Long time no see! I got distracted so I forgot about the fanfics. BUT MOVING ON TO CHAPTER 3~
Ice was a quiet boy. Found orphaned in an Icelandic church, he always felt he was different so he kept away from the other children. He was a skilled fighter due to defending himself from bullies and fairly intelligent because books were more interesting than other children. He was also great at keeping secrets. Not just because he had no one to tell them to, but because he felt that if a person entrusted him with a secret, he should keep it. His poker face was hard to break, and a person would easily give up when trying to pry something from him.
And that reason is exactly why he was chosen to 'guard' Elijah Hédévary and her secret. He was to join the prince/ess during her school days to prevent her true gender from getting out. He would be sharing a room with her to prevent other possible roommates from finding out. Most boys would get awkward at that fact, but Ice really didn't care.
The king of Hungary found him wandering the alley ways of Hungary with coins strung around his neck. When he asked why, he replied that they were rewards from the fights he won against gang leaders. The king was appalled that his subjects were attacking this boy and asked who provoked him. He merely shook his head and said he wouldn't tell. Getting inspiration, the king asked if he would tell for a sack of money. Though tempted, he shook his head again and said he promised. The king hired him on the spot.
He was getting housing, a better education, decent food and money for keeping a secret. Ice could hardly believe his luck.
"Hey."
Ice turned to look at the royal. She was pouting.
"If we're going to spend most of our time together, we should get to know each other huh?" she asked.
Ice grunted in reply. After a silence, Elijah spoke.
"Well because of a stupid bet my father made when he was drunk, I'm betrothed to marry the princess of Austria, so I was raised a boy all my life. Until last year when my father dropped the bomb on me, 'hey guess what, you're a girl!' My best friend is Gilbert of Germany, he's sorta obnoxious but you'll get used to him c'ause he'll be hanging out with us a lot. I like fighting and 'manly stuff'. I guess I have more testosterone than normal girls. Which is good, because it'll help me pretend to be a man with my fiancé."
She stared at him before he shifted and spoke softly.
"I was abandoned in front of a church in Iceland and was raised by nuns strictly. I didn't like talking to people because the other orphans were idiots. I got enough money to leave Iceland and wandered across Europe for a year fighting anyone who provoked me and getting paid for my accomplishments. Your father found me in an alleyway."
When he turned to look at his companion, her eyes were shining in admiration.
"That's so cool!" she exclaimed. "You got to travel and fight and win!" She turned sideways so her head was resting on his lap and she was looking up at his face. "That must've been an awesome life!"
Ice stiffened when she touched him. He wasn't that used to human contact and she was a touchy person.
But by the sound of her other friends, Antonio and Francis, he guessed he would have to get used to touching.
"It wasn't that great," he admitted. "Sometimes I lost and had no place to sleep or eat."
She widened her eyes. "Still, a traveling fighter must be a great to be. You're like a land pirate!"
Hearing that, Ice chucked. Elijiah stared up at him, eyes sparkling with a toothy smile.
"Hey that's the first time I've seen you smile!" he said. "You should do it more often, 'a warm heart often hides behind cold walls,' so you should let your warmth shine."
Ice's face turned slightly pink and he raised an eyebrow. She knew rarely known quote by the author of his favorite book series.
"I'm guessing you've read The Pineapple Martyrs?"
Roderica glanced annoyingly at the girl next to him. She was the girl who was supposed to accompany him to make sure he wasn't found out. But couldn't his father have chosen a less happy girl?
Belle was the middle child of the Netherlands-Belgium-Luxembourg alliance royal family. His father thought a girl around his age and of royal background would be best to guard him. She was sworn to secrecy and was taught fighting moves just in case.
Roderica was unhappy with Belle. He would have been fine with a commoner who was quiet but interesting. But no, his father had to choose the perkiest princess in Europe. It wasn't that he hated Belle; her personality just didn't match up with his.
Plus she'd been meowing randomly throughout the whole ride. Very strange. Roderica wished for the company of Vash or Lilli, but his father wished that he spend more time with his new "gal pal" to get used to each other. After all, they would be spending most of their time with each other.
He noticed she was looking at a picture of cats.
"Are they yours?"
Belle looked up startled. Hey, this prince hadn't spoken much at all during their voyage. She forgot the sound of his voice.
"Ah, no," she replied. "You see, in Belgium, they used to burn cats because they thought they were helpers of witches. So now we have an annual Cat Festival in honor of those cats that were killed. These are cats that come annually for the festival. I think they understand the purpose because every year they head straight for the cat statue in this picture and just stare at it for a while before wandering around the festival and getting free food."
Roderica nodded at this. He had a cat at home and it was full of itself, but it seemed to know exactly what he and his parents were talking about.
"I know what you mean," he said. She smiled and took a breath, probably to speak quickly.
"NO." he said rather loudly. She shut her mouth and pouted then turned to the window, sulking.
Roderica sighed. He guessed that he was a bit harsh on her. He was just annoyed that he had to pretend to be a girl because of that dammed argument his father made. Plus the Zwingli's were much quieter than her and he wasn't used to such loud conversations.
I suppose I'd have to get used to boisterous noise, he thought. I am going to have to marry the loud MALE Elijiah.
The thought of being married to a man brought worries to his mind. How would he react when he found out? How on earth would they create a baby?
Belle seemed to have thought the same thing, as she was looking at him and giggling. Roderica felt his face heat up and he grumbled angrily.
"So…" she said coyly. Roderica tensed himself up for whatever she was about to say.
"How are you gonna have sex with your hubby to be?" she squealed.
Roderica threw a pillow at her.
Elijiah was having similar thoughts.
"Hey," she asked. Ice looked down. "Do you know where I could buy a strap on?"
Ice turned a beautiful shade of red and pushed her head off his lap and turned away from her.
"No, it's just because, well wouldn't you be confused if your husband didn't have a-"
Ice threw his backpack at her.
Ohoho, seems like Roderica and Ice have more in common than most people thought, mostly just they had to be with a loud female most of the day. I'm thinking about pairing Iceland and Belgium for no reason at all. It seems cute to me. The next chapter may take longer because: a) I forgot about this story, b) I forgot to get a beta.
Pineapple martyrs are people who die for the sake of pineapples *COUGHKHRREFERENCECOUGH*
