Summary: Gilbert Beilschmidt was selfish, but he would do anything to protect his little brother, even if it cost him his life.
Warnings: Character death
Spoilers: Rise of the Guardians (for those who haven't seen it)
Characters: Gilbert Beilschmidt (Prussia), Ludwig Beilschmidt (Germany), Alaric Beilschmidt (Germania)
Word Count: ~1,285
Notes: This is heavily based off of the scene in Rise of the Guardians where Jack looks through his memories. So yeah, this is gonna make you cry. Also, this takes place in a human verse.
Trier, Germany - 1713
"Calm down Luddy!" Gilbert stated, trying the strings of his cloak hastily. After working in the lumber yard with his Vati for so long, he hasn't had the chance to let loose and have fun. The perfect opportunity arose when his younger brother Ludwig had asked him to teach him how to ice skate. Vati had taken pity on his eldest son and gave him the day off.
Ludwig was currently bouncing on his toes in excitement, his eyes gleaming and hopeful. It had been so long since he and Gilbert had spent time together. "Come on Gil! We have to go now!"
"The pond isn't going to get up and walk away," Gilbert joked, lips quirking up at the corners. "We have all day to get there, Bruder."
As Gilbert picked up his skates and made for the door, their father looked up from his work, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. He worried too much in Gilbert's opinion; always making sure they had the proper footwear, that they've eaten enough, that no one was overworking themselves. It may seem a bit insensitive, but to Gilbert, it was a bit obsessive.
"Be careful!" He told them. Gilbert chuckled, deciding to humor his father. "We will Vati," he stated as Ludwig tugged on his sleeve insistently. "The awesome me won't let anything happen to Luddy!"
Alaric rolled his eyes fondly and went back to his work as his two sons left the house.
The trek to the frozen pond did not take long; at least a good five minutes. The snow crunched under their feet as Ludwig clutched his older brother's hand.
Once they arrive at the lake, comfortably nestled in the forest, Gilbert set down his shepherd's staff and began to help his brother put his skates on his tiny feet, tying the laces tightly, then helped the eight year old to his feet. After putting his own skates on, he stepped out onto the ice and took Ludwig's hands to keep him balanced.
"That's it Luddy, you're doing awesome!" He encouraged. Ludwig's legs wobbled as he struggled to stay up. "Okay Luds, you ready?"
"Ready for what? Bruder?" The poor kid sounded panicked, making Gilbert grin even wider.
"This!" And with that, Gilbert placed his hands on Ludwig's shoulder blades and pushed him forward. The tiny blond's arms began to pinwheel as he tried to keep his balance.
"Bruder noooo!" Ludwig cried as he glided across the ice, completely unbalanced.
"Hold your arms out to the side, then put one foot in front of the other! This is exactly how Vati taught me!"
Ludwig did as he was told…and promptly fell on his back. Gilbert cringed as his little brother moaned in pain, completely understanding how he felt. Hearing the blond sniff, he stated over to help his brother up.
"Hey," he said. "You'll be okay. It just takes practice. I promise, you'll be skating on your own by the end of the day. Ja?"
Ludwig sniffed but nodded. "Ja."
It took several tries, but it was all worth it if Gilbert could see his brother grinning widely as he skated across the ice.
"Look Gil! I'm skating!"
Gilbert grinned and clapped his hands. "Good job Bruder! I told you it would be easy!"
Their joy didn't last long. In fact, it came to a blinding, screeching halt.
Crack. Crunch.
Gilbert felt his heart stop as his brother slowed to a stop in the middle of the pond. The ice was breaking where the blond was standing, creating a spider's web of cracking ice under his feet. The poor boy's eyes were as wide as saucers, fear evident on his face.
The albino boy removed his skates and slowly made his way to where his brother stood. The moment he was close, the ice began to crack under his feet as well. He looked his brother in the eyes, trying to think of a way to save him.
"Bruder…I'm scared." Ludwig whispered, as if talking too loud would cause the ice to break from under them.
"Ich weiß, Luddy, Ich weiß, ," Gilbert bit his lip. "Don't worry, you're not going to fall in. We…we're going to have a little fun instead!"
"No, we're not!"
"Hey, would the awesome me trick you?"
"Ja, you always play tricks Dummkopf!"
Gilbert chuckled nervously. "Ordnung, point taken. But not this time Luddy. I promise, I promise, you're gonna be fine. You have to trust me."
Ludwig swallowed roughly.
"Do you wanna play a game?" Gilbert asked, eyes lighting up. "We can play Himmel und Hölle, like we used to play every day. See? Erde…"
He took one tiny step and the ice continued to crack. Feeling even more panicked than before, he leaned on one foot and flailed erratically, pretending to lose his balance. Ludwig began to laugh as he took his second step.
"Hölle…Himmel!"
He made it to thicker ice without a hitch. Turning to his brother, he bragged his shepherd's staff and crouched down, holding the end out.
"Okay, jetzt bist du dran."
Ludwig gulped nervously, but ventured forward when his brother stated the first word; the ice cracked. The boy gasped in fear.
"It's okay, that's good," Gilbert encouraged. "Hölle…"
Another step.
"Himmel!"
Gilbert reached forward with the staff and wrapped the crook around his brother's waist, yanking him back and tossing him a ways away from the ice. As Ludwig tumbled away, Gilbert stumbled backwards from the sheer force of the throw.
Ludwig sat up and Gilbert right himself; the two locked eyes and grinned widely. The other boy ran a hand through his silver locks, his red eyes gleaming in relief. He didn't notice where he was currently standing.
Laughing breathlessly, Gilbert made to approach his brother, but with his full weight, the ice finally gave way under his feet. His arms flailed in vain as he fell through the ice and into the frozen cold deep below.
"BRUDER!"
The water was painfully cold, like thousands of sewing needles were jabbing him over and over again. Gilbert's limbs thrashed as he tried to swim to the surface; he was met with a wall of ice that imprisoned him. He couldn't possibly open his eyes, for it was much too cold. He couldn't hold his breath much longer…
He could feel his life being drained from his body. He was so tired, so cold. He just wanted it to stop. He just wanted to sleep.
'At least mein Bruder is safe…' He thought, as his heart slowed to a stop.
'At least Bruder is safe…'
Translations:
Bruder: Brother
Vati: Dad
Ja: Yes
Ich weiß: I know
Dummkopf: Fool, idiot
Ordnung: Okay
Himmel und Hölle: German hopscotch, where there are three squares, first being earth, second being hell, and last being heaven. Typically the player throws a small stone into the first square and then jumps to the square and must kick the stone to the next square and so on, however, the stone or the player cannot stop in Hell so they try to skip that square.
Erde: Earth
Hölle: Hell
Himmel: Heaven
Jetzt bist du dran: Now it's your turn
Mein: My