Miss Stealer: Hello there~! Welcome to chapter two! Glad you guys liked the first chapter; I really love this story so far. ^_^ Artimashunt: thank you for your approval ;). And to my two lovely guests, I'm glad you love it and I'll be sure to make Arthur get back his feisty-ness. Hope you enjoy this next bit~!

Disclaimer: I forgot to put this earlier, so here it is now: I DON'T OWN HETALIA…..if only T_T

. . .

Arthur stiffened at the princes' friendly contact and grimaced at his overly cheerful and booming voice. Sure he was grateful for his help, but he didn't have to act so gaudily. Alfred noticed his friends' discomfort and pulled his arm back, smiling warmly again.

"Hey, buddy, wanna show me around the city? I've never been here before!" Arthur stared at the Spade prince.

"Really, now?" he asked, raising a bushy brow as he started to walk away from the side street and in the opposite direction the group of boys ran. Alfred followed after him eagerly.

"Yeah, my dad has kinda kept me busy with studies and training and all that stupid stuff. Gods, it sucks!"

"Humph," Arthur rolled his eyes, "Yes, getting a proper education and military training is certainly torturous. Well, good day to you, your majesty." Arthur said snippily, weaving through the people rushing be like the wind, turning and ducking expertly to smoothly avoid even slightly brushing up against anyone. Alfred stumbled after him, not as graceful as the blonde haired spitfire.

"Hey!" he grabbed Arthurs' rough shirt once he finally caught up to him. Arthur turned and sharply glared at Alfred, his emerald eyes alight with annoyance and clashing with bright, cheerful blue.

"Don't you have royal duties to attend to?" Arthur snapped.

"Well, uhh, sorta, but I'd rather hand out with you, dude!" Alfred used his infamous puppy dog eyes that got him everything from a book to a purebred stallion, (which he named Nova, for your information) when Arthur continued to glare in silence.

"No."

"Wha? Hey, c'mon!" Alfred whined and stopped Arthur as he walked off again, earning himself a slap to the face.

"Let me go! I don't care if you're the Prince of Spades or a mutated sewer rat; just leave me alone, you sodding git!" Alfred stared at Arthur with a blank face after his outburst. Arthur thought for sure he would at least be beheaded for his yelling.

"Wow… I thought datorems were really nice…" Alfred mumbled to himself, but Arthur heard him clear as day.

"Excuse me?" Arthur was livid; his beheading be damned. "So, you finally meet a dirty datorem and expect them to be the pinnacle of innocence? To have bloody posies in their hair and be the best of friends with anyone and anything? It's bad enough we're viewed like women-"

During Arthur's rant, Alfred looked past him and saw Jack Yao with his entourage of guardsmen heading their way. Remembering what he was supposed to be doing and realizing Arthur was making a scene with his yelling, Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and ducked into a dark alley. To keep the protesting Londoner quiet, Alfred held his hand over Arthur's mouth, causing him to squeak in surprise.

"Shh!" Alfred hushed, leaning over to wait until he could see the Jack moving away from their position. "Ow!" Alfred jumped back and clutched his hand to his chest as Arthur smirked victoriously at him.

"Serves you right! Grabbing me like that…who taught you manners? Good heavens, what was that all even about?"

"Oh, well," Alfred rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I'm not really doing what I'm supposed to be doing, so I don't wanna get caught is all…"

"And what, pray tell, are your royal duties you should be attending to?" Arthur asked, crossing his arms over his chest impatiently.

"Finding a stupid wife…" Alfred pouted and Arthur looked at him shocked.

"Stupid? If I may, Prince Alfred, I believe you should treat this very seriously. Especially if your father is letting you chose your future companion; not many people in even the entire kingdom do that. You're very lucky. Don't ruin it for yourself. Some people would kill for the opportunity to marry whom they want." Alfred stared at Arthur and saw past his feminine looks, seeing the wisdom a boy his age wouldn't normally possess. It inspired Alfred and gave him, what he thought was, a great idea.

"Hey, why don't you help me out? I could use it, dude! Im not good at this stuff! Haha!"

"Me?" Arthur looked highly confused," Me, a poor datorem from the scum of London, helping to choose the future queen of the Spades Kingdom? Hah! You make me laugh, boy!"

"But I'm serious!" Alfred walked up to Arthur and took his hands in his own, a pleading look on his face," I know you don't think highly of yourself or anything, but I could really use the help! Please, Artie?"

Arthur was still confused. How could he of all people, who had just met the prince not more than an hour ago, help determine who the Prince of Spades was going to be betrothed to? It didn't make any sense to him that Alfred would just meet a random person, a datorem no less, and ask them to help choose who he's going to be with for the rest of his life! He seemed to have drifted off into thought for quite a while because Alfred started to call his name.

"Artiee!" he whined," Please? I'll- I'll let you come to the castle with me! You can tour around the country with me and help me decide! Please, Arthur, I know we just met and all but I've never done something like this on my own. At least I'm being creative!"

"Not creative, plain stupid! I can't live in the bloody palace, you fool! Get your head screwed back on straight and do it yourself!" Arthur ripped his hands out of the princes' hold and glared at the pleading boy in front of him. Alfred looked into his eyes hopefully, but was only met with stubborn resistance and sighed despondently.

"Okay…" he sadly looked into Arthur's eyes, but on the inside, he could tell Arthur's resolve was breaking. "I respect your decision, Artie."

Alfred could practically hear the pieces falling apart, but they still held strong. Experience told him that for the best possible result, he would have to sit and wait for the snap. He could be downright sneaky and manipulative when he wanted something, believe it or not. So, for the rest of the time he hung around Arthur, even though the datorem still yelled at him to leave, Alfred didn't mention his earlier plead at all. When it came time for the prince to return home to the palace, the two boys parted ways.

"Well Arthur, I gotta get goin'. Trip's gonna be a long one! See you around, buddy!" Alfred pulled Arthur into another bone crushing hug; the Londoner becoming rigid again and clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Ahh, yes," his knowledge on how to say formalities to royals kicking in," Please do return home safe, Prince Alfred. Good wishes to you." Arthur bowed quickly and stiffly, and then hurried off without another glance.

Alfred grinned widely to himself and took off in the direction he presumed would lead him to the carriage. After a while of searching aimlessly, he found Jack Yao waiting impatiently in the carriage they arrived in. He jumped in, his happy mood from being with Arthur still evident. The jack saw this and questioned the prince.

"Did one catch your eye, sir?"

Alfred's smile fell just slightly. Technically, he should say no because, as he noted before, the women in London were ugly (no offence). However, if he did, then the jack would make him go to more cities and most likely never revisit this one again. Then he wouldn't be able to see his new friend, whom he thought was actually quite fun under his general rudeness. So, Alfred lied.

"You know, I really think this one could work out!"

The jack raised his thin eyebrows and seemed to be pleased, but kept quiet the entire way back to the castle. Alfred happily bounded out of the stuffy carriage and ran through the large spade shaped doors into the main foyer. The entire room was empty and quiet, and he could see that all of the candles were lit throughout the room, giving it a healthy glow. One of the maids was scurrying past, but paused upon seeing the prince's arrival.

"Oh! Prince Alfred, King Theodore wishes to speak to you." Alfred smiled at her and nodded, allowing the maid to continue her duties.

He ran up the stairs and to his father's grand study. When he poked his head inside, though, he saw it was empty. The comfy chair was pushed all the way in and the books on the old oak desk were all closed. Alfred smiled to himself and headed back to the ground level and into the Royal Spade Garden. Ever since his father became king, he openly showed his adoration for the gorgeous, expansive garden. In the center was a spade shaped maze, surrounded by the blue and red flowers and a royal favourite: white roses.

At the center of the elaborate maze was a beautiful was a beautiful marble fountain flowing with the purest and clearest water in the kingdom; coming straight from an underground spring directly underneath the palace. There, on the ledge of the fountain, sat Alfred's father. His slightly greying hair shone under the setting sun and his eyes glowed contently as he scanned the worn leather book in his hands. Alfred walked over to him quietly and sat down next to him. He knew that his father already noticed his presence, but he was polite and let his father finish his reading.

"So, son," he began, folding up his reading glasses and closing the book," How was your first day? Find anyone interesting?"

"Well…" Alfred trailed, not knowing how to tell his father about his predicament," I found someone interesting, but not someone to marry…" His father looked at him, perplexed.

"What do you mean?"

Alfred explained what happened in London, about Arthur and their adventures in the city, and about his want to keep him as a friend. As an afterthought he told his father about what he asked of Arthur as a sort of joke, but the king actually jumped at the idea.

"Alfred, I knew you were a genius!" Alfred stared wide-eyed at his father in confusion as he patted the boy on the shoulder, "Getting someone your age to help you decide, it's brilliant! And it's someone who knows the streets and its' people! You know, son, London is probably the best city to find a wife, but, of course, you could take your friend elsewhere to find a girl-"

"Wait," Alfred interjected his fathers' long rant," I, I can bring him with me? Are you serious?"

"Well son, how many times to you find someone you really bond with? At your age it's really the best thing for you, especially with the pressure we started putting on you. I think this datorem friend of yours could help you figure out a path for you better than we can. I mean, we're all old ladies and men who don't know how you think."

Sometimes Alfred thought of how lucky he was to have such understanding parents. We all know most parents wouldn't let someone we just met help decide who we were going to marry, but Alfred's parents were one of a kind. He would occasionally think he didn't deserve the life he lived; barely doing anything but having everything at your fingertips.

"Now, I bet you had a tiring day, and you need to get up early tomorrow. Why don't we head on up to bed?" They both traveled silently back to the dark castle and parted ways, saying good night.

As Alfred lay in his bed, tucked under the blue silk sheets, he stared at the ceiling and a grin slid on his face. Now he wouldn't have to suffer through his decision alone, and he finally found a true friend. Living in a castle most of your life with the same boring people doesn't leave much for creating friendships. His travels out into the cities were the first time he was exposed to so many different people, and he enjoyed it. Alfred really felt lucky to find a friend so fast, even if it was a stuffy, bushy browed Brit.

. . .

Okay, so I was going to update Monday, but I wasn't able to. I just so happened to have gotten sick over the weekend, again, so I didn't get the chapter done in time. Plus this holiday looks like it won't be very merry, but I'm working through it ^_^ Well, enough of my ranting, I hope you enjoyed and please review, they're all like mini Christmas presents, except…not on or anywhere near Christmas most of the time… Oh well, see you next time my little lemon drops!

~Miss Stealer