This is one LONG chapter. I should probably have split it in two, but oh well...
Thank you for following this short story and yes, I will get started on Listen to Your Heart Again, I promise!
Chapter 4
Morning rose, accompanied by the usual hustle as the market place opened and people slowly woke from the second day of festivities. This time, the entire town was buzzing with the news that prince Antonio had found his bride. Unlike the previous mornings there was a sense of scandal ringing through the air. Young girls sat outside their respective doors crying their eyes red and puffy. The hopeful bachelors took the news a little better, but even they were more surly and less cheerful. A handful of upset mothers and fathers ran around knocking doors with bad recreations of the face of the beautiful young man who, according to rumours, had charmed the prince to ignore his duties. Rumours spread that a wedding was surely to come now that Prince Antonio had found his love at last.
But there were still some who remained hopeful. As rumours spread, the mysterious young man had disappeared before the prince could ask for his hand, thus the door was still ajar to sneak in your sons and daughters to steal away his attention.
This caused a new wave of determination as the crying girls and surly boys were dragged of their feet, stuffed into carriages that would take them to the best hairdressers and dressmakers. Their frustrated screams could be heard all the way to the trattoria, where Lovino lay wide eyed under his blanket. Feli was in a good mood this morning and had broken the news to him that things had gone beyond what he would have hoped for. Ludwig, the commander and prince of Westfalen had agreed to bring Feli to his kingdom to become a royal painter. Feli had returned home with a smile to rival that of any saint and a handful of gold coins that they had split between each other. In an evening all their problems seemed to have vanished in an instant. Even a handful of gold would be more than enough for Lovi to find a new life while his brother would live in luxury in the North.
Of course, Feli had wanted him to come with him, but Lovi couldn't stand the idea of the cold that would await him there and he knew he would be a nuisance to his brother's talent. He had openly refused, much to his brother's disappointed expression.
Things should have been so easy by now, after all, he had done it. It was obvious, based on the coins now resting in his coin pouch, that Feli would never have to worry again, and neither should Lovi. But that evening Lovi had cried himself to sleep and once sleep finally hit he was haunted by the sound of music, the sway of dance and a pair of emeralds that had their eyes for no one but himself. He woke up as his brother shook him awake to tell him the news.
For the last couple of years all Lovino had dreamt of was to escape this life, but now he didn't know what he wanted anymore. The idea of leaving town and leaving Antonio was heart-wrenching. It was such a stupid thing, but in just a few days he felt as if there was something he wanted more than his freedom.
Maybe it was because he had seen kindness for the first time that wasn't by the hand of his brother. Maybe it was the way Antonio had held him and almost whispered love to his very soul. Lovino wasn't sure what it was that became such a pulling force to return back to the castle, but it refused to go away. As the hours dragged on, it grew and grew.
He had to tell himself over and over again that it was foolish to dream of such things, or even to cling to the memories of their brief visits. The rational side of him cursed the fact that he had even gone back to the castle, but the empty hole in his heart wished no more than to return.
Antonio had asked of him to return, but it was a foolish thought really. His clothes had been shredded during the escape. Sure he still kept the shoes, but what good would they do without the outfit.
He might have been able to borrow the one he made for Feli, but Feli would be going back again this evening. Without clothes he knew Antonio would only see the poor peasant boy again.
What good would that make?
Lovi sighed as he got out of his makeshift bed, went down the stairs and walked outside to scrub the dirt from their grandfather's boots.
He didn't like it, but his only hope now lay on that strange bird that kept showing up.
000
At the castle Francis walked back and forth while his pet bird Pierre snoozed on top of a satin pillow. He had just been to see his dear friend Antonio, only to find him in the most unbelievable state. The Crown Prince, brave and handsome but a hopeless romantic as it turned out, had apparently spent all morning since the ball with the castle's librarian, looming through every possible prince, duke or count who could possibly match up to the mysterious young man he kept mentioning. Now, Francis had obviously missed this grand entrance, as he had been too busy in other parts of the castle, but he had heard the stories from the chamber maids upon his return.
Antonio had been a mess since the ball. He was obsessed with discovering the identity of the young man who had obviously stolen his heart. The young prince claimed he was certain their mysterious guest had to be of noble blood, but as hours went on his frustration grew as there were no results. None of the houses within the borders or neighbouring nations matched the mysterious man.
Francis had offered to assist, but gave up within a matter of minutes. It was a task that seemed impossible and he hid within the confines of his chambers, more content in choosing an outfit for the evenings ball than burying himself in meaningless searches.
He had a hunch, as he threw an old tunic of woven silver, that the beauty would turn up again and he wanted to be ready for it. He needed to look his best if such eye catching people would turn up. He wasn't known for being among the best dressed nobles for no reason.
From his pillow Pierre opened his sleepy eyes and stared down at the pile of silver, that was slowly buried in piles of other old and half forgotten outfits.
Yes, his master's wardrobe was huge.
000
Evening once more crept up upon the sizzling town. Carriage after carriage, each one decorated by a sea of flowers, satin and ribbons, left for the castle. The dressed were even more lavish, the hats bigger and bolder and the hairs could lift a roof. Lovino watched them all leave and he honestly felt bad for Prince Antonio, who would have to stare at that all evening.
Lovino was slightly hopeful as he waited by his mother's tree. He knew it was stupid, but he couldn't help it. If fate wanted it, he knew it would give him what he needed to see Antonio again. He held the golden shoes in his hand and gazed hopefully up at the branches.
The sun slowly set and a stone dropped into his stomach from worry. He was late, where could he have flown off to?
As the minutes ticked by, Lovino was about to give up hope when all of a sudden he heard a thud.
It was almost humorous to see the bird try to detangle itself from the wraps of silver, but in the end it seemed to have worked. It didn't look too amused to have made a hard landing, but Lovino gave it a piece of bread and as he changed, it flew away, probably to never return again, or so he wanted to believe.
How else would he be able to explain all of this to Feli? But he needed to live the dream once more.
The outfit he brought was even more extravagant than the last. This time it was a velvet jacket, with a thin cape that hung over his right shoulder, matching silver pants and yet another white, silk shirt. Once dressed Lovino ran, not caring who saw him, but he had to see Antonio.
He just had to.
He raised several eyebrows as he entered the large castle doors and many heads turned as he walked in and slowed his pace. Many of the young girls raised their fans and whispered. Lovi had no clue what they said, the music from the ballroom was too loud.
A cavalier walked over to escort him to the room. Lovi had never felt this self conscious as he entered the room and all activity stopped. The music silenced, the orchestra forgetting to play, the dancing couples stopped mid step, the King upon his throne stood straight to have a good look.
At the middle of the dance floor Antonio halted his movements to simply gaze at Lovino with wonder. Lovi stared back and gave a small smile. Antonio was still as dashing as ever, with his green eyes mirroring emotions that were so similar to his own. The young prine turned, excused himself from the pink bonetted girl he was dancing with, and hurried over to Lovi's side. The cavalier left in a hurry as Antonio soon stood in front of Lovi, raised Lovi¨s hand to his mouth and kissed it.
"You came." was the only answer Lovi got from the stunned prince. Lovi nodded. Once more, he couldn't find the answers within him. Why did he come back? Was he really that weak? Had he lost himself to dreams? He didn't know.
Prince Antonio looked as stunning as ever and Lovi felt himself lost for words. He was also becoming more self conscious to all the stares they received. From the corner of his eyes he saw a man in blue with blond wavy hair walk over to nudge at the conductor to keep the music up. In a few seconds the music picked up again and some of the guests went back to the dancing.
Prince Antonio gave a heart throbbing smile and lead him towards the middle of the floor. Lovino didn't say anything, lost for words. His heart was hammering and he felt like he should say something. He just couldn't form the words.
He wanted this night to go on forever, he never wanted it to stop.
000
Francis had not been expecting much from this final evening ball. He had hoped to see the beauty that had caught his friend's attention and when he finally did he had to be honest, his friend had fine taste. Not excellent as his own, oh no, he wasn't known for being the most charming of them all for nothing. But this young man surely held himself well. His posture was great, he looked young and unusually untouched for someone with those looks and grace. Yes, he was oddly graceful on the floor led by Antonio on every move. Then again, Antonio was a really good dancer, it could have been that.
Normally he would have walked right into the middle of the scene to pry and poke, but the general scene in front of him looked slightly off. It was as if something clouded the beauty within it, threatening to crash into itself. Something about it seemed very off, like a bad copy of a painting. Francis shook his head. He felt like he should warn his friend before he had his heart broken by this stranger.
The music ended and switched from the traditional waltz to a polka. It wasn't one of Francis favourites, too upbeat and silly, but Antonio's father enjoyed the silliness of it and seemed quite content with how everything went on. Some of the guests seemed to enjoy the change of pace, but in the middle of this he saw his friend and the stranger exit the room.
Perhaps he should have followed them, to find out more about this story,
Sadly, he never got the chance to as a flicker of something forest green walked by him, topped by a mop of sandy blond hair.
And eyebrows that surely needed some humorous attention.
000
The music was still pretty loud, but at least outside the castle and its large ballroom it became easier to think clearly. The air was fresh and cold. Thankfully, Antonio's hands were warm.
They had found a secluded spot, close to the private tomato garden, that overlooked a large pond filled with exotic fish and decorated with red carnations. It smelled heavenly and Lovino would have been quite happy to have stayed like this for the rest of the evening.
It even felt more beautiful that the prince had been whispering non-stop praise since the left the dance. His lips were close to Lovino's ear, it was a tune that would be simple to drown yourself in.
"Romano, I wish we could stay like this forever."
"So do I."
"I fear to loose you again. This morning, it was terrible. I thought I might have dreamt the entire time."
Lovino smiled. "Me too." he said simply.
He turned his head slightly to gaze into Antonio's eyes and forge that into his memories. He didn't want Antonio to know who he truly was, their worlds once restored were too different. Even the little gold he had would never meassure to anything that existed within this castle. Not to mention, he was doing nothing but lying. No, Antonio deserved better one day. He was so charming, he would find someone like that and...
All other thoughts were immediately washed away as Antonio had leant forward and locked his lips to his. Lovino sighed deeply into the kiss and made no attempts to ever break it.
He wished that he had been born a duke, or someone who could offer something back, but for a meaningless being as himself, what could he offer the country, It was a task too great for anyone to bear.
He loved Antonio,
But that was also why he couldn't go on like this. He needed to let Antonio go, to find something real. He was no better than those peacocks in the ballroom, with their large hats and painted faces.
A tear silently trickled down and Antonio backed, shock and surprise written over his face.
"Romano, what?"
"I'm sorry." was all Lovino had the energy to say. Familiar tones rang over the courtyard as the large clock chimed midnight. Lovino quickly made a run for it. He could hear Antonio follow him, but Lovino was faster. Antonio didn't even catch up to as Lovino tripped and fell, loosing one of the beautiful golden shoes in the process, but he had no time to go back to pick it up. Instead, he darted out the same way he had left the night before. The beautiful clothes were once more shredded by the bushes around the castle and with it the dream ended.
When he stepped out on the deserted road he was once more that poor tratoria boy with a future as bleak as ever.
It was time to wake up.
000
A strange rumour spread over the town the following days. Rumours said that the strange beautiful boy had left in a hurry, dropping his shoe in the process. Another rumour said that prince Antonio was in bed, healing from the bruises he received as he tumbled over his lost love and lost him. The most exciting rumour was still that the unknown boy was yet to be found and the prince would soon announce who his bride would be.
Lovino didn't care about any of that. It had been a couple of mournful days as he helped Feliciano back his belongings, mainly art supplies and loaded it onto a wagon. As a parting gift, knowing it would take ages before they'd be able to see each other again, Feliciano had given him all the gold, explaining that he would have more than enough once he sold his first painting. Lovino had been reluctant at first, but had to surrender since Feliciano was right. Feli would dig gold and Lovi was barely able to scrape together a decent living.
But what to do. Could he really leave his grandfather behind?
The answer came that very evening after Feli had left and Lovi was kicking pots and pans around in sheer loss for actions. He didn't know what to do with himself.
He made such a fuss his grandfather couldn't sleep, so the old man sat down on a rickety stool.
"Lovino Romano Vargas, what's wrong? You never act this way unless something is terribly wrong. Is it about Feli?"
The old man yawned, it was late after all. Lovino knew, but he couldn't help it.
How was he supporsed to explain all that was going through him? It was pretty much impossible to say: "I've fallen in love with the prince and I hate myself for it".
"Do you want to leave?"
Flee... Lovino liked the sound of that. He wanted to leave, he was tired of all of the confusion, shame and the constant ache that he had lost probably the two most important people around him.
He nodded.
His grandfather aighed.
"Then go. Honestly, I am surprised you are still here."
Lovino blinked.
"Go, find your place in the world. There is no reason to remain back here. Don't worry about me, I'll survive somehow. I did long before I met your grandmother and I have let her down. Maybe it is time I sober up as well and..."
He never got to finish his sentence before Lovino hugged him, stinking wine or not. He couldn't believe what his grandfather had told him and he knew he would have to act quickly before he changed his mind. He rushed upstairs, gathered the few belongings he had, the gold Feli had given him and of course, the napkin Antonio had given to him.
He was almost by the stairs when he realised he had forgotten the shoe, the one thing to prove that everything had not been dream. Quickly, he threw it down with the rest, tied everything inside a dirty blanket and rushed down.
He hadn't felt this alive since that first night at the castle... okay, maybe it wasn't ages ago, but still. The whole world was open.
He didn't care if it was in the middle of the night. He said his goodbyes to his grandfather, promised to write to the old man to make sure he took care of himself (he had his doubts) and hurried out on the open road. He sprinted and paid little attention to where he was going. Before he knew it a white wagon near collided with him, had the horses not noticed him in time and panicked.
Lovino fell and with it his bundle unravelled. The golden coins spread over the streets and he hurriedly scrambled to collect them. As he crawled around hooves and the wheels of the wagon the owner walked out, most likely furious to have been stopped so abruptly. When Lovino didn't hear anything he went on with his work until the last coins were gathered. When he stood up he was met with a tall blond man with curly shoulder length hair holding his shoe. This man was obviously a noble, oh no.
"Is this yours?"
Lovino nodded, then he realised that the noble probably wouldn't have seen his action so he squealed "yes".
"Interesting, and your name?"
"Lo... Lovino."
"Where did you acquire this? It's oddly refined for someone... who is scrambling for coins on the streets."
"I have gold." it wasn't a total lie, he had gold. He just hadn't paid for those shoes, but how would the noble be able to prove otherwise.
"Really?"
"Yes, my brother. My brother is a royal painter for Westfalen, he gave me some to get by."
There was an amused shuckle. "And you use them for a shoe, very interesting. Does it have a partner?"
"Eh... yes, but I dropped it the other day."
"Really?"
There was a pause.
"My name is Francis Bonnefoy and I am a close friend to Prince Antonio. For the last couple of days my dear friend has been heartbroken because he lost the owner to a shoe very similar to this one."
"I..."
"Lovino, would you mind coming back to the castle with me?"
"What, yes... YES. I would mind, I would mind very much? I cannot..." he couldn't finish his sentence. Why, why did this have to happen?
"Is it your clothes, don't worry, I have some spare with me that you could borrow."
"It's not... it's not..."
There was an even longer pause, then Francis laughed heartily. It seemed to linger forever making Lovino quite annoyed with the man. He figured he should make a run for it yet again, fate obviously tried to make fun of him.
"Oh, this is precious." Francis said. "Antonio sure has an interesting taste. Lovino, right now the man you left is up in his room in the castle crying his eyes out, refusing every proposal and even idea of proposal because he is truly heartbroken.
Lovino blinked. Did he really manage to impact the prince in such a short time? How crazy was this man really? Obviously more crazy than himself... okay, maybe not.
"Come, let us get you changed and then we go back and explain everything."
000
It was a strange thing for Lovino to enter the castle through the gates once more and even more so to be greeted as someone normal. People didn't seem to look at him like the stunning prince charming he had pretended to be during the ball, neither did they sneer at him like the peasant he truly was. In fact, it went oddly smoothly to get from one place to another, then again he was accompanied by Francis throughout the entire journey.
Prince Antonio's bedroom was situated in the right wing of the castle. It was smaller than the royal chambers of the king, but less drafty as Francis put it. Lovino followed along, clutching his shoe in one hand. Francis had given it back, on the premises that he would explain everything to the prince so that they could finally lay all this mess aside.
As they got closer to the bedroom itself Lovino was puzzled to hear a loud wail from the end of the long corridor they were walking through. Francis pointed him towards two large doors at the end and Lovino sprinted over. The wails got louder the closer he got.
Slowly, he opened them to see the most depressing sight.
Prince Antonio lay in his bed, dressed in his nightshirt, eyes red from tears. He was clutching the golden shoe Lovino had accidentally dropped and it was quite obvious why he seemed upset. A chambermaid offered to take the shoe away and Antonio outright pushed her away.
It ticked Lovino off. Prince or not, have manners.
"Oi, bastard!"
Antonio looked up, stunned to see him, obviously. Then he swung his legs to the side of his bed and rushed over, mouth agape in shock.
"Ro... Romano?"
Lovino wanted to mentally kick his own stupidity, why did he have to give him his middle name like that.
"No, it's Lovino to you. Pull yourself together and apologise to her." he ordered.
Antonio stared, seemingly afraid to blink because he barely did. Then he turned to the chambermaid, muttered some quick apologies. The maid smiled at Lovino, who smiled back at her. She made a small curtsy and left the room together with the remaining staff, leaving the two of them alone.
Antonio stared at him still and his mouth seemed to try to make words, but no sounds came. Finally, Lovino broke the silence.
"Francis told me, what you had become."
He took a deep breath.
"Seriously, are you that pathetic? It was a dream Antonio, I am not the one you think I am."
It was now or never.
"I am Lovino, simply Lovino, an idiot who chased his hat to your garden on the first night. The same idiot you freely gave a tomato too and the idiot who dared to dream beyond what I am."
His breath shuddered.
"I am nothing, literally nothing. I have nothing to give, nothing to gain. I looked after my brother for years only to become the one who needed to be supported. I'm a coward and by far no prince or duke or count. I was a fool to lead you on, I can see now what that did to you. I am sorry. I came, I came to set you free. I was, I was recently set free myself. I hope we can both shape better futures."
"Together..."
Lovino blinked.
"Pardon?"
Lovino could feel the rage within him boiling, here he was doing his best to let everyone have their happily ever afters, but this prince was far more idiotic than he seemed.
"Marry me..."
Now it was Lovino's turn to stare. Did he just...
"Marry me. Lovino, Romano, or whatever you call yourself, please, marry me."
000
"HECK NO!"
slap
Francis was standing with his ears by the door when he heard the most amusing sound. This young boy, who he had guessed to be the brother Feliciano had mentioned on several occasions, had quite the temperament. It was odd, but he could proudly call himself quite the matchmaker after this.
"Please, Lovino, I love you and..."
"I-I can't. What would, what would everyone think? You're the prince and I..."
"You're perfect."
There was yet another amusing sound which sounded very much like someone stumbling upon their own feet. Then there was silence for a while.
Francis silently opened the door ajar to see the most amusing sight. It seemed like Lovino had fallen over. Antonio had made a move to catch him and somehow it had made them both fall to the floor. Now the two of them were locked up into a kiss that made Francis smile and Lovino squeal. He dashed to his feet and out the door, cheeks red like cherries from embarrassment.
Francis closed the door behind him, Antonio could wait, Francis had work to do.
"Lovino, it is quite late. I can ask the chambermaids to prepare a room for you for the evening. Just this night."
"Just for tonight, I guess, but are you sure? I don't want to intrude, nor him." But Francis could see that Lovino looked more worried about Antonio's health than he led on
"Don't worry. And I won't tell Antonio."
Lovino nodded and followed Francis down a few more corridors.
"I'll leave tomorrow morning. I don't think..."
"Of course."Francis said with one of his usual charming smiles.
Because he knew, that Lovino would not leave in the morning.
Or the next,
Or at all...
Because the next day Lovino returned to shout a few more curses and insults at the prince for being an utmost crybaby in front of the staff and only Lovino's presence seemed to soothe him. He stayed the next night as well, since he concluded that someone obviously had to teach the bastard a lesson of responsibility and endlessly seemed to curse upon himself for even having considered falling for someone so selfish.
As days turned to weeks, Lovino spoke less and less about leaving and more and more about how to get Antonio back in shape to run the kingdom. He would be seen entering the prince's room at dawn and no come out until late at night, when the prince finally fell asleep beside the man he loved. Lovino was also the only person who could coax Antonio to leave his chambers, even if it usually resulted in short walks.
Days became weeks, which turned into months and it wasn't too uncommon to see the prince and his love stroll towards the tomato garden for their daily tomatoes, often hand in hand.
It still took another year for Lovino to finally agree to marry the prince and yet another for the kingdom to prepare for the marriage itself. I could probably go on and on about rheir strange but wonderous adventures, but in short:
The lived happily ever after.
000
PS: Pierre the bird eventually received title that was fancier than Francis' own, by none other than Lovino Vargas Carriedo. Royal marriage counselor. Who could argue that the initial perpetrator for their coming together was none other than his scheme of flying away with Lovino's old hat. Francis never forgave his bird friend for stealing a title he thought he worked for the longest, but as it turns out his friend worked more.
Trivia and interesting facts:
The Cinderella adaptions and inspirations: There are countless of versions of Cinderella, all with their twists and turns. As a young child, I grew up with the slightly more unedited Grimm version with the stepsisters cutting of their heels and toes to fit the shoe. To honour the original, I gave Lovino a golden shoe instead of a glass (which honestly makes no functional sense).
Another inspiration for this version is a European movie version (cannot remember if it was French or German because I've seen so many) where Cinderella doesn't attend the ball the first night, she watches it by magic. Kind of like Lovino watched the ball through the bushes. From one of those many movies, (French), I added the ridiculous outfits and hats for the girls and boys who attended the ball. There was an amusing scene in the movie where the attendees of the ball were made fun of to resemble different birds and that scene stuck with me. It also worked well, since I didn't want to add stepsisters or stepmothers into this story, so the whole town became a nasty pit. I am sure though, once all the tears dry and the parents will have to accept who Antonio loves in the end, they will eventually get over it.
But the one single perpetrator for this story is still Kitty-Kat Allie, with her Hetalia Fairy Tales, which I still urge you all to read, because they are all brilliant adaptations, and I am still amazed you fir that story into a single chapter. I needed four.
True love: I debated constantly on whether I'd have them fall in love at once or just be overly attracted to each other, and I kind of settled somewhere in the middle. The story fo love here is kind of based on the story my mother told me when she met my dad, and originally she wasn't overly impressed and as she told me, hoped my dad would loose interest in her, but after a few days they became an official couple. My dad was like that, once he set a goal he saw it through to the end.
I know this story makes it seem like Lovi and Toni fall in love after a day, but in reality neither of them really knows true love very well. I am sure, if there would ever be a follow up for this story, that there would be tons of disagreements, weird and awkward moments, not to mention times when Lovi will be more than ready to walk out of everything, but hey... I wanted to write something nice, not nasty, so I'll leave that to you to imagine.
Pierre: Yes, Pierre stole all those outfits from Francis and gave to Lovino. Francis hardly remembers what he owns and buy new things constantly, but he rarely replaces anything. He has, without a doubt, the biggest wardrobe among all of the people within the kingdom.
Now, I don't think Pierre has any notion of what romance or balls are, but he likes to steal things and fly around with them. He has dropped Francis' clothes off in random places, usually to be picked up by an unsuspecting beggar or traveller. He does return to Lovino, because Lovino notices him and chased him when he stole Lovino's hat.
000
I kind of realised that I could have gone on with several more chapters for this story, but decided to be quite anti-climatic (for being me) and simply end it on a more simpler note. I actually considered letting Lovino run off for a year and then come back, but that would have dragged on and on and I have more things to work on. Not to mention, I recently had another brainstorm of a Yuri! on Ice fanfic that won't leave my head (le sigh).
Between writing the story details for that one, finishing Listen to your heart and working on FicReviews, I won't have an agenda to do more.
So for now.
Thank you for reading guys, see you next instalment!
PS: And please do check out my upcoming magazine, which launches on Thuesday.