Witch Hunt

Disclaimer: I only own the tomato Lovi was eating for lunch, and even that's just in my head.

Warning – this fic will be significantly less happy and fluffy than the others I've done. It's based off the Vocaloid song "Witch" sung primarily by Luka Megurine. I tried to write is as a story though, not a song fic. Also…AU.

Long ago in the kingdom of Levianta, there lived a handsome prince named Alfred. He was bright, cheerful, and brave. He loved his people and they loved him. The prince was always surrounded by people - knights, villagers, lords, ladies, eccentric fangirls, and a slew of others trying to gain his favor, but he had never known true friendship. Some days, he could be walking through a crowd of people and still manage to feel alone.

One day, a new face visited the town. A boy traveled from the Eastern Forest of Eldoh to sell various things. He had never visited such a large town or seen a castle so close. He couldn't help but gaze at it as he unloaded his wares from his cart. Young girls flocked to the stand, entranced by the boy's beauty and the magic candles he sold.

"If you light the candle and pray, you will be safe from danger," he told them with a charming smile.

His stand quickly became a hit and he sold out of items within a few hours. He attached the small cart back to his horse Penne (named by his brother of course) to go home.

"Ready to go, girl?" he stoked her pale white mane. The cream-colored horse whined and returned to munching on her pile of hay. She had the personality of his brother too.

The boy had been worried about visiting such a place, as he was more introverted than most. He had spent more time away from others than he had immersed in them. It was a relief that they weren't as bad as he thought. He believed he could become more social and confident like his brother yet.

Lovino didn't realize what fate had in store for him.

As he was about to leave, a strong gust of wind blew his scarf away. It was the last thing he had of his late family, so it was very important to him. He stopped Penne, jumped off, and chased his scarf, hoping nothing bad happened to it. Penne, quite used to her owner's spastic behavior went back to munching on some tall grass she found nearby. Lovino cursed himself for not keeping the last of his good luck candles for himself.

Luckily, it had blown into the town square and right into the hands of the Prince. Lovino ran towards the blonde, not knowing who he was and asked for his scarf back in the only way he knew how – cursing. Being raised in the woods will do that to ya.

"H-Hey, you! Give me my scarf back, dammit!"

Alfred watched the young man before him, face flushed from running, demanding his scarf back. He couldn't help but chuckle, while Lovino blushed, unsure why this guy wouldn't give it back. A crowd gathered around them watching the scene in confusion, making the out-of-towner more uncomfortable. He felt like he was being judged about something he didn't know about.

"You really don't know who I am, do you?" Alfred asked with a grin.

"Should I? From what I can tell you're a lousy scarf-thief and—"

"I'm the Prince."

"—And it's very nice to meet you. Now can I have my scarf back, please?"

Alfred couldn't help but start laughing at this outburst, change in tone, but not in demand. His infectious laugh caught on and soon Lovino was laughing. From there, the townsfolk joined in and cleared away now that things were back to normal.

"My name is Alfred," the prince introduced himself. "What's yours?"

"L-Lovino," he managed to stammer out his name, surprised by how relaxed the prince made him feel. He was still nervous around others and even now could feel his heartbeat quicken, but something about the prince's clear blue eyes and carefree atmosphere soothed him.

"That's a cool name," Alfred smiled, wrapping the scarf around Lovino. He noted that the brunette's eyes reminded him of the forest he loved to explore so much. The Prince decided to join him on his walk back to Penne, chatting the whole way.

"Where are you from, Lovino?"

"Eldoh Forest."

"Hmm, what was the town closest to that again?" Alfred scratched his chin. Outlying regions surrounding his kingdom where never quite his thing. "Elphegort?"

"No, idiota, I'm from the forest," Lovino sighed.

"Whoa! Really?!" Alfred exclaimed. "I'm so jealous! I love the forests around this area, but I have to practically sneak out to see them!"

"Yeah, you'd probably get lost."

"No way! I have a great sense of direction!" Alfred gestured to himself. "I never get lost!"

"You didn't even know the closest town to Eldoh," Lovino smirked.

"I make a point not to study boring places," the prince grinned back. "That's why I know this area and the forests so well."

Lovino couldn't help but laugh at that. The prince wasn't what he expected at all. Maybe the tea-slurping, arrogant, spoiled brat image was just a stereotype he'd read about too often? He had an idea.

"If you know the forests so well, then you must know where to find the hidden waterfall…" he baited him.

"What hidden waterfall?" Alfred's eyes lit up in wonder.

"I guess you don't know the land as well as you think you do," Lovino shrugged and strolled off to gather Penne's reins.

"Wait! What hidden waterfall?" the prince followed him. "You have to tell me, Lovi!"

"What the hell's a 'Lovi?'" the boy furrowed his brows.

"Its the nickname I just gave you!" beamed Alfred. "So where's the hidden waterfall? Is it near the mountains?"

"Just for that dumb name, I'm never going to tell you," the brunet huffed.

"But you haaaaave to tell me! I wanna see the hidden waterfall!"

"Are you sure you're really the prince?" Lovino sweatdropped. "You whine like my little brother."

"That's right! We're like brothers now, and brothers always tell each other where to find hidden waterfalls!" Alfred insisted, poking Lovino's cheek. "It's a rule!"

"What rule?"

"The one I just made up!" Alfred laughed, tossing an arm over Lovino's shoulders and squeezing him in a bear hug when he tried to get free. "I'm not letting you go until you promise to show me where the hidden waterfall is!"

"Alright! Alright!" Lovino squirmed. "I promise to show you where sometime! Now get off me, idiota!"

Alfred grinned and released his new friend. He liked how blunt Lovino was and how he didn't act any different with him as he would a normal citizen. It was a welcome relief from years of 'Yes, sire's' and 'Whatever you say, sire's' that he heard all the time. It was incredibly boring to be treated like a child by others trying to impress or avoid angering him. At that moment, Alfred was radiant.

Francis, the son of a local nobleman, was the only one in the crowd with a frown. He had never seen his prince smile quite the way he did for the boy from the forest. Francis brought a hand to his chest and forced himself to look away. The scene had caused painful twinges in his heart that refused to be suppressed.

Alfred continued to walk alongside Lovino until they made their way to the town's gate. The prince noticed a tug on his own heart as he saw his new friend off. He tried to keep talking, in order to keep the brunette there even just a little longer. Feeding an apple to Penne, (who dropped everything she was doing to chow down on it) was the beginning.

"So, you'll be returning to Levianta soon?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yep," Lovino replied, trying to figure out why the prince sounded almost…worried.

"That's great news!" Alfred couldn't contain his excitement. He grabbed another apple for his horse. Penne approved. "When will you be back?"

"As soon as I get a chance to restock, I suppose."

"Try not to take too long before you return to town," Alfred Avadonia, crown prince of Levianta all but pouted.

"Okay, okay, I promise I'll be back the second I restock!" Lovino rolled his eyes to avoid looking at the prince's own. He never thought he'd meet someone just as accomplished at the Puppy Eyes technique as Feliciano.

Penne nudged Alfred's arm for another apple. He happily obliged, saying she was such a good, beautiful horse for helping him. Lovino shook his head at the sight. Then with a wave, the two bid each other farewell as Lovino led Penne back to the path leading to Eldoh forest.

The days leading up to their reunion were particularly difficult for Alfred. All he could think about was his new friend from the forest. While spacing out during his lessons, he imagined what Lovino would be doing at that very moment – making candles? Tending to his garden? Feeding Penne? Visiting the ultra-secret hidden waterfall?

At first his younger brother Matthew was happy to entertain his brother by listening to him go on and on about the mysterious boy he encountered in the marketplace. He was even interested by the idea of a magic candle that kept others safe from harm. But by the 109th time Alfred rambled on about how green Lovino's eyes were, just like the forest he was constantly wandering off into, Matthew was about ready to strangle him, crown prince or not.

His parents were starting to get worried about him during meals. Alfred was normally a very hearty eater, but ever since he became so distracted about seeing his friend again, he barely managed to clear even one plate of food. This from the boy who normally had fourths and fifths plus dessert. It was enough to make his mother even call for the doctor, believing her son was coming down with something.

Finally, after a day and a half of absolute boredom, Alfred decided to do something about it. He skipped out on his classes and snuck into the stables. He hitched up a saddle to his family's fastest horse and loaded up a travel pack.

Alfred never was the patient sort.

After two days, Lovino was startled by Penne suddenly whinnying at something near the yard. That meant that she afraid of something or she was hungry…again. As he took his pot of tomato soup off the fire and walked towards the door, Lovino considered changing her name to 'Feli.' By the time he got outside, Alfred had managed to calm Penne down, but now Lovino was the startled one.

"Wh-What the hell are you doing here, bastard?!"

"You were taking too long," grinned the prince. "I had to check to make sure you were alright."

"How in the world did you even find me?!" Lovino exclaimed. "This forest is huge!"

"Hmm, well it wasn't easy, but I was able to follow your tracks and guess for the most part."

"When did you set out?" Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"Yesterday," Alfred blushed a bit with a sheepish grin.

They both laughed at his impatience and Lovino invited him inside for lunch. He said that since Alfred travelled all the way out here, he supposed he could offer him some food, but only because he made too much. Alfred tied his horse up besides Penne and told him to lead the way, he was starving.

Sure enough, after seeing Lovino again, the prince's royal appetite returned. The brunette watched in awe as his guest polished off a sixth bowl of tomato soup with great gusto. He didn't think he'd ever meet someone who was able to eat as many tomatoes as himself.

"You're a great cook, Lovi!"

"Don't call me that," he snapped back. "And it's not hard, my parents taught me a lot…"

"Hey, that's right! Where are they?" Alfred asked, looking around.

"I…I live alone now," responded the brunette, looking down.

"O-Oh! I'm sorry, uh…" Alfred quickly changed the subject. "What was taking so long? It's been forever since you left town."

"It's been three days!" he huffed. "I told you I had to restock my wares to sell to the townsfolk."

"Yeah, but why does that take so long?"

"I make it all myself first, stupid," Lovino smirked. "That sort of thing can take a little time, my impatient prince."

"Can you show me how you make your things?" Alfred smiled back. "I heard your stuff is popular, especially the candles."

Lovino sighed, wondering how Alfred got it in his brain that candle-making would be fun and exciting, but complied nonetheless. And so the boy from the forest walked the prince through the candle-making process step by step. Lovino had been making more candles over the past few days, so all of the wax was already shaved and ready to be melted. He added another log to the fire and put on a large boiler pot.

"What's with the funny-looking pot, Lovino?" Alfred asked. Being royalty, he never saw any of his meals being made for him, but had never seen a pot like the one Lovino had in the marketplace.

"It keeps the wax out of direct heat."

"But I thought you wanted to melt it?"

"I do, but if the wax gets too hot it catches fire," Lovino sighed. Sometimes Alfred really was like a child. He added a small amount of water and then added the wax shavings. "And before you ask, that's also why you're supposed to add the water."

Alfred closed his mouth and smiled happily.

"You're really smart, Lovi! Where'd you learn how to do this?"

"My mother," a small smile formed on Lovino's lips. He was so engrossed in the task and the memory of his mother's teachings that he didn't even notice the nickname.

"She must have been pretty amazing herself!"

"The best," Lovino agreed, smiling with pride. "Her candles were even more powerful than mine!"

The demonstration went on. Lovino showed Alfred the appropriate length to cut the wicks for each candle and then how to carefully dip them into the pot of wax without getting burned. Alfred thought that was a feat in itself given how close Lovino's hand got to the bubbling wax. He found himself intently watching his friend put all his heart into making each candle. Lovino's brows knitted together in concentration, but a small smile formed every time he finished a candle and set it down to rest. When Alfred called him out on it, Lovino coughed and explained that his mother always taught him to infuse the candles with positive emotions to ward off any negative influence for the person who lights it. He then began using an interesting expression of looking angry, but willing happiness into the pot of wax. This created a silly, unbalanced face that made Alfred laugh and Lovino growl at him. Lovino tried to look even angrier, but Alfred could see a cheerful light shine through his emerald eyes. His normal scowl was replaced by a satisfied grin when the pot was empty and a stack of his creations were laid out to cool.

"And this is the finished product," he held one of the first candles in his hand to show the prince.

"Amazing, Lovino!" Alfred cupped his hands around the brunette's to get a better look at the white candle resting in his palms. He felt a pulse of happiness warm his hands and spread to his body. Maybe the candles really were magic? Alfred felt the warmth spread to his cheeks as he looked up to Lovino, whose cheeks were almost the same color as the tomato soup they had for lunch. "Can you show me how to make them?"

"What?" the brunette asked, thinking he heard him wrong. "Why the hell would you want to learn something like this?"

Alfred watched him pull his hands away quickly, but carefully, and set the candle down by the rest.

"If I help you, it will go faster!"

"Yeah, but I might feel a little bad forcing the crown prince to work for me," Lovino replied sarcastically.

His rebuff was met with a pair of well-trained puppy eyes that eventually won him over.

"Okay, you can help as long as you keep quiet and focus."

"You got it!"

Alfred ended up being a better student than Lovino gave him credit for. He treated each candle gently and carefully. Lovino shook his head thinking the bastard must have been paying closer attention to the directions that he thought.

All this was suddenly overlooked when Alfred finished his last candle, spun around to show Lovino and carelessly burned his finger on the pot.

"Yowch!" complained the surprised prince. "That's hotter than it looks!"

"Let me see it," Lovino grabbed the injured hand. "Here."

Lovino placed a gentle kiss on the burned area and then looked back up at the even more surprised prince.

"All better?"

Alfred managed to nod vigorously and smile back. The second his injured finger came into contact with Lovino, the pain had gone away instantly.

"Good," the brunette rolled his eyes. "Don't do it again."

In no time, the duo had finished making the popular candles and loaded up Penne with supplies. Lovino didn't want to say it out lout, but he had to admit it was a lot easier having Alfred there to lend a hand. The blonde was eager to jump right in and help out with whatever needed to be done. He did it without a single complaint and a smile plastered on his face. It was almost too bad he was royalty, he would have made a great shop worker.

On the way back to town, they passed the time by telling stories. Alfred went through an entire spectrum of expressions as he told Lovino about boring royal life and the exciting adventures he often went on to escape it. He also took the opportunity to remind the boy from the forest that he had promised to show him the hidden waterfall one day. This was met with a 'Whatever, bastard' from his companion.

Lovino wasn't eager to share any past memories of his family with the prince, instead telling him stories from the forest, such as the great tree that could speak the language of humans and gave the forest its name. Alfred was especially interested in the prospect of meeting Eldoh and chatting with him. His eyes fell when Lovino told him it was just a story, hitting him with a wave of guilt, compelling him to tell the prince they could still keep an eye out for him when they set out for the hidden waterfall someday. Alfred's spirits were instantly raised, saying he would hold Lovino to that.

The green-eyed boy sighed in relief. He wasn't sure why he felt so bad when the prince looked disappointed about not meeting bedtime stories he was told as a child. Lovino was even more confused by the sudden relief that came each time Alfred smiled and was happy again. He decided not to dwell on it too much, instead complimenting Alfred on paying attention at all. Lovino had been surprised how intently the prince had listened to his stories given his short attention span.

When they arrived back into Levianta, Alfred was flooded with knights, nobles, and peasants expressing how relieved they were at his safe return. The prince laughed, thanking them, saying they had no need to worry, he was quite safe (this is why he had written a brief note, explaining where he was going for a day or two).

The Note:

Hey Mattie!

I'm going out into the forest for a few days, tell mom and dad for me, okay?

-Al

P.S. Your bear ate one of my socks again

He thought he had been very clear in the letter about what he was up to so that nobody got worried. Oh, well. He'd just have to reassure them he was safe and sound and not eaten by a dragon or something. Alfred sent a guard back to the castle to do just that. His shy, timid, wallflower of a brother could be downright scary when he got mad enough.

"I'm relieved that His Highness is safe," began a boy slightly older than Alfred and Lovino, as he walked over to where the duo had started to set up shop. "I stayed up all night praying for your safe return…"

"Really?" Alfred turned towards the Noble. "That was nice of you. Thanks!"

Lovino wasn't sure what to make of the look the older boy shot him. It was hidden behind his long strands of blonde hair, but Lovino saw and felt it nonetheless.

"Perhaps you should return to the castle, so everyone knows you're safe?" he suggested. "Your family has also been very concerned about you. I could accompany you if you desire."

"That's alright. The guards will take care of that!" Alfred assured him with a smile. "I already promised Lovi here that I'd spend the day with him!"

"What?!" both exclaimed in unison.

"Remember?" the prince's attention was back on the brunette. "I told you on the way back!"

"I-I thought you were joking!" replied Lovino.

"A good prince always keeps his word," Alfred patted his friend's back. "Where should we start unpacking?"

"O-Over there should be fine," Lovino gestured, still trying to wrap his head around why the prince would want to waste his day with him.

"B-But…" the Noble began, also unable to believe what he just heard.

"Thank you for praying for me," Alfred cheerfully told him. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Francis…" the blonde's eyes fell to his feet. "My name is Francis…"

"Thanks again, Francis!" the prince waved. "See you around!"

Francis brought his eyes up only to watch his beloved prince walk away.

Word of the candles Lovino had sold his first day had been spreading ever since. People chattered about how peaceful and calm a room grew when they lit one of those special candles and sent a prayer skyward. Several others said they kept them beside their bed and haven't had anything but pleasant dreams since. People began waiting anxiously for Lovino to return with a second shipment.

Due to the popularity of the special candles and the fact that the royal prince was also present at Lovino's stand, he sold the entire stock in even half the time it took his first try. Alfred was excited for his friend's success, but at the same time a little disappointed. He had meant to purchase a candle for himself, but at the rate they were flying off the shelf, he didn't get a chance. The prince tried to brighten up. He could always wait for Lovino to make more. He couldn't wait to try it out as soon as he got one.

"Here you go, bastard," Lovino handed him something wrapped in a red fabric, similar to his prized scarf.

"What's this?" Alfred asked, unwrapping the present to see a candle.

"It's my last one…I want you to have it," Lovino glanced the opposite direction, scratching his head.

"R-Really? Thanks, Lovino!" Alfred flashed his brightest smile yet and promised to treasure it forever.

From a nearby alleyway, Francis watched on. He gripped the brickwork tightly until the loose mortar crumpled a bit. A great darkness called envy was beginning to grow inside him.

A/N – The first half is complete, the second half will follow the song more closely. If you're a fan of the song, heed the opening verse.

Translations

Penne - A type of pasta noodle (Italian)

Levianta – All of the locations in this fic were pulled from various Vocaloid songs from the Evillious Chronicles. This one was named after the patron demon of "Envy" and the site of the "Fire Disaster" mentioned in a few songs.

Eldoh Forest – The place the Evillious Chronicles began and ended.

Elphegort – A country from the Evillious Chronicles, also known as the "Green Kingdom"

Avadonia – A powerful family name from the Evillious Chronicles (notably Servant of Evil and Daughter of Evil). The characters represented by Len and Meiko were adopted into this family and played a big role in the revolution.

Idiota – "Idiot" (Italian)