A/N: Hullo old and new readers~ I've reposted this so that the reviews I got for the last don't get counted for this. I would have posted this earlier but I went on a short holiday and cut one of my fingers and hurt my hand on smashed glass so stuck to using my iPod rather than computer 8C

This story will contain: -Eventual USUK (along with UKUS obviously.) -Some other pairings -Alternate universe - I explained it in the last story, set in the past with a couple of modern inventions for convenience. In this AU, Britain is a mega big empire that's taking over the world and stuff C8 I'll explain it more in later chapters... and -probably a lot of other stuff that will pop up in the future!

Onwards!


Arthur looked through the window of his chambers. The rose bushes in the garden beneath stretched on far, only the ancient tall stone wall at the very end blocked it from going any further. The gorgeous red of the flowers couldn't be seen as it was fairly late at night and a gorgeous blanket of newly fallen snow covered the vast majority of the bushes. The snow sparked like glitter had been sprinkled across each little flake that had fallen. He raised his hand to the glass longingly, the cold from the winter night outside making his palm and fingers turn cold. His lips pulled down into a grimace, Arthur was sick of his life here in the castle. His father didn't care about him or Peter, only how his growing kingdom will turn out and who out of he and his younger brother would be most fit to rule it. Blonde lashes covered green eyes as a small sigh left his parted lips, the young prince turned around, and then let his hand leave the glass before walking over to the four poster bed that was by the window he had been standing at.

He dropped into the soft fabric covers that creased around his weight and dipped underneath him. The blonde stared up at the white ceiling in thought. Of course, he had planned all he could think have but now that the time was near... He was scared that something had been forgotten in his plan, a nagging in the back of his mind trying to say what but the voice was too quiet to be able to hear. The prince's frown deepened before turning his head slightly to the right and allowing his eyes to open slightly. A bag sat by the side of the door, the Brit sat up and dangled his feet over the side of the bed before standing up and walking over to it.

He kneeled before it and stroked the top; it was a rough fabric, not as fancy as everything else but it would do to get some items from the castle without having to carry it in his arms. The blonde turned the bag over looking for the dirty white strap, when it was found he grabbed it before slinging the bag over his shoulder and onto the bed without batting an eye. The bag bounced off the headboard with a thump and fell into the velvety bed covers, he then stood back up and walked back over to the bed before flopping down at the side of the bag. There was one thing in his plan that was worrying him immensely, would he be able to get out unnoticed? The gates were guarded by some of his father's best guards so that no party crashers got in without an invitation. This would make it hard as the guards knew each member of his family's face. Arthur didn't want to risk it by plotting with one of the staff here; they hadn't done him any wrong so he certainly didn't want anyone to take the blame for him.

There was always the backdoor through the large kitchen, the head chef Yao had always liked him, so he was always nice to talk to and they got along like good friends, which made it possible that he would let him out without telling his parents. Arthur shook his head whilst scowling and pulled his bare legs up to his chest and started rubbing a circle into his knee. He couldn't risk Yao getting into trouble for himself; he would have to make sure he escaped without anyone else knowing. Of course, first things first were him to get dressed. The winter nights are harsh and going out in only a short night gown and a pair of socks would be like catching death. He sat up from the bed again and stood. He walked over to his mahogany wardrobe and pulled open the doors, but keeping hold of the wooden knobs on each door as he looked at the pieces his wardrobe had to offer.

The wooden piece was brimming with so many different colours, from pastel greens to crimson reds, each piece and colour as unique as the one before. His green eyes scanned over each piece carefully going through in his head whether to wear it or not. He finally stopped on an indigo waistcoat. He pulled the metal coat hanger out and threw the piece on his bed as he continued his search in the wooden confines to find another piece that would match it. A white long sleeved shirt and ribbon were also added to the clothes on his bed along with a pair of tan pants that was thrown onto the haphazard pile followed by a purple coat that had been folded neatly at the bottom along with other coats and jackets of varying colour and pattern.

He kneeled down and opened the small drawers at the bottom of the wardrobe and pulled a fresh pair of underwear and socks out before throwing them onto the pile on his bed. Arthur stood back to his full size and looking around his room again. His eyes stopped on the white vanity that had belonged to his sister that has passed on. The vanity was white much like the rest of the room and had a lamp by the mirror that was attached, but that isn't what he was interested in. He sauntered over to the vanity and picked up the small blue top hat with a headband attached to stop it from falling off.

Arthur looked at the other contents of the vanity before picking the hat up and throwing it backwards so that it would land on the growing clothes pile without turning away. The blonde opened one of the drawers and fumbled around inside for a moment before his hand felt a cold metal surface. He grabbed the chain attached to the top and pulled out the brass pocket watch, a small tick coming from it as the second hand slowly moved. He clapped the piece shut and held the still ticking watch to his heart. Arthur closed the still open drawer shut with a small bang before moving back to the clothes pile on the bed. The pocket watch was carefully placed to the side of the messy pile; Arthur stared at the mess whilst scowling. He really shouldn't have just thrown them; he knew he'd regret it when he felt he looked bad when they were all creased. With a sigh he undid the top buttons of the short white nightgown before the piece fell to the ground in a bunch around his ankles; he was completely bare apart from a pair of socks.

The cold hit his pale skin like a train causing shivers to course down his spine, he rubbed his forearms with his palms in a futile attempt to warm them up slightly before looking at the pile on the bed again. A piece of white stuck out from the purples and blues, he stopped his arm rubbing to quickly pluck the piece out and lay it a further away from the other pieces of clothing. A pair of boxers soon followed after that he quickly put on so that his lower parts didn't get any colder. Arthur sorted each piece out so that they were each spread out amongst the bed and looked at each piece contemplatively. Where does he start? He was so used to the maids dressing him that he had generally forgotten how to do it himself.

Arthur decided that the shirt would be a good place to start; the blonde pulled his arms through the holes and started on the clear plastic buttons, popping each one in their small slit until he reached the top button. He straightened out the collar and pulled at the ends of his shirt to straighten them out. The tan pants came next; he tucked his white shirt into the waist of the pants and dusted himself off slightly. Each piece of the clothing was done up with care, the waistcoat had to be done several times as Arthur didn't quite understand how it was meant to be fastened. The male picked up the two last remaining pieces and ambled back over to the white vanity. He pulled out the matching white wooden chair and sat in it before staring directly into the mirror. Green eyes upon pale skin, a messy head of sandy blonde and a scowl stared back at him. The chandelier hanging from the roof illuminated his skin making it looks slightly paler. He turned his head around looking at each angle before trying to pull the brush that was sitting on the edge of the wooden top through his hair, which he ultimately didn't manage to finish.

He put the brush back down with a little more force than necessary and stared back into the mirror. His scowl had deepened and his eyes had turned into a glare slightly from the annoyance of not being able to brush his hair. The pocket watch that he had put down on the wooden top when he had came over was put in the pocket of his coat and the small top hat and headband were put on, the hat tilted to the left slightly. He stared into his reflection, was he doing the right thing by running away? His father would always come after him. After all of his older sibling's deaths his father has been doing all in his power to make sure that Arthur doesn't end up dead or missing like the ones who came before him.

Although his father doesn't want him dead, it doesn't mean he loves him. His father is cold and strict; he showed no love to his two remaining sons, he only shouted and isolated himself from them. The only time he had ever talked to them was when telling them off or giving instructions. He had never congratulated them on birthdays or got together with them on the holidays. His step mother is no better, she married for money and power and she shows the son that actually is hers no love either. Arthur's scowl turned into a melancholic smile as he carried on staring into his reflection, his overly large eyebrows furrowed together in sadness. Of course, his mother Alice had been a lovely woman. She had loved each and every one of her children with enough love to account for herself and father. It had truly changed Arthur when she had passed on. So was he doing right? By leaving behind everything he's had up until this point because he fears for the future to go and start anew? Arthur hoped that he was doing right because he refused to turn back after coming so far. Arthur turned away from his reflection and looked over his shoulder to his spacious room again, probably the last time he'll (hopefully) see it in his life.

The crimson red and white colour scheme, the antique chaise lounge in front of the roaring fireplace that had always smelled like herbs and not an actual fire, the beautiful view of the rose gardens below. Arthur will miss them all because they held so many memories from when he was still a babe until this point right now. With a sigh he stood from the white wooden chair and went to pick up the bag that was still resting in front of the headboard of his bed. He picked it up by the strap and slung it over his shoulder. Now that his plan had actually started he would have to start being less noisy and more stealthy. The Briton moved over to the door of his bedroom, he opened the door and poked his head out into the hallways decorated in rich reds and walls that were lined with portrait upon portrait of past Kirkland family members.

The hallways seemed void of all life, so he quickly flicked off the light switch of his bedroom and moved out into the long hallway. He looked from side to side fearing that one of the maids, or his father or stepmother would suddenly come around a corner. Arthur slowly tiptoed down the long hallway, avoiding the potted plants and priceless vases that lined the many doors. His feet moved slowly over the red rug, his pace was picking up slightly. Any moment now he knew one of the many doors would swing open and a familiar face would catch him. Then it hit him. Arthur stopped abruptly and growled in irritation. Of course no one would come down here, all the maids were at the party serving guests, his father and mother were socialising with guests and Peter was well... Somewhere, but wouldn't be able to do much trouble. The blonde then began moving, this time at a leisurely pace. He didn't need to worry about getting caught as there was no one up stairs to catch him. Arthur reached the empty stair case and stared down it at the bottom.

A quiet sound of chattering and music could be heard coming from a far part of the house; he was at the furthest stair case from the ballroom so he wouldn't bump into anyone. The blonde grabbed a hold of the golden banister of the staircase. He took each stair one at a time, his boots quietly clicking against the marble. Once at the bottom he looked again from left to right before taking the right corridor. The downstairs was most decorate in a pure white, paintings of landscapes and the occasional small light for one to find their way in the dark decorated the walls. The floor was in white polished porcelain, as he swiftly moved down it towards the kitchens at the ends his boots clicked against them noisily. The adrenaline that was pumping in him making his feet pick up in pace as a small smile tugged at his lips.

Barely any doors where on the bottom floor, just the odd bathroom. The door to the kitchen was closed and no noise was coming from within, this was a good sign. He looked from side to side, the end of the corridor split off into another T-shaped set of corridors. Believe it or not, Arthur had barely taken the time to explore the large castle in all of his 15 years. The large metal kitchen doors were directly in front of him, in the middle of the other two corridors. He walked directly up to the metal doors and with a hard push, the two doors opened. He flicked the light switch upwards and a flurry of light filled the room, making the metallic surfaces glisten ever so slightly. Arthur carefully walked through the aisles of metal surfaces, the room was barely colourful as the walls were a slightly darkened white, the metal surfaces a shiny silver colour and the tiles were beige and like the tops of the surfaces were reflecting him ever so slightly. The small brown heels of his boots were clicking and clacking noisily again, if anyone was close by it would have been heard.

Arthur could only hope that nobody actually had strayed from the dance hall and were close by. He stopped in front of another set of metal doors, two lever handle locks on both of the doors. They were the same as the doors he had used to get in but had a chair pushed underneath as an extra security measure, the doors could be opened both inwards and outwards. The cooks didn't want the blame for someone breaking in through the kitchen so they had put it there. The prince pulled the wooden chair from underneath the handles, the wooden hind legs squeaked slightly as they were pulled from under the door. He placed the chair in front of the sink near the door. The blonde grabbed onto the metal handles and pulled them down slowly. After hearing the locks slide out of place he pulled the handles down with more force than he had originally been using. The Brit pushed the doors open as a cold gust of wind blew into his face making the blonde wince and face away slightly before cracking an eye lid open. The wind was whistling outside making cold air gush and the few leaves showing on the trees outside shake slightly.

The moon was higher in the sky than it had been when looking out of his window back in his room. Arthur frowned and drew his eyebrows together in confusion; did I really take a long time to get down here? He thought contemplatively. The short male leaned to the side of the door and swiped his hand across the wall without taking his eyes from the view outside of the doors. He eventually felt a light switch, he didn't want it to look like someone had been in recently so he had to make sure to cover up any evidence; the doors to the kitchen had already been closed after he had gone through them. He pressed the switch and the light changed to darkness, only the shine of the clear waning moon hanging loosely in the sky. He put his first foot out and onto the iced over stairs. He quickly looked down to his feet as to avoid slipping on the wet ice. He put the other foot out and let go of the handles as he gently pushed the door closed slightly so that it would close the rest of the way on its own.

He took confident steps across the ice, not letting his eyes stray from his brown boots as he carried on moving onwards, not even as he went down the stairs did they leave. His feet came to a stop at the bottom of the concrete staircase; he looked from side to side. Arthur had barely ever been in the garden so he didn't know which way would lead to the front. The only times he had looked at the garden was to see the rose gardens and the moon at night. He chose to go right, walking past the bow windows that were either dark or had the cream curtains pulled together. He turned around the corner of the castle and walked straight up the wide pathway that was lined with stone benches and box trees.

A couple of inebriated people who came to his father's party sat on the benches in a happy buzz. The sound of faint music and chatter was growing louder as he got closer to the front. He couldn't go through the front gates... So where else? Arthur sat down on the bench closest to him which didn't have anyone sitting on. Of course, Arthur hadn't always been a shut in and when he had siblings they were never a friendly group, faint memories of being chased around a garden when he was only five, in a white ruffled long hand me down t-shirt from his eldest sister who had turned eight and no shoes. Being chased by his red head older brother and sister, he could remember begging them to leave him alone. They obviously wouldn't comply. So over time he had found little hiding places and learnt to climb trees. His favourite being the tall willow tree; it had been the hardest to climb (a challenge was always fun) because when the top was reached, the ledge of the stone wall was within a lucky jumping distance. He'd always sat with his knees to his chest atop the tall stone staring out at the mass row upon row of houses until the sky turned a lovely canvas of red, purples, oranges and wispy white clouds.

The blonde scowled in annoyance, he would have to walk all the way back around and it's already taken him so long to get to this point. His father would be alerted of his absence if he doesn't make hurry. With a feverish haste, the green eyed boy stood and turned back towards the direction he had came from, this time ignoring his surroundings. He stood before the brown trunk, the dormant tree not providing the canopy of leaves it would in summer. Arthur stared up at the far branches before looking back at the trunk.

A footing would be hard to find in the dark but if he tries to go by his memories from childhood there's a chance he could make it. As a child he had been able to climb the tree as if by instinct so he could hope that it hadn't gone in his time of staying indoors. He thought back to his childhood days as he grabbed around the thick wood. He thought back to climbing it as a child whilst his body moved on autopilot, bringing his feet up to the right places and hand shuffling upwards and grabbing a hold of the wood as he climbed further. The willow hadn't changed at all since he had first climbed it as an infant, albeit a probably a little taller. He climbed until he could see the snow covered roofs of several houses which shook him from his memory and bringing his body out of unconscious climbing to conscious. He scrambled up a little faster before finding a sturdy enough branch that would be able to hold his weight as he slid across it to the wall.

Arthur didn't think he would be able to make the jump so he could only hope fate was with him. He slid onto the branch backwards, not caring about his clothes. The branch dipped slightly when he first got on and carried on dipping further as he got closer to the thinner end. It didn't break through as the blonde grabbed a hold of the edge of the stone wall as he jumped from the branch to the wall and landing half on half off of it. His brown boots were probably scuffed and his blue pants ripped a little but he didn't care anymore. As he pulled himself fully on and into a sitting position he held the bag tighter as he looked down.

A slightly snow covered cobble path wasn't too far down, the fall looked like it would hurt a little but Arthur was ready to take that risk. He gulped slightly and stared down at the path with disdain as if daring it to hurt him when he jumps on it. The blonde put his hands onto the worn down edges of the ivy covered stone wall preparing to push all of his weight from it. With another look down and a hard push he jumped from the perch and began falling to the wet stone floor. His arms were up in the air as he fell flailing as if he was trying to fly like a bird, the bag on his shoulder pulling down like a heavy weight. He landed on one knee but the adrenaline pulsing didn't make the pain come.

He immediately stood back up and looked from side to side in case anyone had seen him whilst dusting his knees off and patting his hind to make the slight numbness in it go away. He smiled to himself happily, had he not been trying to be quiet then a little victory dance probably would have been performed in the middle of the empty street. He crossed the road to the large houses on the other side as the snow flurried down beside him again, landing in small piles on his clothes. When at the other side he ignored the well decorated large houses, instead trying to seek out the path that lead down to the other rows of houses that shrunk in size the further one travelled down.

The path was actually miles long and the lowest of the low (criminals, the poorest people etc) lived right on the very last row. Of course, as a high in society person, Arthur didn't want to go that far back. Just to the middle class would do him fine. He turned the corner and looked down the long winding path, only the light of the few lampposts that lined it illuminating the pathway that had a blanket of snow, the many foot prints in it from people travelling to the castle for the party. The prince turned to look back at the lit up castle, his heart was tugging as the few happy memories he had left came to mind. He turned back to the endless path and took off into a sprint, the heavy bag slapping against the small of his back and his thigh painfully as the memories were left behind to live in the castle hopefully, forever.


If you made it this far I applaud you. Sorry for it being long and nothing really happening -/-

How was it and stuff... –Blushblush-

In other news, I'm going to start a new story, Window of life is on a temporary hiatus because honestly, I've run out of plot (I'm shitting you, there was no plot.) for it and I was originally just pulling what happened in it before out of my arse.

Long chapters? Definitely! The next chapter will be out when I get my laptop next month on my birthday (ME AND SEALAND HAVE THE SAME BIRTHDAY! –FIST PUMP!-) Also, my mum has offered to beta or whatever this for me but I'm mega too embarrassed to send her the chapter for checking so if anything's wrong – I'M SORRY. Until next time... I hope.