Letting you know that this scene does not happen in the movie :3
Disclamer: Don't own anything (sigh)
I don't remember what exactly happened when we got back to the castle. At that point, I couldn't feel my hands; when I looked down at them, all I saw was blue, shaking fingers that were unrecognizable. The servants made a huge scene when we returned, but whatever they were saying flew right past me. Shouts jumbled and sounded like white noise. I stumbled into someone's arms, and my eyelids began to drop. Whoever was holding me dropped me on the ground, and the last thing I saw before darkness took over was Toris and Raivis grabbing Ivan, whose blood drip down his leg and onto the ground mere inches from my face.
I woke up to be greeted by darkness. My eyelids weighed a ton, and the first thing I did was smack my dry mouth. With all my strength, I opened my eyes to find a new ceiling. I immediately tried to sit up, but my head painfully throbbed, so I decided that this was not the time to explore my new surroundings. As my shoulders touched the mattress, I noticed that the pain from earlier was no longer present. My hands instinctively touched them, only to discover thick bandages. After I made a note to thank the servant responsible, I decided that my next task was to find my glasses. Even with my shoulders now bandaged, it felt as if there was weights attached to each of my limbs, preventing me from moving the slightest. I steadily turned my head and found a bedside table with a cup of cold coffee, my glasses, and a box which must have been a first aid kit. I reached over and grabbed my glasses; my fingers immediately brushed against a thin crack in the right lense. I put them on with much aggravation; I knew that it would be a pain in the ass to wear them, but I would rather be slightly annoyed than be blind. Where they broken when I walked back to the castle? Someone knocked on the door and they walked in before I could answer.
Liz and Roderich walked in: Roderich held a tray of fresh coffee while Liz held new bandages. "Hey there, sleepy head. You feeling better?" Liz walked over and motioned me to sit on the edge of the bed. Roderich proceeded to pour more coffee. I sat down next to Liz, and before I could even become remotely embarrassed, she pulled off my shirt. I didn't realize until now that my torso was covered in purple and yellow bruises, each one getting darker as they ventured closer to my shoulders, which were enfolded in blood soaked wrappings.
"Alfred, I prepared a bath for you, so when Liz is done go clean yourself up- you are filthy and you also stink." Liz rolled her eyes as Roderich walked out, leaving us alone. She started to unwrap my shoulders, and I cringed when they revealed a tender, red, bloody gash and both sides. The cold air hit the open wounds and I winced, and Liz noticed my pain.
"At least it didn't hit any vital veins, or else we would have had a big problem." I only nodded it response. Liz was started to ramble on and on about how she was worried about the both of us, but I wasn't really paying attention.
"... and it was so scary when you just collapsed on the floor. It didn't help that Ivan was bleeding all over the ground. He was still awake too and… hey, you awake?"
"Huh?" She rolled her eyes. She finally finished putting on the new bandages.
"What happened to you guys anyway? You couldn't have gone that far."
"Um, well, I was in the forest when wolves attacked me and Phillippe and I was kicking wolf ass but there were too many but then Ivan came and kicked even more wolf ass and they got scared and ran away but then Ivan got bit and yeah…" Liz merely nodded, taking in all the information.
"Hey Liz?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did Ivan come after me? I mean, he wanted me to leave..." Liz didn't reply immediately; instead, she stared at the ceiling and sighed, trying to come up with a good answer.
"I'm sure he never wanted you to actually leave the estate. He was probably just having another one of his silly tantrums; whatever he said was just in the spur of the moment. We were all worried about you, especially since you just stormed off. You should be thankful that he was there at that exact moment, or you might not be here right now." I was taking it all in, so she continued.
"After Toris informed everybody that you had run away, we didn't know if we should tell Ivan right away. We were all in the foyer discussing it when Ivan suddenly popped out from his room and ran out the door. We tried to stop him because of the blizzard, but he would not listen, like usual. He actually left pretty quickly after you did."
It suddenly hit me that it was all my fault that Ivan got hurt. If I had only listened, he wouldn't be bleeding out right now, maybe even dying. I cringed at the thought. He risked his life for me… I felt my face heat up, so I tried to nonchalantly cover my face with my hands to hide my reddening face. I stood up abruptly, accidentally pushing Liz away.
"I should go see him-" Roderich interrupted me when he walked back into the room.
"Alfred, your bath is ready." I let out a sigh, but I went to the bathroom anyway.
The bathroom was a medium size, covered in pale yellow tiles. A claw footed porcelain tub sat near the small window, with steaming water rising from it. Roderich said something about it being not too hot or my cold body would go into shock, but I just nodded and shooed him away as politely as possible because I wanted to be alone. I turned towards the mirror and wiped off the condensation. My reflection showed a tired looking man with extreme bedhead and bruised skin. I gently touched my cheek, and grimaced at the tender bruise forming. I just sighed, and placed my glasses on the counter. Carefully avoiding the water touching the bandages, I dipped into the warm water. My body finally relaxed, and I could now gather my thoughts properly.
I should go apologize. What should I say? Sorry that you have no blood in you. No, that doesn't sound sincere. I hope your blood cells replicate soon. Nope. I groaned, sinking into the water even more. My mind immediately went back to the moment in the woods before Ivan fainted. The look on his face was heartbreaking, and I instinctively put my hand against my chest. He looked so lost, so confused. His looks alone seem to say, why Alfred? I groaned into the water, creating a mountain of bubbles.
I'm sorry for breaking your trust. I should have listened when you told me to. This was all my fault. I understand if you do not forgive me. I can leave first thing in the morning. Even though this wasn't my favorite thought, it was my best one. If I still lived in the village, I knew I would never say something like this. I mean, I was never wrong! It was never my fault, or at least, no one could prove it was my fault. But this time, I knew I had to do the right thing. I quickly washed up and dried off, carefully avoiding my wounds. I was about to grab my old clothes, but I found a neatly folding pile of clean clothes sitting on the counter. I mentally thanked Roderich, who must have placed them there without me noticing.
The bathroom and my new bedroom was in the same hall as my old bedroom, so I found my way to the West Wing without trouble. I crept down the sketchy hallway once again, avoiding the disturbing decor. I froze when I heard voices come from an upcoming corner. I panicked, looking left and right to find a hiding place. I quickly dove behind a dismantled suit of armour and peeked out to see who it was.
Toris and Raivis walked out from the corner together. "Do you think he will be okay?" asked Raivis quietly.
Toris shrugged. "I'm not sure. There was a lot of blood. I hope he will be okay though, he is our only way out of here…"
"That means Alfred has to be okay too."
"Yeah, but I heard he is fine, Elizabeta and Roderich told me so earlier…" They walked off farther down the hallway. Once they were earshot distance away, I jumped back out and continued my way to Ivan's room.
I slowly opened the heavy door, flinching when it creaked. Light poured in through the cracks of the curtains; a ray of light ran across the bed. I tiptoed in towards the bed, and stopped when I reached the edge. The bed no longer had any broken stuff on it, or around the floor nearby. Ivan laid on his back propped up with a bunch of pillows, but he was sleeping quietly . One arm peeked over the sheets, while the other hanged over the bed. He wore a clean silk shirt, but to my surprise his scarf lay folded next to him. It was weird looking at him without it on; it looked like something was out of place and not right. His eyelids fluttered, excited from whatever dream he was having. Lips slightly parted, I could hear his breathing coming out in short but equal breaths. Before I knew it I was walking closer to the sleeping body. It was an oddly comforting sight, seeing him in such a calm state. I never imagined him being anything other than angry or tense.
My foot hit something on the ground, and it rolled over and knocked against the bedside table. It was an empty glass bottle. I knelt to pick it up, but before I stood back up my eye caught on to whatever was under the bed. I lifted the bed skirt to find many more empty bottles, plus a few full ones. Grabbing a chair, I sat down next to his bed. I took a cautious whiff, and immediately recoiled when I recognized the distinct scent of vodka.
Even though I was planning on apologizing, he clearly won't be able to hear me in such a state. But I didn't want to leave, so I started to talk about the first thing that came to mind. I glanced at an empty bottle, and picked it up, rolling it in my hands. "Arthur drinks a lot too." I glanced to see if I woke him up. He still slept soundly. I leaned back in the chair and continued. "He prefers beer though. When I was younger, he would often leave for long periods of time to go to the tavern. Of course I didn't know it back then; he didn't want to be a bad influence on me or something. Anyways, I would get mad at him for leaving me. I just didn't know why he would leave me home alone for so long. I would tell him, 'but you said you would be back hours ago?' but he was always too drunk to give me a clear excuse." I looked at him again. He seemed to have moved his head at one point, so now he was facing me.
"I drink now, but not as much as him. I do get drunk occasionally, so it's not like I don't get it. I don't really see what is so great about it though. Drinking away my sorrows was never really my thing. Is it yours? Is that why there are so many bottles here? I hope not. If someone else is sad, it makes me sad. I don't know why, but I always felt like it was my duty to help others, even if I'm not involved." I opened my mouth to say more, but nothing would come out. My throat all of a sudden felt thick and scratchy. I felt like I said too much, and I needed space. I placed the bottle at the end of the bed, and got up from the chair quietly. Before I opened the door, I suddenly remembered the flower. I looked for the familiar glow, but all I found was the table. I exhaled, and went back to my room. I left before I could see the other man open his eyes instantly as the door closed, and get up from the bed.
The clock outside of my bedroom door said that it was 8 o'clock in the morning, but it felt like it was 3 in the morning. Tiredness hit me hard even though I woke up not that long ago. I crawled into my comfortable bed, and fell asleep immediately.
The door creaked open. The footsteps thudded against the hard wood floors, but the walker was trying to be quiet. He sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to disrupt the sleeper. He lifted his hand, and picked up the glasses that was still sitting on the others face, and tsked at the crack. He folded them and noiselessly placed them on the table. He brought his hand up again and brushed the golden hair out from the other's long eyelashes, which made them twitch slightly. He moved down to his cheek, caressing the bruise gently. His skin felt warm against his hand, which only made him want to touch it more but he controlled himself.
"I drink because it was the only thing that warmed me. In this eternal winter of mine, not even the brightest fire could warm me up. I was so desperate for warmth in my life, and I depended on the bottle for happiness. But I don't need it anymore, since you are in my life."
Woah is that fluff or what. Is Alfred finally looking at Ivan differently? Or is Ivan looking at Alfred differently? Is this a turning point in their relationship? WHO KNOWS :D
