mind. "A-Arthur… y-yes, he, um… h-he was killed…" he felt himself start to tear up, fearing that Francis had seen through his lie. "E-early on, during th-the siege of th-the castle... w-we were twins, b-but they didn't w-want anybody t-to find out about m-me..." he mumbled, his voice getting quieter with every moment. It wasn't entirely untrue, his being a twin. He had been told occasionally that he had been born as a twin, but the other one had died at birth. He hadn't thought of it often though, deeming the information irrelevant. Arthur had almost never even been allowed to leave the castle in times of safety, as his parents always feared that he would be captured by a Red spy or something of the like.

Francis lightly picked Arthur up bridal style, holding onto him for a few moments before setting him down in front of the door. Not only did her hips appear to be caved in, but he noticed that "her" torso was also heavier. He thought that perhaps all of her weight was placed on the wrong sides. It seemed like a strange anatomy for a woman, not something that he had seen before. However, as any man would, he assumed that the extra chest weight was, well… from a place forbidden to look. "Don't worry Alice, my sweet, I'm sure that your brother was a great man, although I've only seen him once… I'm quite sorry to mention him, as my memory is quite hazy." His usual thick accent went through and he gave a little sigh. "I have some clothes that we also have to wear to the feast. I must say, your dress is surely one of the most stunning around." He gently smirked and pushed them out of the room and down a long flight of stairs. He showed her only a few things- the servant's quarters, the gardens, some of the extra bedrooms- and avoided the things that could be dangerous, such as the many dungeons tucked away throughout the castle. "Even though this is our castle, my parents will stay here in case they need to kill you or prison you, but I won't allow that. However, we have many traditions you must follow." He chuckled, feeling a bit like some sort of tour guide as he led her around the castle.

Arthur gave a small cry of surprise when he was lifted up, thanking god for the extra padding in his chest that made him look a bit more… womanly. Every moment that he spent with Francis made him feel more and more self-conscious, thinking that Francis would find out what he really was and kill him where he stood. "I-I suppose that I can at least try to follow your traditions…" he mumbled. He had shown a bit of interest in the red kingdom once long ago when he had bene younger, but had lost all hope in his studying it after the siege. The horrible thing had convinced him thoroughly that the RedKingdom was full of nothing but horrible, bloodthirsty beasts. He did so want to convince himself that it wasn't anymore true about them than it was about his own people, but he still wasn't sure about them. If there was any merit that he had to give them, however, it was that they were lovely decorators. "Y-you do have a lovely home here…" he commented as they were starting to leave the gardens. He wished that they could spend a while longer there. Maybe he would convince Francis to take him there again later, as the greenery was a pleasant break for his eyes from all of the red. He had, at least, picked a few long-stemmed clovers and tucked them into his long gloves for good luck.

Francis smiled and gave him a little kiss on the cheek, wrapping his arms around his beautiful woman's waist. "My home? Non, this is our home now, and in the future it will be our children's. We shall live here until one of them is crowned, and then we can move to the countryside and grow old together." He said so excitedly, the arm that had been around Arthur's waist raising to his shoulders and the other being swept in a wide gesture in front of them. He looked around at all of the bright red flags and smiled brightly. Red will be our new color, and we shall wear it with pride and happiness. However… since your eyes are green and not the Bonnefoy blue, you may look suspicious. I suppose that it's understandable though, seeing as you're from that… pest infested pirate cove." He spat the last words bitterly. His family, and not even he himself, weren't fond of the people of the GreenKingdom. He hugged her there and closed his eyes. "Je t'aime. Je t'aime beaucoup." He whispered into her ear. He found a nearby rose bush and plucked a flower from it. It wasn't one of the deep, red roses that his family was so fond and proud of. It was just a simple white rose, with some pink in its veins. He opened Arthur's hands and placed the rose into it, smiling a little. "It matches your dress, non?"

Arthur smiled a little, taking the rose and tucking it into his veil. "I-it's lovely, thank you…" he whispered. He glanced out a window to one side of him, his smile slowly fading when he saw red as far as the eye could see. There was not a single doubt in his mind that soon enough there would be no GreenKingdom at all, and it would be blotted out with Red. He silently prayed that there would be fog soon, something that would obscure all of the awful color from his view and make it easier for his family to escape. He was upset and a bit offended by the comment about his home being a "pirate cove". The only pirate cove was a tiny rinky-dink town on a tiny rinky-dink island, far off of the GreenKingdom's coast. "My home is no pirate cove…" he muttered indignantly, turning his head away from him. "And I've proud of my eyes, thank you. They're the last shred of my home's color that I have left within me." He scowled, glaring at him pridefully.

Francis still held onto her. "I'm so glad that you like it… you know, there's never been a kingdom of White before…" He chuckled lightly and pulled the veil back, pulling her into a deep kiss. "We may have been married because we were forced to, but many marriages are done for love, and romance. You seem so shaky, and unwilling at times. Tell me, cher, don't you want to love me just as much as I love you?" He took Arthur's chin between his fingers and forced him to look into his eyes. "Your eyes are still beautiful, but you're like scared little deer inside them. You keep running away from me, and avoiding my love." His grip on Arthur tightened suddenly and became much rougher. "You're hiding a dark little secret, mon petit lapin." He chuckled darkly and started to lead Arthur back toward the stairs up to their room. "Come cher, let's go get dressed… together."