Gilbert slowly opened his eyes, vaguely aware of the pain in his hands and feet. He slowly took in his surroundings and found it kind of odd that it wasn't the blue that he was used to. Everything was red, orange, and yellow. As his senses slowly came back to him, so did his memories. He'd taken on the prince of the Kingdom of Fire. Apparently, the one with more power. It was amazing that Alfred was the older one and the one to take over, considering the power that Matthew held.
Gilbert let out a small groan and he turned onto his side. What had gotten into him when he told Matthew about…Gilbert looked at his right hand, which was covered in a white glove. He'd shown him something only his family had seen. Even his best friends hadn't seen the frostbite. And now Matthew knew that he had killed someone. That one day in Gilbert's life haunted him every day and reminded him to never use his magic if he could help it.
But he just had to play hero, didn't he? He just had to run to the rescue, when there were plenty of people that could have probably taken his place. He was such an idiot and now the frostbite was further along. Proof of his idiocy. Gilbert slowly took off his right glove and pushed up the light blue sleeve to see just how far the frostbite had gotten. It was just an inch past his wrist and Gilbert let out a sigh. His mother would kill him when she found out.
The door opened slowly behind Gilbert and he quickly put the glove back on and looked in that direction. A maid dressed in yellow smiled warmly at him.
"I see you're awake, Your Grace," she curtsied to him and Gilbert sighed, rolling his eyes as he sat upright. "The royalty of the Kingdom of Fire would like to request your presence in the throne room. If you would like me to guide you, I will wait outside the room for you to be ready."
"Uh, thanks, sure," Gilbert nodded. "Do you know where Prince Ludwig is staying?"
"The prince is in the room next door," the maid nodded to him.
"Could you get him, too?" Gilbert asked.
"Yes, Your Grace," she nodded and exited the room, closing the door behind her. Gilbert never liked it when the people working in the castle treated them so highly. Gilbert, at least, didn't deserve that treatment. There was a reason he held the red eyes of someone who'd been cursed.
After Gilbert stood up, he noticed that he was dressed in some form of night clothing, most likely provided by Ludwig, who always came places over-prepared. There was a neatly folded change of white and light blue clothes waiting on a massive dresser in front of him. Gilbert let out a sigh as he changed and tried to remember to keep up the grace that he had to hold, especially in other kingdoms.
He had to wonder, though…why would the royalty want a word with him? Had he done something wrong when he confronted the prince the night before? He had made sure not to even touch the kid with his ice once. Not like Matthew did the same for him…
Before long, Gilbert emerged out of the room, straightening himself out. Ludwig was already out of his own room and quickly looked over at Gilbert. He held up the royal façade, even around just the maids and Gilbert nodded to him, keeping his own façade up as well.
"I see you are feeling well," Ludwig nodded to him.
"I feel fine," Gilbert lied, his hands and feet still stinging. It was weird to not be able to feel his whole hands or his whole feet. He'd lasted with the frostbite for long enough to know how to function with frozen parts of his body and more wasn't too hard for him to handle.
"Please follow me," the maid curtsied to both of them and began to walk down the hall. The two brothers just nodded and followed her.
"Why did you do that?" Ludwig asked quietly, keeping his head facing forward.
"You didn't look like you were going to jump into action any time soon to save everyone," Gilbert muttered.
"You could have gotten yourself killed," Ludwig sighed.
"It'll take a lot more than that to kill me," Gilbert muttered.
They walked the rest of the way in silence before the maid stopped in front of two rather large, red-tinted doors. She curtsied once again and scurried off to do some other duties. There were two men standing at the door that nodded to the two and opened the doors, revealing the throne room. The Kingdom of Water had an identical room, with just blue, white, and black colors, rather than red, orange, and yellow. On the far side were four thrones. There sat the King of Fire, his queen, and on either side of them, the princes. Matthew sat on the left, the side of the queen, and looked down to avoid Gilbert's gaze.
"Princes Gilbert and Ludwig from the Kingdom of Water," the king stood and bowed to them. Gilbert and his brother did the same and stayed quiet as the king returned to his throne. "I summoned you here to talk of a dire matter. The prince, Matthew, has been unable to control his magic for some time. The only once successful thus far in calming him down has been Prince Gilbert."
This surprised Gilbert. Had outbursts like that happened often? How did they end in the past? Did everyone just duck for cover and wait until Matthew passed out? How long did they last? Gilbert had to wonder all of the damage that must have occurred due to all of that.
"We would like to kindly request that Prince Gilbert stay in the Kingdom of Fire to assist Prince Matthew in controlling his magic," the king finished and Gilbert felt his eyes widen. He never would have expected something like that. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ludwig frown. He was about to say no, to a king, no less.
Gilbert couldn't let it happen. He was of no real importance in the Kingdom of Water at that moment in time. At least this way, he could be useful. Plus, it would give him some time to be with Matthew. He was interesting and gorgeous, despite everything that had happened. Gilbert couldn't just go home. Besides…it wasn't like Gilbert was going to have to use up too much of his magic. He'd be just fine.
"I would be happy to," Gilbert responded, stopping Ludwig before he could even start. Ludwig made a small noise of disagreement, though he chose not to speak up. The king smiled happily.
"Very good," the king nodded. "Prince Ludwig, you may return home as soon as you would like. You two may leave now."
"Yes, sire," Ludwig stated and they both bowed before turning to leave the room. The door closed behind them and Ludwig let out a small groan as they began to walk, most likely back to their rooms. "What were you thinking, Gilbert?"
"I was thinking I could be of some use," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm never much help back home, here I can do something rather than sit in cold solitude."
"Are you insane?" Ludwig asked. "You might have to use your magic again. What will you do then?"
"If it's a matter of helping people, of course I'll use my magic," Gilbert sighed. "But I'm not stupid. It's not like I'll just use my magic any time I want. My burning hands are serving as a reminder."
"You cannot just stay here," Ludwig shook his head.
"What if I don't?" Gilbert asked. "If the King of Fire is asking for help from the cursed Ice Prince, then he's obviously desperate. Prince Matthew obviously has a problem that he can't fix and I might be the only way to help."
"That doesn't mean you can just endanger yourself," Ludwig stated sternly.
"I won't be endangering myself," Gilbert rolled his eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, I have a long way to go before this reaches my heart. And it's not like I'll be using a lot of magic, like I said earlier. Just a few slip-ups won't hurt."
"Are you just doing this to boost your self-esteem?" Ludwig asked and Gilbert stopped in his tracks. Ludwig followed shortly after.
"Are you shitting me?" Gilbert growled. "Do you really think I'm still that petty? After everything…there's no way in hell I'm just worrying about myself. I haven't worried about myself for nine years and you know that! I know that I should help people, even if I might hurt myself in the process. Don't you dare think that I'm just doing this to feel like a hero!"
Gilbert didn't give his brother a chance to respond before he stormed off to continue on his way to his room. No matter how hard he tried, his family still apparently seemed to think that Gilbert was still the cocky bastard that he was before. He was cursed for it, for crying out loud! He was going to change after going through what he did. As much as he loved his family, there were times that they completely pissed him off. Maybe some time away would do him some good.
Some time later, Gilbert was pacing in his room. He couldn't help it. His brother was gone now and so now he was alone in the Kingdom of Fire. With only his ice powers that he couldn't use. No one there knew his secret and his hands trembled, for once not from the cold. Suddenly, though, a knock at the door dragged his attention back to the present.
"You may enter," Gilbert straightened himself out. Even if it was a maid, he would have to keep up his regal air. Surprisingly, though, the one to enter his room was Prince Matthew himself. He was slouching slightly, obviously ignoring the fact that he was supposed to look regal at all times. It did help Gilbert relax a little, though, as he slumped his own shoulders.
"Um, h-hello…Prince Gilbert," Matthew nodded to him.
"Prince Matthew," Gilbert nodded to him.
"I-I have to thank you…" Matthew muttered and closed the door behind him. "F-for all that you d-did…"
"It wasn't a problem," Gilbert responded with a small smile. "I had to help."
"Y-yeah," Matthew nodded. "And th-thanks…For…uh…for staying to h-help me."
"Don't worry," Gilbert smirked. "I wasn't doing anything anyway."
"I-If you don't mind…" Matthew bit his lip. "Y-your hand…When I saw it…A-are you alright?"
"Of course I'm fine, I'm the Ice Prince," Gilbert smirked. "It's just a part of my curse is all."
"Alright, then," Matthew quickly turned around to the door. Gilbert couldn't stop himself from smiling slightly. The kid was so adorable and shy. His time here wouldn't be that bad after all… Suddenly, Matthew sneezed and a small circle of fire came from him. Gilbert quickly shielded himself with ice and winced at the pain in his wrists and ankles as Matthew quickly turned around. "I-I'm so sorry! Y-you're not hurt…are you?"
"I'm fine," Gilbert smiled. "See? No burns. You're gonna have to learn how to get that under control, though."
"I-It's really hard…" Matthew muttered.
"That's what I'm here for, right?" Gilbert smirked and Matthew nodded slowly. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be just fine."
"Th-thank you," Matthew bit his lip before quickly leaving and closing the door behind him. Gilbert simply smiled at the door before he started laughing a little. So…maybe he would be using a little more magic than he thought. It wouldn't be too big of a deal, would it? Just a few spells to protect himself here and there. He wouldn't get anywhere close to death, he would be just fine.
Besides, he had that cute face to get him through this.
