A/N: Hello everyone! I know, it's been way too long. So much has happened so I'll spare you the details. I don't know when the next chapter will happen, as these next few months are gonna be crazy. However, I do promise, to complete this story. So with that I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 11: Losing and Gaining Companions

Branches and brambles assaulted Ludwig's face as he was dragged through the forest. An iron grip was placed on both forearms by the two brothers who deemed it absolutely necessary to have him with them. After a low hanging branch smacked into his face, and its leaves invaded his mouth, Ludwig had reached his limit. He dug his boots into the ground and pulled back as hard as he could, gritting his teeth. The strength of the brothers surprising him for a brief moment.

"That is enough! I demand you let go of me, you dummkopfs!" The brothers suddenly let go in a gasp and Ludwig, exhausted, fell onto his knees gasping for breath and spluttering out tiny bits of leaves.

"What is wrong with you two? You could have killed me!" Ludwig wiped his face with his sleeve and grimaced at his tattered clothing. "Look! My uniform in disrepair, my cap is gone, boots scuffed. How will I explain this to my superiors? I wasn't exactly sent to the Russian front you know? They'll suspect something, they'll question me, they'll- what are you laughing at?" Ludwig huffed out, annoyed by the sudden childish laughter emanating from the amber eyed brother.

"Ve~! You are just so funny my King! How can you have superiors if you are the leader?" Dee chuckled out.

Ludwig growled and stood to his full height, brushing off dust, "I am not your King, I am not your anything. Just get me out of here and fast!" Ludwig stomped off ahead of them, leaving the brothers in awe.

"Ve~and he is so noble and proud!"

"Denying his birthright to embolden us lowlifes, it is truly a sight to behold."

The two began to tear up when they heard a loud beckon from their king prompting the twins to snap out of their stupor and back on the trail. Once caught up, they clung to Ludwigs uniform like scared children, causing Ludwig to lose his footing.

"Argh! Get off of me!" Ludwig huffed out. He was tired, famished, and dizzy from everything. He suddenly wondered if this was how it was like on the russian front.

"Oh, but we are scared your highness! There are so many things that will eat us in these woods!" cried Dum.

"Ve~! Many scary things!" added Dee.

Ludwig pinched the bridge of nose, "Is this not your world? Do you two not know a way out of here? To safety? Preferably somewhere with food and water?" he was at his wits end.

The twins suddenly perked up, "Oh yeah! We'll just get out the way we came in! This way!" they said in unison, holding hands and humming an unknown song. Their previous statement of being scared of human-eating animals gone completely out the window. Vanished without a trace.

Ludwig took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Repeating the process until it seemed they reached a clearing, the sparse rough grass having turned into outright sand. "Look! There it is your highness! Our conveniently placed boat that we took here to find you!"

Ludwig sighed, "How come neither of you remembered you had this boat until now?"

Dee shook his head and raised his hands, "Ve~! We were so distracted by your royal grace that we forgot!"

Ludwig raised his hand in a stopping gesture, "Whatever, just get me out of here, dummkopfs!"

The twins saluted, "Yes sir!".

The small boat rocked as Ludwig got on, steadying himself, he took a seat at the front, he prayed with all his might he didn't get any form of sea sickness. The twins grabbed their paddles and began to sail the boat forward to whatever destination they were planning on taking him, and quite frankly he didn't care where.

They set a leisurely pace, the sea having heard his prayer and remained relatively calm. Ludwig closed his eyes as his mind began to drift, thoughts bringing back the events of today. He must have dozed off because when he reopened his eyes the sun was nearly set, stars peaking out above him. A sound startled him and he jumped, he took in his surroundings and saw a caravan of very large ships some distance away facing away from them, on their left.

"Pirates." Dum said.

"Pirates?"

"Mm-hmm. From Ipsan. They scout the sea looking for weak strongholds to pillage. Don't worry though, they won't bother us."

"What makes you say that?" Ludwig asked. He's never seen pirates before. It was something he's only heard about in stories.

Dum grinned slightly, "They are sympathetic to the Zani cause, although they are not officially participating in this war, they will stir up trouble for us if we ask them to."

Ludwig suddenly remembered today's earlier conversation, the White Rabbit having told them about this mysterious group.

"Wait. So you two are apart of this Zani? Why were you with us in the beginning then? Are you spies?"

Dee hummed, "Ve~! You could say so. To be honest though, we kinda wanted to see what it was like." Dum suddenly smacked the back of his brothers head, "Oh! I mean, we were just curious! We are totally loyal to you my king!" he nervously laughed out.

"Uh-huh…" Ludwig didn't care in the slightest if they were telling the truth or not.

He watched the grand ships go, and took in the slight breeze and sounds of the water hitting the boat. If he weren't in this bizarre underground world, he would have found this very relaxing and enjoyable. "How much longer?" he blurted out tiredly.

"Just a bit more your highness."

"Hmm."

He'll just take another nap.

When he came to again, the sky was dark and the stars were out in full force. He wondered how stars could even exist here. A hand shook his shoulder, and he stood up straight.

"Ve~! We have arrived your grace!"

The open-ended sea had come to a halt as a port came into view, and a landscape of ornately decorated cottages and building covered the raised land.

"And where exactly is here?" he asked.

"Frenca, your grace. A recently captured Zani stronghold. You'll quite like it here, the food is deliziosa!" he accented the final word with the pinch of his right hand. As they approached the dock, Ludwig took in the cities alluring smells, and he licked his lips. He was way too hungry and thirsty right now. He found his legs starting to move towards the delicious smells, when a hand stopped him.

"Oh! Your highness, please wear this!" Dum passed him a velvet coat and Ludwig gave him a disbelieving look.

"Won't wearing this make me look more suspicious? I'll just walk around like I know the place." he scoffed.

The Twins looked uncomfortable, "Uhm...yeah! That's very astute of you my king but...we kinda already paid for it." It was Ludwigs turn to look uncomfortable, "How much was this?" he sighed.

Dum let out a small laugh and scratched his head, "Haha, uhm. Let's just say we have little money for anything else. That's OK though, right?"

If looks could kill, the twins would have dropped dead by now. A vein felt like bursting in his head and he couldn't take it anymore. He was famished and disoriented from everything today. Lost in a strange world, and he doesn't know when he'll ever get home. He raised his hands in anger and his eyes closed to block out the twins sheer incompetence as he let it all out, "You...you...DUMMKOPFS! How could you not plan this accordingly? Did you not think we'd be starving and tired? What is wrong with you two?" he yelled.

The twins hugged themselves in terror, "Forgive us your grace! We are not worthy!" They cried. The outburst seeming to have caught some looks and crowd began to form. Ludwig straightened up and gave everyone a slight smile, "Ah! Calm down you two. We are getting looks. Just show me what we have left and I'll forgive you." he said in a deadly small tone.

Dee let out a sniffle and rubbed his yes, "Ve~! We have been spared! Here, this is what we have left." He reached in his coat pocket and scrambled out a few coins. Ludwig sighed, "This is it?"

"Yes your grace."

Ludwig pocketed the money and nodded, "Well, I'm sure we can find a cheap beer somewhere. You two have been here before, know any cheap bars?" Dum perked up and hopped excitedly, "Oh! Yes your grace! Follow us!"

Ludwig grimaced, having no confidence in the pair. As they walked through the city, in his expensive coat, he couldn't help but feel a tense aura in the air. People were walking and talking, but everything just seemed sad. Ludwig supposed that's what a captured country would feel like. Dum did say it was recently taken over. His musings stopped as they reached a crowded tavern, it reminded him of home actually. The candle fixtures, the barrels, the overly load drunk patrons, the pretty barmaids.

"This will do, let's take a seat at the bar."

They sat down and the pretty barmaid smiled, "What can I get you?" she said in an accent he couldn't quite place, Ludwig returned the smiled and dropped the coins on the counter, "Whatever this will buy." She nodded and took them. She returned later with three beers and a small plate of what seemed like local snacks.

"The food is on the house." She smiled.

Ludwig winked at her and thanked her profusely. The twins having already indulged themselves, leaving Ludwig to slowly sip on his beer and bird peck on the small treat. Little by little, make every sip count. A lesson he learned during wartime, the rations having taken their toll on him. It was then he felt a pair of eyes on him. There, in a lonesome table in the corner, was a man with dog ears and tail. The blond's stare was unrelenting and Ludwig suddenly got very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and hailed the barmaid.

"Uhm. Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know that main would you?"

The girl glanced at the mysterious man and turned nervous, "Oh, I don't really know him but judging by the ears and tail, he could be apart of the Zani. Sorry, I don't know much else." Ludwig thanked her as she walked off and took another sip of his beer.

As the patrons on his right left the bar, the mysterious man took the opportunity to fill the vacant spot. Still staring at him, Ludwig offered the man a courtesy smile. The man smiled back and raised his own beer.

"So, when are you three like meeting up at the Zani base downtown?" The blond man said, his bright green eyes looking mischievous.

The twins suddenly jumped in their seats, "Zani? What Zani? Uhm, you seem to be mistaken, we are simple tourists!"

The blond man let out a chuckled and pointed at his cloak, "Tourists in suspicious looking cloaks? How much did this like cost anyway? Looks totally expensive." Ludwig frowned and immedietly took off the stupid thing.

"Alright, what do you want? We don't have any money so forget about any plans you had-"

"I'm not interested in money, I'm interested in your cause." The blond man interjected. Having heard this, the twins perked up.

The blond man fixed his hair and smiled, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Feliks. I traveled all this way from my homeland to join you. I was told that if I wanted to join, I had to find a pair of goofy looking twins. I would assume that's you two?" he pointed at the pair, who had their mouths currently stuffed with the rest of their food. Ludwig sighed, "You would assume correctly."

"Anyway, like I was looking all over this city and got tired so I stopped at the bar and lo and behold I find the twins in question. So what do you say? Can I join?"

Dum swallowed his food and smiled, "Sure! Were always looking for new members!"

"Ve~! Especially ones like you! You're exactly what we're looking for!" Dee exclaimed excitedly.

Feliks clapped his hands and smiled, "Great! Let's make a toast to this joyous occasion." Ludwig nodded slightly and lifted up his beer, "Prost." The sound of the beers clanging together, brought a new perspective of today, the strangest day of his life, but hey, he had some beer so it wasn't completely bad.

"So, judging by how you said you have no money, I would assume that you three don't have a place to stay tonight?"

Ludwig nodded, "Assumed correctly again. These buffoons spent most of the money on this thing." He lifted up the surprisingly heavy cloak.

Feliks nodded and finished his beer, bringing it back down the table and grinned, "We'll, as thanks for letting me in easy, let me invite you to my room at the inn, we can all go the Zani Headquarters in the morning with fresh faces."

At this Ludwig smiled and patted Feliks' back, "That would be perfect! I suppose today wasn't an absolute failure, as I was expecting it to be."

Feliks returned the smile, "Oh! You could say this day was even a successful one from my point of view. Come, it's getting late. We can discuss further things at the inn."

Ludwig nodded and downed the rest of beer and snack, the twins having been redeemed, smiled in happiness.

The breeze at night was comforting to Ludwig. It reminded him of home. The sky was clear tonight, he noticed. The crickets chirping a delicate song. The inn Feliks took them too was cozy and quaint, lit only by candlelight. The room itself was simple, but Ludwig couldn't care less, he was tired. He made himself comfortable by the windowsill, arranging the extra covers Feliks gave him to make a somewhat decent bed. He quite nearly collapsed on the thing, his forearm covering his eyes as he gave out a hearty sigh, today was the strangest day of his life.

"Comfy?"

Ludwig unshielded his eyes and saw Feliks leaning on the bathroom door frame. He looked slightly happy. Ludwig gave out a small chuckle.

"Yes, thank you. For everything I mean."

"Oh. It's no big deal-"

"No seriously. I would have been stranded with those two idiots, probably drunk out of my mind somewhere in a ditch."

Feliks laughed and shook his head his dog-like ears flopping in the process, "You're not from around here are you?"

Ludwig sat up, "Is it that obvious?"

Feliks took a few steps closer, his fluffy tail swishing gently back and forth, "Judging by your strange foreign uniform, I would say yes, its obvious." he laughed. Feliks took a seat on the corner of his bed, careful not to step on the sleeping twins. "So like, where are you from anyways?"

Ludwig sighed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Feliks leaned back, "Try me."

Ludwig looked straight into his eyes, "I'm uh, I'm from above ground." he blinked a few times, replaying what he said and cringing everytime. He was expecting Feliks to laugh, but he didn't. He simply nodded.

"Ok, thats-thats um…"

Ludwig held up his hands, "I know sounds crazy right? But look, I'm from above ground and I came here with another, uh, acquaintance of mine. We fell down a hole, drank some potion, turned small, ended up here, met some strange people who kept talking about a prophecy and him being some hero and I a king, and although I'm flattered, I don't really think it's me, then a crazy lady came by, we fled, I got on a boat, now I'm here." He took in a breath, and realized with horror that he sounded like a rambling madman.

Feliks looked at him with his mouth open, sharp canine teeth glinting in the moonlight. Then suddenly he closed it and nodded, "It actually doesn't sound crazy at all. I'm just a little shocked is all. Wow. I can't believe it. I can't believe I didn't see it. You're the White King!" he quietly laughed out.

Ludwig stared at him, "So...you believe me?"

Feliks jumped a little at the statement, "Of course I do! Everyone has heard of the prophecy! I just didn't think I'd be even remotely involved in it. My word, so it's finally happening." Feliks turned away from him for a moment and under his breath said, "So I'm doing the right thing then."

"Huh?"

Feliks jumped again, "Oh! Nothing, I'm just still shocked."

They sat in silence for awhile. The sounds of the night the only thing that can be heard. Then Feliks let out a chuckle, "So, like, does that mean I have to start calling you your highness?"

Ludwig chuckled back, "No, that won't be necessary. Just call me Ludwig."

Feliks stood up suddenly and extended his hand towards him, "Well then sir Ludwig, I look forward to working very close with you." Ludwig accepted the handshake with a smile, "Me too."

Feliks stretched then and let out a yawn, "Well then, now that that's settled, let's get some rest. We've got lots to do tomorrow."

Ludwig agreed, "Yes. Goodnight then." Feliks nodded and jumped back on the bed, "Goodnight."

After a few minutes, Ludwig laid back down and took in the scenery basked in the moonlight. He doesn't remember closing his eyes, but he must have as he fell into a dreamless sleep.