Translations:
Verpiss Dich, Arschkriecher – German – Piss off, ass-kisser
Aus die Maus – German – That's enough
Merde – French – Shit :D
Ceci est mauvais – French – This is bad
Verdammich – German – Damn it [Wow, there's a lot of foreign cussing in this chapter XD]
Songs for this chapter: [Remove the spaces for the link]
The Pretender – Gilbert's Theme - www. youtube. com/watch?v=TwMMwDyAU4M
Hurt – Matthew's Theme - www. youtube. com/watch?v=IHagPodxu5g
What I've Done – Ludwig's Theme - www. youtube. com/watch?v=Dj_d8DlZ-Jo
Chapter 6 – The Relations and the Attack
'What... what time is it?' Matthew blinked his eyes to adjust them to the light. Soft chirps replaced the previous thunder, and the leftover rain on the windowsill. Matthew pushed himself into a sitting position. A blanket covering his torso fell off his shoulders. 'When did that get there? Did I just wake up this morning? Was that all a dream?' He looked over towards the town clock, which proved his answer. 'No, I woke up this morning. I was outside, then Søren... come to think of it, I saw Mathias, Gilbert, and Elizabeta too. Then there was a thunderstorm and... wait. Where did Gilbert go?'
Matthew looked across the couch to see Gilbird lying on the table. The small mound of yellow fuzz rose and fell as the chick slept inside a coaster, peeping softly. Matthew smiled; the cuteness it radiated could make your sweet tooth fall out.
Then his eyes drifted over to the rocking chair in the corner. Gilbert had fallen asleep, his feet still subconsciously rocking him back and forth.
'Did Gilbert stay that whole time with me during the thunderstorm? Why would he stay here that long?' Matthew's stomach rumbled, reminding him he hadn't eaten all day. 'Hmm, I still didn't get to make those pancakes I wanted. It's never too late for breakfast I guess.'
Matthew climbed off the couch and tip-toed into the kitchen. Pulling out some flour, sugar, milk, and butter, he placed a bowl out on the counter and began to make the pancakes he wanted since this morning. Within a few minutes, the breakfast pastry's scent filled the air. Kumajiro trotted into the kitchen, sitting next to his food bowl and scratching his muzzle.
"Hello there, Kimanari," Matthew smiled.
The bear looked over at him for a few seconds and then went back to scratching his nose. "Who?"
"Mathieu," he sighed. 'Really, is it that hard to remember my name?' "I guess you're hungry, eh? Maybe I can find something in the pantry for you."
Kumajiro looked up from his scratching position to gaze up at Matthew walking in the kitchen. "Alfred?"
"No, Mathieu," he repeated again. 'Alfred... I wonder how he's doing. Last I knew, he said he was going to stop by today, but he never did.'
Kumajiro cuddled into a ball on the floor, his back pushing his food dish slightly. Matthew turned his attention back to the pancake batter and scooped up a bit of the batter onto his finger to taste it.
"Needs more sugar," he commented to himself. Matthew looked in the bowl of sugar next to him. To his dismay, he used up all the sugar in his last addition to the batter. Matthew sighed and pranced over to the cupboard with a full bag of sugar inside.
Standing on his tip-toes, Matthew stretched his fingers up to touch the edge of the bag with his fingertips. They pressed a bit too hard on the side of the bag, and it toppled over, spilling sugar all over the inside of the cabinet.
"No!" Matthew yelled and cursed under his breath. 'Great! Another huge mess to clean up.'
"Need some help?" a kind voice asked. Matthew jumped and spun around to see a boy in a royal soldier's uniform standing behind him. He let out a shriek and backed up into the cabinet, knocking shelves over and spilling its contents all over himself and the floor. The young soldier flailed his hands around to catch some of the stuff falling from their resting spots. "Oh, no, no, no, no! Please don't panic! I won't hurt you!"
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Matthew yelped and sneezed as flour covered his face.
"Ve~, don't worry. I'm a friend," the soldier replied and held out his hand to help Matthew up. Matthew looked from the soldier's hand to his warm smile and back again. He raised a cautious hand to meet the soldier's and was lifted to his feet. Matthew looked over to where Kumajiro laid, snoring softly. 'Some guard bear you are!'
"Uh, thanks." Matthew forced a smile to show some sort of appreciation.
"No problem. I'm sorry I scared you," the young soldier apologized, stroking the back of his hair. "I'm Feliciano Vargas."
"Nice to meet you. But why are you-"
"Ve, that's a cute dog!" Feliciano's attention was on the white ball of fuzz curled up on the floor.
"Oh, he's not-"
"Do you need help cleaning that up?" Feliciano pointed to the cupboard that now looked like a cluttered closet.
Matthew sighed, sick of being interrupted. "Sure." Together, they began to stack the shelves up one by one and put the items that weren't broken back in place. Matthew glanced over at Feliciano every few moments to make sure that he had no foul intentions. The two cleaned the mess up in record time. Feliciano stood back and brushed his hands together to get any excess flower off his fingers. Matthew looked over at the kitchen door and scratched the side of his head. 'Funny Gilbert didn't wake up with all the noise. I never expected him the type to be a heavy sleeper.'
"-ur sister today."
Matthew brought his attention back to Feliciano. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"
Feliciano smiled and repeated, "I saw your sister today. What was her name again? Angie… Angle… Ag-"
Matthew sighed. "Angelique?"
"Yeah, I think that's it. Anyway, I was with Alfred this afternoon and your sister came looking for him. She said she wanted to talk to him about you or something."
"Me? Why would Alfred-"
"But when they were trying to find Arthur, the queen caught them and now they're in a lot of trouble!"
"What kind of trouble? What happened?"
"Ve, it was something about knowing too much about 'the servant' or something."
"The servant? I've heard the guards mention that before. What is it?"
"Oh, I'm not sure. I just kind of follow orders." Feliciano smiled sweetly and looked over at the pancake mix. "Ve, are you making breakfast this late?"
"Um, I didn't have any breakfast yet."
"You should have pasta instead!"
"Pasta?"
"Yeah! Can I make some for you? Oh, pretty please? It's really good! You'll love it."
"I-I guess you-" Before Matthew could finish his sentence, the young Italian already began his work . Matthew leaned against the table and sighed. He walked back into the living room to check and make sure Gilbert was still okay, and then returned to check on the stranger now making pasta in his house. 'What a weird day! First Søren comes in and asks me to make his neighbor to stop shearing his bushes into strange animals. Then Gilbert decides he's my guardian for the day. And now there's a complete stranger –a palace guard no less- making pasta in my kitchen. What's next, the sky turning to fire?'
A series of knocks sounded from the front door. Matthew held his breath to help him listen, but dismissed the sounds as his imagination. He walked over to watch Feliciano continue to make his pasta, until there was another series of knocks at the door. Matthew walked out of the kitchen, Kumajiro watching him as he walked by, and into the living room. 'Now who's knocking at my door?'
As Matthew reached for the door knob, there was a loud thump, and the door groaned under the weight of its attacker. Matthew jumped back, the wood cracking as the door was rammed into again. There was a soft groan from behind Matthew as Gilbert stretched his arms.
"What the hell are you doing over there, Mattie?" He asked, obviously still groggy.
"There's… there's a…" Matthew stammered, looking around the room as if he lost something. "The door… there's someone-"
With a deafening crack, the door was knocked away from its hinges, splinters of wood soaring in different directions. Gilbert leaped off his chair and focused his crimson eyes on the entrance way.
"Matthew Williams," a soldier ordered, "I have strict orders to escort you to-"
"West?" Gilbert asked, walking up to the soldier. "What are you doing? You broke Mattie's door!"
"Gilbert?" The man blinked in confusion. "I could ask you the same thing." Matthew looked from one man to the next.
"West?" he questioned.
Gilbert smiled. "Yeah. It's a nickname for We-"
"Don't you dare," the man hissed, rubbing his temple. "Now, what are you doing here?"
Gilbert slung an arm around Matthew's shoulders. "I came to visit a friend of mine. Got a problem with that?"
Matthew's violet eyes narrowed. "You… you're the captain of the royal guards, Ludwig. You tried to take Angelique away from me."
Ludwig's cobalt irises focused down on Matthew. "Yes, I am. And now I-"
"Wait, you're the one who's been causing all the trouble in town?" Gilbert questioned. "You're looking for that servant kid or whatever it is?"
Ludwig restrained himself from slapping either his face or his brother. "Yes. What is this, twenty questions?"
"Ludwig?" a cheerful voice called from the kitchen. "Ve, Captiano, what are you doing here?"
Gilbert's head spun around to look at the flour-covered Italian. "Feli, you're here too? What is this, a bad parody of Full House or something? Anyone else here I should know about?" Gilbird jumped up and down on the table and let out a shrill "peep". Gilbert smiled and put the chick onto his shoulder. "I already knew you were here, little buddy."
"Look, I don't have time for this," Ludwig massaged his temples. "Matthew, come with me."
Matthew's body stiffened. "Why? Does this have to do with my sister or something? Why won't you leave us alone already? And where is Angelique? Feliciano said you did something to her."
Ludwig looked over at Feliciano, who squeaked 'hi' and waved, and sighed heavily. "I didn't do anything personally. I was just following orders."
"It still doesn't make it right," Matthew hissed. "You weren't forced to do it. Everyone has a choice."
"Look, if I don't take you out of this house within the next thirty seconds, a group of soldiers are going to storm into the house. I thought I'd move ahead of them and escort you out so you wouldn't get hurt. Make this easier and just come with me."
"He's not going anywhere he doesn't want to," Gilbert growled. "What the fuck is wrong with you, West? Leave the poor kid alone."
Ludwig was losing his patience. "You're not helping. I'm not going to hurt him."
"I don't care! He doesn't need anyone else telling him what to do."
"Gilbert, I really think-"
"You should be going? Great! Get the hell out of here. We'll talk about this later."
"Listen for just a-"
"Verpiss Dich, Arschkriecher."
"Aus die Maus!" Ludwig growled, his fingernails digging into his palms. Matthew cringed, but Gilbert wasn't fazed by the venom in Ludwig's voice. The sound of a spoon being dropped echoed from the kitchen. "Dammit, Gilbert, you didn't care about him before. What's with the sudden change of heart? I thought you were too awesome."
Gilbert's eye twitched. "I am! I'm just doing Francis a favor!"
Ludwig rolled his eyes. "Right."
"You better fuckin keep your-"
Suddenly, soldiers began to storm into the house. Feliciano let out a yelp and exited out the back doorway which he came in. Ludwig looked over his shoulder and let out a heavy sigh as the guards circled around Gilbert and Matthew.
"Now we have to do it the hard way." Ludwig scratched the back of his head.
Gilbert looked around the room, growling under his breath. He smiled and hissed, "You think the awesome me can't take on all of you pussies by myself?"
Ludwig shook his head back and forth and clicked his tongue. "Brüder, this doesn't have to be difficult. Please, just let us take him. I don't want you to get hurt."
Gilbert clenched his teeth. "Like hell I'd-" He was interrupted by Matthew grabbing onto his arm.
"Gilbert, I don't want you to get hurt because of me," Matthew whimpered and smiled. "I'll be okay." Gilbert gazed down into teary, lilac eyes. Matthew's quivering hand released itself from Gilbert's arm. He bit his lip and stepped forward toward Ludwig. Taking in a deep breath, he said, "I'll go. But I want to see Angelique at least one more time."
Ludwig dropped his gaze down to the floor. "I'm… I'm sorry, but I can't do that."
Matthew blinked and questioned, "What do you mean? Why not?" Ludwig still refused to make eye-contact. He clenched and unclenched his palms, biding his time and hoping that the issue would disintegrate into thin air. However, when he looked back at the blond, Matthew's eyes were anxious, unsure of whether they wanted to know the reason or not. Matthew shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Please, tell me what happened to Angelique."
Ludwig drew a long breath and released it. He dropped his head slightly and gazed into Matthew's irises. "I'm sorry, but your sister was put to death."
Matthew's peachy tone withered to pallid. He covered his mouth with a hand, shaking his head in disbelief. "N-no. Why? How could this happen?"
"I'm sorry," Ludwig closed his eyes, regretting telling him the tragic news.
Matthew slumped to his knees; the taste of salt dripped into the crevices of his mouth. His vision blurred out; the surrounding noise dissolved. He could feel something grip his shoulders, but he couldn't tell if his shoulders were shaking because of another entity or his own distress. 'Angelique… my sister… it's not true! It can't be true! It's all a lie, I know it is! It has to be. She… she can't be gone. She promised me that we would go pick apples this afternoon. She told me she'd be here in the morning to change my bandages. We were going to celebrate her birthday in a few days. I even had a gift picked out for her. She can't be gone. I didn't get to say good bye.'
What happened next was a bit of a blur. Matthew was shoved up to his feet and pushed out the door, a fuzzy being jumping into his hands, and he was told to run. He didn't remember starting to dash out into the streets. As he ran, his feet collided with some blunt object on the ground, and he crashed down to the wet earth, his hands scraping against the stone. Rain water from the afternoon storm drenched his clothing and hair. Matthew turned his head to the side to take in air and stayed still for several moments. The world seemed to freeze, and the only sound to comfort him was his own breath. He closed his eyes, tears tumbling down his nose and cheeks.
"Peep!" A soft pinch bit his cheek. Matthew opened his eyes after the second little peck on his nose. Gilbird jumped around his head, flapping its wings. It pulled at a strand of Matthew's hair, urging him to keep moving. Matthew pushed himself into a sitting position; the bird chirped triumphantly and leaped into his hair. He gripped the stick in his hands, the rain water discoloring the wood. He flashed a look back towards his home, where shouts and grunts echoed through the streets. 'Mother, what do I do? Gilbert is back there, and he is alone fighting all those soldiers. Should I help him? I don't even know if I'd be any help.' A gentle breeze nudged him from behind, scattering a few abandoned flower petals in front of him. 'Do… are you saying I should run?' The wind picked up, his hair tickling his cheeks. Matthew stood to his feet and began running down the road again, his heart pounding in his chest. The streets were still deserted due to the storm, except for the random puddles littering the road. Cleansed air filled his nostrils and cooled his aching lungs. His feet clopped down the road, echoing off the surrounding buildings. They skidded to a halt and changed direction, carrying Matthew down a maze of buildings.
Matthew stopped behind a building creating the alleyway. The sound of blood rushed to his ears and overpowered his hearing. He leaned against a nearby wall, his hand clutched over his chest. Taking in painful breaths, he slid down into a seated position and tried to slow his pounding heart. Gilbird jumped off his head and onto the stone beneath them, jumping around like a Mexican bean.
'How could I leave him alone like that? There's too many of them. He'll never be able to fight them all alone.' Matthew cursed under his breath. Gilbird chirped, hopping up into Matthew's lap and trying to decide whether to stay with Matthew or find Gilbert. Matthew looked down and smiled, lifting the hatchling up into the air with his free palm.
"I bet you're worried sick, huh little guy?" Matthew asked. Gilbird cocked its head to the right trying to decipher Matthew's words. "Well, maybe if we're lucky Kimamichi will help him out." Matthew stopped to think for a few minutes, his face twisting in disgust. "Who am I kidding? There's no way Gilbert can fight against them unarmed. He's going to die, and it'll be my fault! Why did I drag him into this? Why do I have to be so weak? I-" Matthew let out a stream of coughs, Gilbird falling from his palm and crashing onto Matthew's lap. The little bird ruffled its feathers and thought about pecking Matthew, until it noticed the agony etched on his face.
Gilbird climbed up Matthew's sleeve and attempted to comfort him. Matthew coughed for about twenty seconds straight until his body seemed to relax. He rested his head against the cold stone wall, staring up at the sky. Gilbird nestled into the crook of his neck and chirped, reminding Matthew he wasn't alone. Matthew smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.
'I can't run forever. They've probably killed Gilbert and Kalijiru by now and are looking for me. Good thing Papa wasn't home. I'd hate to lose him too… I don't even get what Angelique did. She'd never cause any trouble with the guards. This whole mess didn't begin until those soldiers showed up at our door calling her 'the servant'. What is 'the servant' and why did they call her it? I think everyone knows except me! Why won't anyone tell me? I have the right to know. That stupid thing is the reason Angelique is dead.' Matthew paused as his thoughts were interrupted. 'Footsteps? Merde, did they find me?' Matthew used all his strength to try and pull himself into a weak standing position but failed. 'Not good! It hurts too much to move. Ceci est mauvais!'
Gilbird looked up at Matthew, its black irises taking in his expression. The little bird ruffled up its feathers, realizing a bird's gotta do what a bird's gotta do. Gilbird leaped off of Matthew and darted towards the footsteps as ferociously as it could. The bird leaped up with all its strength to meet cold metal. Gilbird flew backward towards the ground in a pile of unconscious fuzz.
Matthew jumped at the blunt noise. "Gilbird?" He picked up the stick he dropped in front of him, squeezing the bark so hard his fingers turned white. He used the stick to help him into a standing position and leaped out from his hiding place to strike Gilbird's attacker.
"Whoa, what the?" A feminine voice called out, blocking the blow with a silver frying pan. Matthew jumped upon hearing the loud clang he helped create and opened his eyes.
"Miss Elizabeta!" He cried out in surprise. His knees buckled underneath him and he used his stick to help him retain a standing position.
Elizabeta ran to his side and gasped, "Matthew, what happened?"
It took Matthew a few seconds to gather his thoughts into clear details. "Back home, I fell asleep during that thunderstorm. Gilbert stayed with me until-"
Elizabeta suppressed a squeal inside her mouth, interrupting Matthew's thoughts. She smiled and took in a deep breath. "Go on."
"… After I woke up, I went to make some pancakes, when a weird royal soldier named Feliciano appeared in my kitchen. He started making me… pasta."
"Sounds like Feli," Hungary mused, shaking her head.
"Anyway, Captain Ludwig showed up and demanded I come with him. Gilbert defended me, and said he wouldn't let Ludwig take me. Then these guards flooded my house and Gilbert wanted to fight them. Of course I couldn't see anyone hurt over me, and I agreed to go, but they had to take me to see Angel…" Matthew's voice trailed off. He turned his attention to the ground, Elizabeta's jade eyes focusing on him.
"Matthew? Are you okay?"
Matthew blinked to hold back his tears. He sighed and swallowed hard. "I asked Ludwig if I could see Angelique before I left, and he told me she… she was dead." A silent sob escaped his mouth and tears began rolling down his cheeks.
"Angelique is dead?" Elizabeta questioned in shock. She pulled Matthew closer to her, her sisterly instincts kicking in. "Matthew, I'm so sorry. What happened to her?"
"I… I don't know. I never got the chance to ask Ludwig. Gilbert pushed me out of the house before I could say anything about it."
"Well, maybe we should go back and ask him ourselves," Elizabeta growled. "I can't believe he'd do this. When he took up the position of captain, he said he'd always fight for justice, even if it killed him. What turned him into such a coward?" Elizabeta pulled herself and Matthew into a standing position, Matthew using the stick to help support himself. Elizabeta scooped Gilbird into her hands.
Matthew turned around, his hair falling into his face. "I hope he's okay."
"I told that idiot to take better care of his turkey. Don't worry, I don't think it's dead."
Matthew smiled and shook his head weakly. "It's not Gilbird I'm worried about."
"Gilbert," Elizabeta whispered under her breath. "Do you know if he had a weapon with him?"
"I don't think so."
Elizabeta took off down the alleyway, squeezing her frying pan handle. First thing Ludwig was going to get when she found him was a concussion. The two of them traveled down the road towards Matthew's house, which was unnaturally quiet. As Elizabeta turned into the doorway, Ludwig came face to face with the enraged woman.
"Ludwig!" She hissed and was about to swing her frying pan when she noticed Gilbert's limp, bloody figure in his brother's arms. She looked up into Ludwig's eyes; he looked pretty worn out as well. "Ludwig, I swear if you hurt him, I'll-"
"He'll be okay," Ludwig replied. "I couldn't… I couldn't live with myself if he died. But still, two against sixteen isn't good odds, especially when they're all armed and trained in fighting."
"Wait, you mean you-"
"I'm probably going to lose my ranking for this," He sighed, "but it was worth it. Besides, what's a job compared to your brother's life? It's time I stopped being someone else's lapdog."
Elizabeta smiled. "You couldn't have realized this at a better time."
"What do you mean?"
"For the past month, the town has been gathering together to start an uprising against Natalia. We need all the help we can get."
Matthew gasped. "Wait, so you mean the town meetings were about-"
"Yes. It's time the real ruler of our country took his position as king."
Ludwig moaned under his breath. "There's only one problem with that."
Elizabeta's eye twitched. "What now?"
"The prince was sentenced to death along with Matthew's sister."
"WHAT?" Elizabeta screamed and threw her frying pan in anger, the metal connecting with the wall and emitting a vociferous clang. "Who killed him? I'll murder the bastard!"
"Elizabeta, calm down," Ludwig ordered, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
"Calm down? All this planning has been a complete waste! Who's going to take over the throne now? Who killed him? Tell me!"
"It was… Arthur."
Elizabeta's expression pulled a 180 and now was filled with glee. "Really? You sure?"
Ludwig blinked, thoroughly confused. "Yes. Why?"
"I knew he'd come through for us!" Elizabeta cheered. "Arthur is a double agent sent to spy on the queen by King Joseph himself. He didn't trust the relationship between Natalia and himself, so he asked Arthur to become an ambassador to watch her actions. He'd never hurt Alfred."
"Well that's new," Ludwig commented, blinking in confusion.
"We don't have any time to waste. If I know Arthur, he's probably helping Alfred get out of the castle as we speak. I'll gather the townspeople and tell them that our revolution starts today." Elizabeta picked up her frying pan and dashed off into the streets, leaving Ludwig and Matthew alone in front of the house.
There was a bit of an awkward pause before Ludwig asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Matthew replied, "Just trying to soak up all this information. It's happening so fast."
"Don't feel bad. I'm just as confused as you are. Who knew that the people were planning a revolution this-"
Matthew cried out in pain, holding his sides. Ludwig's heart leaped into his throat and he placed Gilbert gently on the ground. "Matthew! Matthew, what's wrong? What ha-"He looked down at Matthew's side to see his abdomen profusely bleeding.
Matthew coughed, vomit rising in his throat. "I feel like… I just got stabbed."
"Verdammich," Ludwig hissed and tried to stop the bleeding with his jacket. He looked around for someone to aid him, but the streets were deserted. "Hold on, Matthew. I'll find you some help." Matthew wobbled forward, his vision blanking out. Ludwig caught him before he was exposed to more pain, but the boy was already unconscious. He laid Matthew gently on the ground and felt his pulse. Matthew's heartbeat was still there, but disappearing quickly. Matthew took in a sharp breath and released it, the world falling silent.
Ludwig's eyes widened. "Matthew? Matthew! Hold on! No, don't give up yet. MATTHEW!"
To be continued…
Oh boy, can we can hear the angry mob forming already! :D
Sorry this took so long. I can't say we didn't have enough free time (MarshmallowTree can vouch for Neko xD) but more like we didn't know how to word it. We know where we want the chapters to go, but getting there is half the battle.
This is basically the second to last chapter before we enter Part II of the story. So we're sorry if it's a bit rushed.
Okay, reviewer love section time! 8D
serene528moon, MarshmallowTree, Hinata Uzumaki-sama, Kiesha, and Demoness Drakon!
And again, thanks to darandomninja for betaing for us! Your opinion is always appreciated! :D
Well, until next time! ^-^
