Please note that this is a spin-off from another story. References will be made to that previous story, but it is likely that you can read on without confusion. If you do feel lost, the story this one stems off from is called "Kneeling at Your Feat". Again, while it does not need to be read, it would be appreciated if you would.
Setting jars into a wooden crate, the ashen blonde aligned them in rows before stuffing hay from a bail in between to keep them in tact. A bespectacled blonde piled the random machinery parts that lay around into another crate, setting them on cushions of hay that rested in layers like a cake.
"Hey, what's this?" he asked. In his hand he held a pair of modified goggles equipped with five or six different sized magnifying glasses. Each magnifying glass rotated on several hinges so that they could be positioned at several different angles. However, all of the hinges were loose and flew in almost every direction as the goggles were picked up.
"Be careful with that!" their inventor shouted. He smacked his helper upside the head hard enough that it jerked forward. The inventor snatched up his goggles, checking to make sure that no glass had shattered and nothing had become unhinged.
Hand resting against the back of his head where he had been, the younger blonde whined, "Artie, that hurt."
"Oh, phish posh. It isn't like I actually hurt you," Arthur replied. He set his creation into the crate then with a roll of his chartreuse irises.
Overdramatic as usual, Alfred faked a sniffle as he let his hand fall to his side. "Yeah, you did. " Arthur comically raised one of his eyebrows in question. "You hurt my feelings," the traveling entertainer explained.
Arthur scoffed before going back to buzzing around again as he tried to collect the rest of the parts that he would need to take with him back home. He would be returning home to Britannia for a short period of time per his mother's request and a need to leave the castle after all of the recent chaos. Despite that, it did not mean that he would not work on one of his more recent projects while he was there.
Since Arthur had stolen his job, Alfred packed away the rest of the jars that the inventor used for medicinal purposes as he also served as an apothecary of sorts. (His studies made him fairly rounded in all subjects pertaining to science.) It did not take long though for a loud shatter to fill the room as a glass slipped from Alfred's hand. He winced, not daring to look at the Briton who he could guarantee was trying to curse him silently, not that Alfred believed in magic. If anyone could do it though, it would be Arthur.
"Alfred," Arthur growled before promptly glaring.
"Don't worry, I'll clean it up," Alfred volunteered, darting for a broom so that he would avoid the other man's wrath.
There was an inhale as Arthur opened his mouth to continue reprimanding him. Previously narrowed eyes widened as the inhale turned into a gasp. A small powder blue orb of light floated around near Alfred. "No!" Arthur shouted, placing himself between Alfred and the magical being. Alfred frowned, brows knitting together. Think on his feet and not entirely lying anyway, Arthur explained, "You've already done enough. Off with you!" He shoved Alfred toward the door then, the effort taking more than one would believe, not because Alfred was heavy, but was generally much stronger and better grounded then Arthur.
"Alright, alright, I got it," Alfred grumbled as he stumbled forward after a good shove. He opened the door before letting himself out.
Arthur sighed, resting a hand over his chest before he turned around to face the fairy. The sprite had landed on one of the crates, her more human form visible. She bopped her head back and forth, long platinum curls bouncing as if defying gravity. She wore an azure dress that cut with a "v" and had long billowing sleeves. Her wings were the same powder blue as she had been moments before. To top it off, she wore white and blue stockings and pointy shoes. Her ears were even elfishly pointed. All of this was packed into a figure that could sit in the man of science's palm.
"Arthur, I don't know why you were so worried," the fairy told him as he did scoop her up into his palm. She dangled her feet again, swinging them back and forth as she gazed at him with eyes that were also of a blue shade. "It's not like he could see me."
Arthur frowned. "One can never know," he argued.
Able to observe her now that Alfred was out of the room, Arthur could tell that he held the fairy known as Breena. She tended to follow his eldest brother around when they were younger, but now, she only liked to play messenger for him and his family.
"Should I bother to ask why you're here?" the inventor inquired.
Breena bolted up in his hand, grinning like a madwoman who was all too thrilled with the thought. "Ian told me to tell you that you are supposed to get your arse into gear or he'll curse you," she told him with an impish high-pitched snicker.
Arthur jerked his hand closer to himself as if he were trying to rid himself of Breena. The fairy squealed, plummeting down before she remembered that she had wings. The butterfly like appendages flapped to return her to the air again. She dusted herself off with a "hmph". "I already have everything packed. Tell him to sod off."
The fairy rolled her eyes. "You really are gonna get cursed," she muttered. It was not an uncommon thing though. Arthur's older brothers enjoyed cursing him, especially considering he lacked the ability to curse back.
It was true; Arthur Kirkland lacked the ability to do even the smallest of tasks using his magic. He could bewitch a broom to clean for him every now and then and he had enough magic awareness to see creatures like Breena, but other than those tasks and a few small ones like them, he could do nothing. It was one of the many reasons that Arthur had turned to science.
A hand swatted at Breena and she hurriedly darted out of the way so that she would not be hit. She did know that the magic-less wizard would never hurt her though even if she did bother him mercilessly. "Now if you would so kindly, bugger off!" he shouted as he continued to shoo her away.
Avoiding his hand, the fairy weaved out of the room and out the window before disappearing all together. Setting a hand to his temple, Arthur sighed. This was going to be a long visit with his relatives.
Setting a hand to either side of the doorway, Arthur hefted himself up into the carriage. He peeked his head out to the driver with the orders to return to Britannia. The trip would take a little over a week and he would cut through several other kingdoms on his way through. He sat down on one of the seats before stretching out his legs since he was alone. It would be nice to have time to mutely glance out at the country side.
The carriage wheels rolled against the cobblestones as the horse hooves clopped. Both stallions walked at a subdued pace. There was no need to hurry through a city unless someone wanted to risk life and limb, his own or others.
Over the commotion outside that was amplified within the carriage, Arthur swore he heard someone calling out. He drew his brows together before turning his head back and forth between the two windows.
"Wait up!" the person called, jogging as fast as they could after the two horses. He managed to catch hold of one of the frames before bounding up onto the ledge that would let the door swing open.
Startled, Arthur stared at his stowaway with wide eyes. "Alfred?" he breathed, not sure he was seeing the situation correctly. The carriage door opened through a miracle of balance that had no doubt come from great dexterity and perhaps even an immense bout of strength and Alfred fell down in the seat across from Arthur. "Are you insane?" the Briton hissed.
Breathless after his feat, Alfred managed to laugh anyway. It had not been too dangerous since the horses had not even broken into a gallop, but it had still been enough to pump adrenaline through his system. "Dude, that was awesome!" he exclaimed.
"Why are you even here?" Arthur asked, fairly sure that Alfred had proved how unhinged he was with that last comment.
"Well, Mattie and I were suppose to go home, but Mattie decided to stay here for a little while longer," Alfred started. He almost seemed to pout at the fact that his twin did not want to return home with him. "Then I remembered that you were headin' out today too so I figured that I would come along."
Arthur sighed. "And you couldn't have talked to me about this yesterday when I was packing?" he asked.
Alfred slanted his lips, eyes darting to the side. It would have been ideal to ask then, but he had only decided to leave today, which lead to him having asked Matthew last minute, which did not give him much time to decide. Ultimately, Matthew had told him that he would visit their mother soon after he sorted out a few things there. Alfred told Arthur as much and the mage simply shook his head. "I thought you lived in Amerigo? "
"Yeah, but I always end up taking the boats from Britannia to go there," Alfred explained. There were a few different ways to travel there, but most of them ended up with the person on boat. The kingdom that a person departed from could also effect where they would be landing. Britannia's docks were the ones that docked closest to Alfred's home.
"Then why did you bother to travel as far as Österreich?" Arthur asked.
"Because they pay heroes the best," Alfred answered as if it were obvious. Österreich was known to treat its entertainers well though. It may have had something to do with how a great deal of the kingdom enjoyed music and as such enjoyed dancing as well.
The mage rolled his eyes. "I don't see how you're a hero."
Alfred glanced at the window, smiling sadly. "Do you know why Mattie and I took up traveling entertainment? It was to help Ma and everyone else back home. We're not exactly the richest town, but we're all like family and family helps family."
Those words muted Arthur and doused his temper. He had never really thought about Alfred's family. The only reason he knew about Matthew was because they traveled together. He had trouble telling the younger twin from the older twin in the beginning, but had eventually smoothed that out. Otherwise, he knew very little about Alfred, but he was fairly sure Alfred knew little about him. It was a benefit for Arthur though; things were best if he could keep the colonist in the dark.
Climbing out of the carriage for the last time during their trip, Alfred stretched, grinning as the sun beamed down on them. The heat pleasantly warmed his skin and he inhaled, happy to have fresh air in his lungs. He hopped down then, the bag that he had packed slung carelessly over his shoulder.
Arthur paid the carriage driver before retrieving his own luggage. He tried to stack both crates on top of his trunk before realizing how heavy it was. Stubbornly, he strained himself a few more steps before Alfred walked over, taking the two crates from Arthur. He stuck his bag in the top one with a flawless and toothy grin. "I've got it, Artie."
Huffing, the shorter blonde adjusted the trunk in his arms. "For the last time, my name is Arthur," he grumbled.
"I know," Alfred said over his shoulder. "Artie is your hero name."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Don't you have another word you can abuse?" One would not believe how many times he had heard that word while they chatted amongst themselves. Unable to simply omit the word from Alfred's sentences, he took to counting it. He made it to at least five-hundred and forty-two before he gave up.
"Nope, you can't abuse the word "hero"," the teen replied. "So, Artie, where is your house again?"
While they talked, Alfred had either invited himself to his home or Arthur had been tired enough to agree to him staying for a day or two before he headed out again, either way, Alfred would now be staying with the Kirkland family.
"That way," Arthur told him, nudging his head in the right direction since he could not point without dropping his trunk.
Alfred nodded before strolling off in that direction. They had traveled in and out of the country side and different towns before ending up in the country side once again. There were a few houses within reasonable distance though and one of them had to be that of Arthur's family. "So, how many brothers do you have again?"
"Four. Three of them are older, but they're all equally terrible," Arthur grumbled.
"Aw, c'mon, I bet they're not that bad."
"You'll see…"
The Kirkland family owned at least two acres of land, not to mention, that if one squinted, they could see that there was a lake on the property as well, behind the borders of the house. Part of the land had been dedicated to farming. One could see a tiled field nearby. There was another fenced in field that, instead of being filled with several animals, it held one single wooly sheep. It grazed on the grass contently. The owner of said sheep dozed nearby, sitting below one of the house windows. He snoozed soundly, blonde bangs falling in his eyes. A family resemblance was shown in a pair of thick eyebrows.
As Arthur and Alfred approached, Arthur set down his trunk before venturing toward the front door. He knocked three times before pausing for a second and knocking two more times. Inside the house he heard a few heavy foot falls before the door opened. The door opened and in its place stood a fiery red head who took up a majority of the door way, especially as he leaned in it, arms crossed. He regarded Arthur with a coy smirk and forest green eyes. "Look who came hame cryin' ta mummy," he teased.
Arthur clenched his jaw. He had been hoping that his eldest brother would be the last person to open the door, but it looked as if he could not be that lucky. "Hello Ian," he greeted through clenched teeth.
The conversation was enough to wake up the sleeping shepherd. Using his staff, the blonde propped him up. Aloof eyes focused on Arthur as his lips quirked into a sweet smile. "Nice seein' ya, Artie."
Alfred shifted, not bothered enough at his being ignored to speak. He had to admit though that his arms were growing tired of carrying the crates. It was revealed that he would have to wait longer though as Ian leaned his head back into the house. "Oi, Russ! Come see who's at the door!"
A loud session of shifting footsteps followed as if the person who was answering the call did not pick their foot completely up as they took each step. Another red head, his hair not quite as vibrant as the first, peeked out with the staple green eyes of the Kirkland family. He grinned impishly. "If it ain't wee Artie." His irises shifted before resting on their other guest. "Who be that there tool?"
"Alfred F. Jones," said teen greeted with an award winning grin.
"Jones? Sounds like Artie decided ta bring some colonist rubbish hame, eh boys?" Ian jeered before introducing himself. "'m Ian." It could be said that he was the ring leader of the group, or so Alfred had observed so far.
The blonde Kirkland brother held Alfred in regard for a long period of time. "Do ya think he likes sheep?" he asked no one in particular. His accent differed slightly from the eldest brother.
"'m Russell and that one over there is Gywnn," the younger ginger added as he pointed to the shepherd. He too had his own lilt, this one hinting that while he had been raised in this part of Britannia like the others, but also that he had recently kissed the Blarney stone.
"Where's Peter?" Arthur asked as if waiting for his despair to heighten upon seeing his youngest brother.
"Mum finally got enough money ta send him ta a boardin' school," Ian answered.
"If ya'd write every once 'n' awhile, ya'd know," Russell agreed.
The youngest brother sighed before making for the door despite Ian standing there. As expected though, he stepped aside to let Arthur in, but instantly returned before Alfred had the chance to make it through. "Ye ken, mum is gonna figure it out."
"Figure what out?" Arthur called from inside the house.
"Oh c'mon, why else would you bring him home wi' ye?"
"Huh?" Alfred asked, blinking a few times. He shifted the crates in his hands again before glancing over the three brothers as if searching as to what Ian was hinting at.
Gywnn gave his sheep a gentle pat on the head as she traveled over to him. He cooed to her before adjusting the red bow that he had placed there. "Do ya think he even knows?" he asked, again not really directing the question at anyone.
"Pro'ly not, Gywnnie," Russell replied to this mysterious topic.
"What? What don't I know about Artie?" Alfred asked, knitting his brows together.
"Don't worry aboot it, runt," Ian answered as he stepped out of the doorway. He was well aware that the topics he and the other two were talking about were not related at all.
Alfred stepped through the house then. It was a little rundown, but not too poorly furnished. He walked down a long hallway, passing a kitchen with a singing teakettle and a round table. Luckily, Arthur had seemed to have waited for him so he saw him just before he disappeared into one of four rooms. It was a rather small room with only a wardrobe, a desk, and a bed. While it could be assumed that this was Arthur's room, there was a mess of toys scattered through it.
"I leave for two years and Peter takes over our room," Arthur grumbled as he kicked aside a Jacob's ladder. He motioned for Alfred to set the crates down in the corner after he swept the toys into another.
"Did you two share a bed?" Alfred asked, curious since there was only one currently in the room.
"No, they must have taken it out."
His lips formed an "o" of understanding as he nodded his head. He carefully set the crates down before pulling his sack from out of the top. The ratty bag was then placed on the bed and he soon followed as he flopped down.
"I'll see if I can't get them to bring in my old mattress," Arthur muttered, mostly to himself. The problem would be finding it though, not returning it to the room. He shook his head then before heading out of the room.
Without needing to be asked, Alfred trailed after him, curious about the rest of the house. He took note that one of the other bedrooms had two beds in them. Neither of those beds was made. One of the other bedrooms was in the same state of chaos while the final one, likely their mother's, was in pristine condition.
"Mum wasn't in her room. Did she go to the market?" Arthur asked as he joined his brothers again.
"Yeah, she popped out a bit ago, said about havin' ta get more food for the lot of us," Russell answered. When he said "popped", it sounded as if he meant it literally.
"I don't ken why she went out. We have all the ingredients for haggis," Ian muttered.
At the sound of the sheep made dish, Gywnn's eyes went wide. "You leave Adwin alone, Ian," he growled, usually spacey nature gone as he glared at his older brother.
"Who's Adwin?" Alfred asked.
"Me lassie," Gywnn answered as he stared up at Alfred from his seat. He glanced back at the smirking Ian. "She can graze all she wants. She ain't hurtin' nothin'."
If Gywnn had not used the word graze, Alfred would have been sure that he had been taking about a woman and not a sheep. He really didn't see what the big deal was either. It wasn't like sheep were particularly cuddly or cute or loyal, some of the main qualities one would find in a good pet. Not realizing the situation, he voiced this thought.
Gywnn did not slip immediately into anger as he had before, but his eyes did grow wide again. His lower lip fell to protrude further than his top. "Sheep make great pets…" he argued.
"Not really, they're not even soft," Alfred countered.
"Take it back…"
"Heck no! It's true!"
"Now you've done it." Russell shook his head.
Without warning, Gywnn bolted to a stand before slamming a foot against Alfred's shin. The teen yelped, leg flying up as he held onto it. He hopped around as Gywnn sat back down. "Ye don't insult a Welsh man's sheep," Ian warned, a little too late.
"Don't worry, Gywnn, I still like your sheep," Russell told him. His brother smiled, happy to hear that someone shared his fondness of the creature.
When no one paid him any mind, Alfred soon stopped. He may have whined about it once to Arthur, but the Briton did not seem to care as much. It was all frightfully normal for his family and if Alfred thought that was odd, then if he knew the truth, he would be sure to flee the area.
Once everyone settled with the majority of the Kirklands sitting around accompanied by Alfred, they chat some, a majority of it teasing, which all the siblings participated in no matter who it was, excluding Gywnn and Russell when it came to teasing one or the other.
It was in the midst of all of this that a puff of smoke burst into the room before fanning out. Alfred jumped, but would later claim to having done no such thing. The smoke dissipated to reveal an older woman whose red hair showed heavy signs of grey. She frowned, hearing her sons argue from almost a mile away. Alfred stared at her, glasses slipping down his face. S-she had appeared in the room like magic – no, not like magic, with magic.
Author's Notes:
I bring you the second place winner and actually, that's a lie. This one tied with the GerIta and the SpaMano spin-offs so I decided to write them all up and post them all at once. The winner of my poll was the sequel, but due to the things I have planned to happen in the spin-offs, I can't write the sequel without spoiling theses so, the second place winners are being written first.
I have introduced the Kirkland family. Oh how I love them so much~ Yes, I know that technically, there should be a Northern Ireland, but I only ever go for one Ireland. To be clear, even though I'm fairly sure it is clear as to who is who, Ian is meant to be Scotland, Gywnn is meant to be Wales, and Russell is meant to be Ireland. I also went for the magic route because how can you have an Arthur without magic being referenced somehow. I should probably have flying mint bunny appear sometime too.
I expect this spin-off to be about five short chapters before it is over. Thank you all so much for letting this one come in second. I've been rather eager to run with this idea. Also, thank you for reading. Be sure to stay tuned.
