Chapter Four

"And who is that?" Arthur pointed to Matthew, who had cloaked himself in Alfred's hooded-cloak. Matthew looked up under the hood toward Arthur, he felt like he had seen the king before… He gulped. "Who are you, boy?"

"I-…" Matthew started to speak but the stares from the guards made him nervous. They must of known he wasn't from this kingdom, they must of.

"Who is he? Frandic boy?" Arthur questioned.

"Father, you told me I once had a little brother." Alfred looked up toward the king and stated. "What happened to him?" Arthur's eyes widened slightly but he stood his ground and attitude.

"I told you, he died with your mother." He said, "During birth."

"Are you lying to me still?"

"I-I never did lie!"

"If my brother didn't die, he would be nineteen years old like me, he would look like me, his name would have been Matthew right?" Alfred looked toward Matthew, "He would have been found in some other empire…"

"Alfred silence!" Arthur yelled.

"Father," Alfred walked around to Matthew, grabbing onto the hood off of Matthew's head. "Tell me this doesn't look like your son, my twin." Arthur stayed still before taking a breath out. "Tell the truth father…"

Alright..." Arthur gulped a bit and looked again at the boy. "Your brother never died, at least not in birth anyway... He was stolen just three days before he turned a second age... June 1st," Matthew's eyes widened a bit, his birthday...

"M-Ma-," Matthew's voice creaked out.

"Go ahead boy."

"May I ask... What the lights are on that day, t-that night?"

Arthur took a deep breath and let it out "For my missing son. Our cities light candles in the morning for him, then send them into the sky as lanterns." He looked at Matthew once more. "It was hope that he would return one day." Matthew nodded, now he knew. "Why?"

"J-June first is my birthday..." He gulped. Arthur took a few steps closer to him.

"My sons names were Alfred and Matthew." He spoke as he came closer to Matthew, "They looked alike in many ways. Alfred was older with a more dirtier blonde hair, and his eyes were more blue." Arthur stood in front of Matthew and placed a hand gently onto his face and carefully looked at him; Matthew gulped a bit. "Matthew was the youngest, a miracle baby. He had bright blonde hair that was tainted slightly with orange," he put a finger through Matthew's hair then slid it down his face. "His eyes were a bright violet..." he looked into Matthew's violet eyes... he couldn't be...

Matthew looked at Arthur, his own emerald eyes being so familiar. He wanted to tear up and cry, but he wouldn't do that, not now. His bottom lip quivered slightly but he held it in, along with the truth. He stood in disbelief, there's no way! T-There's no way I...I belong here?... My life was an entire lie?... F-Father... isn't mine...

"He knows the song too, the lullaby mo- Alice used to sing to us." Alfred came in "Not all of it but he knows most of it."

"That's a family song, no one knows it so how would you?" Arthur's eyes pierced though Matthew's soul, he was angry and Matthew knew that.

"I-I've known it since I was little..." Matthew gulped.

"How old are you now?"

"N-nineteen sir."

Arthur's mouth almost dropped with his wide eyed expression. He gulped, regained his composure, and looked toward Alfred. He knew his own age. "Alice..." He looked away toward the nanny who quickly came over and looked at Matthew.

"The prince had a small birthmark that looked like a leaf on his shoulder blade." Alice stated. Matthew gasped silently a bit, he could remember a memory where one of his childhood friends noticed the mark when they had gone swimming. He knew it was there, he just couldn't believe it. "Do you mind... undressing? Just your shirt if you may." Matthew gulped a bit and began lifting his dirty shirt up, his hands shaking a bit with the realization. No... This can't be true... I can't be... He lifted his shirt off and turned to show them his bare back. I can't be...

"My son..." Arthur's eyes were wide as he looked at Matthew, who lowered his shirt back down to cover himself again. He turned back and looked at the no longer composed king as he quickly hugged onto his long lost son, even binging to cry. "You're here! You're alive!" Matthew stood there not knowing what to do, but the embracement felt so natural to him. He raised his hands slightly slowly then wrapped his arms around his father, one he had barely remembered. He hugged on tightly as his eyes began to tear up, this was his home... This was his father... That was his brother... This was his true life, taken away from him for so long.

He sobbed.

ooOoo

"Prince Matthew has returned to the United Kingdom!"

Once that sentence was out, the people of the kingdom cheered with excitement and happiness. People brought flowers to the gates or the castle, the candles were sent up into the sky not for the lost prince's life, but for the new ones. Matthew followed his new father and brother along the path to the villages, he followed behind in new clothes he had never seen before in his life. All of this felt so... Strange... But at the same time, natural.

He couldn't figure out what to make out of the people that praised him and his return, young ladies found him charming, children offered flowers and toys to him. And he was kind to each of them, each and every one of them for the first week of his return. He was loved, he wasn't sure how to feel about it but he supposed he was to love them back, people he never met before.

"One week here and I'm still completely lost around here," Matthew whispered to himself as he turned a corner of the castle, leading himself to another hallway he had no idea about. He sighed a bit, "This place is huge..." He looked around concerned on where to go next.

"Are you lost prince?" A relaxed voice called for him. He quickly turned around a bit scared of who called him but it was simply Alice. "Do you need assistance?"

"Y-yes please..."

"Very well, just follow me love," she walked as Matthew quickly came up behind her and followed back to his room, simply a guest room right now. She brought him down hallways and upstairs, all quietly. "You don't speak much do you Matthew?" Alice asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I-I do," Matthew looked toward her "I just don't know if there's r-rules or something..." His voice got quiet as he spoke.

"I understand this is a lot to adapt to Matthew," Alice spoke softly "I know you're not used to any of this and that's just fine, no one expects you to just jump on into all of this." Matthew smiled a bit with the comforting words.

"Thank you Miss. Alice..."

"No problem my dear,"

"Miss. Alice... Can I ask a question?"

"Matthew, you are the prince of this castle. Ask what you want."

"Were you... My..."

"Mother? Oh no dear, I'm not your mother. I took care of you and Alfred when you were babies, even now I sill care for Alfred." Alice said, "Your real mother's name was Amelia. She was beautiful and she loved you both very much."

"And she... Died right?"

"Yes, during birth. It was a sad day for us... Especially for the king." Alice said. Matthew nodded a bit and looked away with sad eyes. Now that he had met the king- his father- he regretted many things he had said in the past with the other Frandic villagers. "The UK king has no heart" or "The king is the cruelest" or even "The king doesn't love or care for anyone, no one!" But when he was hugged by the king, he realized all were lies. Arthur had never forgotten him, nor lost any love for him... Nor healed his broken heart. He had heard some tales of how in love the king and queen were, Matthew couldn't imagine the pain his father went through... He felt sorry for him...

"Here we are," Alice spoke again as they came to one of the top floor hallways.

"Just down the hall and to the left right?"

"You would be correct young sir."

"Great, thank you!" Matthew took off down the hallway as Alice went back down the stairs, but Mathew paused and turned back before she could close the door behind her. "One more question."

"Go ahead dear," Alice looked back toward him.

"Were there... Any prisoners taken from Frandic... The day I came back?"

Alice thought a moment then looked back at him again. "Yes... You're looking for your... Family aren't you?" Matthew nodded slightly. Alice sighed then rubbed the back of her neck for a moment. "I can take you to them in the morning, it's a secret though dear."

"R-really?"

"Yes prince, of course. It'll have to be our little secret though."

"Y-yes ma'am! Thank you!" Matthew grinned then quickly ran off to his room. Alice smiled a bit then closed the door and down the stairs,

"At least this one is better behaved."

ooOoo

Early morning, Matthew followed Alice through more wondering halls down to the basement of the castle, the dungeon. He gulped a bit looking among the creepy cracking walls. Once they came to the prison, he was shaken up. He looked among the cages of people, just ordinary people. Men, women, children, all captured inside these cages, all covered in dirty rags of clothing and dirt. Matthew couldn't look at them, pale and weak people...

"They are war prisoners," Alice whispered to him "If their charges are cleared, they can leave."

"How long does that take?..."

"... Months..."Alice answered, Matthew frowned. She brought him through another door to a new section of cages. He looked finally as he saw familiar faces, the people from his village... All of them dirtied and in rags.

"P-papa!" Matthew called once he saw Francis and quickly ran to the bars of the cage, right in front of Francis.

"M-Matthieu!" Francis quickly came to the bars "Oh Matthieu!" his hands reached out for the boy who grabbed onto them tightly as his eyes began to tear.

"A-are you alright?" He looked around a bit toward the other villagers then to Francis' eyes. "How did they capture you?"

"They lined us up then just took us..." Francis gulped "Some of them were killed on spot... I'm glad you're alright Matthieu..."

"And he's the damn prince of the UK!" One of the older twins said, named Lovino.

"L-Lovino don't start..." The younger brother tried to stop him but Lovino wouldn't let it go.

"This whole time you've been of the UK and we never knew! We used to play together as kids and I never knew who you really were!"

"I didn't know either!" Matthew teared up. "I didn't know my entire like Lovino! I had no idea! No clue at all! I-I never knew who was my family or not or where I lived or where I was suppose to live!" He wanted to sob again. "I didn't know anything!"

"Matthieu," Francis grabbed onto the boys sleeve and hushed him. "I'm sorry, this isn't fault."

"You aren't my father..."

"... No. I'm not..."

"Why... What is all this huh?..."

Francis let out a sigh and grabbed onto the boy's hands gently, "I'll tell you." He waited until Matthew bent down to his level. "I wanted revenge on the UK... Myself and someone very close to us broke into the UK walls. I stayed close to your mother when she was pregnant with you and your brother. I watched your birth... You almost didn't make it my boy..." He cleared his throat a bit and looked at Matthew's sorrow filled face. "I stayed there for the next two years. Before your second birthday... We took you. We had a plan with the king, to take the head of one of the new princes to attack the UK at its core-"

"You were going to kill me..."

"... Yes. That was the plan... But... I held you and I saw you and I couldn't to it. You were a child, just a child, and you reminded me of someone..."

"S-someone?"

"My love... Her name was Joan..." Francis started "I loved her dearly, and she loved children. She was kind, religious, enough to get me to believe in God. She wanted to have a child with me, we were going to marry... She wanted a little boy..." He smiled slightly with the memory. "But... The UK army came in one day... She used to be in a secret rebellion movement, they would cause riots and chaos in the villages of the UK... She was wanted. She settled down with me, but they found her... They took her back to the UK, and god knows i tried to save her... They burned her to death... The king and his men... They burned a fugitive... Alive... And she bravely facing her death..." He wiped his tears from his eyes and looked down. "I wanted to avenge her... I took you... But when I looked at you, you reminded me so much of her... She never wanted to see a child hurt, she believed children had the right to have a life and live it... And you... You were her..." He gulped "you grew up and every moment you remind me of her..." He looked into straight into Mathew's eyes, "You were our son..."

"I always will be..." Matthew said without thinking.

"No, you're the king's son, not mine. I'm sorry for rewriting your life."

"You probably have me so much more there than here papa," Matthew kissed Francis' hand as the only place he could right now. "I'm going to get you and everyone else back home, I promise."

"Don't promise something you can't keep..."

"I promise papa." Matthew said surely, "I will." He kissed his hand away and let go, going back to Alice as she stood there both surprised and sorrow filled of what she just heard. She opened the door back out to the rest of the prison and led him out.

"Some of us won't make it though..."

Francis turned back to the rest of the prisoners, just as Arthur slipped away from his hiding place...