What are we all to do? Feliciano is clearly distressed and Ludwig…no, Heilrich had chosen his answer. Now what are we going to do? We're nearing the end, boys and girls. And I'm surprised. This has to rank up to being one of my popular ones. 71 reviews in nine chapters? Never had a ratio that big before!

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Kiku quietly knocked on the door, alarming the Italian inside. Feliciano turned his head and hid the phone, only to see Kiku at the door. Once he saw him, Feliciano turned away, not even bothering to hide his phone. Kiku walked in, closing the door behind him, allowing the Italian to jump him.

"Kiku…he hasn't answered back…"

"Who…Ludwig?"

"It's been four days, Kiku…he hasn't even tried to send me a message. I know him…he would at least call me back to know he was all right…" Feliciano looked up. "W-was he at the meeting in Germany when you went there…?"

"Y-yes, he was. He was also given a lot of work and was supposed to go to a lot of meetings." Kiku lied. "You shouldn't be worrying about him…"

"But Kiku…I can't help but be worried…" He cried. "W-what if he's hurt? What if he needs my help…?"

Kiku couldn't help but shiver at those statements. Ludwig was hurt, just not physically. What could he tell Feliciano without telling him the truth…? He closed his eyes and tried thinking like Charice. She had enough motherly qualities to figure out what he could do. That's when he knew what to do.

"You should get some sleep, Feli." Kiku said. "That way you can clear your mind to think this out tomorrow…"

"But I can't sleep…Ludwig's out there…he needs me…"

"I have an idea…" Kiku grinned. "I'll tell you a bedtime story."

"Ve~~~will you, Kiku?"

"I probably won't be as good as Doitsu, but I will try my best." He smiled. "Let's see…"

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Once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away, there lived a young prince. He and his father, the king, ruled over the kingdom with wise words. In result, the kingdom prospered. One day, the prince had come of age and he was to choose a bride. There were thousands of women he could choose from, ranging from duchesses to princesses to powerful queens. Even with those choices, he chose only one woman: his servant, his faithful friend.

On that day, he brought her to the gardens from where they first met. He remembered each and every detail of that day: his father's faithful knight had brought her to his kingdom as a payment from a duke of a losing kingdom. She was so scared of everything, especially him, but after a while he had gotten her to open her heart. And that day, he had opened his.

"But why do you want me?" She asked him. "I am just a lowly servant. You have choices between beautiful queens and duchesses. What about Duchess Alice? She is beautiful."

"Yes, she is beautiful…" He answered with a smile. "But nowhere near beautiful as you."

He took his hand and asked her yet again to be his wife. This time, she said yes.

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"Ve~~~you're a good storyteller, Kiku."

"I try my best." He laughed. "But please, let me continue."

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However, their happy ending would not last. War had brewed up from another kingdom, ruled by a power-hungry king. Both the king and the prince declared war on him to keep his forces from charging into the kingdom. The day he was to leave, the servant gave him her locket: the only token of the father she had been separated from.

"That way, you will have to come back to me." She said. "Because I want this back."

"I will come back for you. Don't you worry…"

And with a final kiss and a wave, he had gone off to war.

Months had long passed since that day, and there were still no word from them. Soon, she had received word from the messenger: the king had fallen in battle, the prince had gone missing, and yet the forces had been driven back. The kingdom was in a state of turmoil. The opposing forces had been subdued, yet there was no king or prince to celebrate their victory. In peril, they had turned toward their final resolve: the king's advisor, who was a cruel and heartless man. He ruled with a cruel and heartless fist, knowing that no one can oppose him.

However, there was only one thing that he was missing: a queen to hold his heir.

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"Ve~! This advisor man is really mean!"

"He is. But you haven't seen the last of his cruelty."

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It was only then that he remembered of the servant girl and her father's high ranking from another kingdom. She was a perfect choice to be his bride: with the right social ranking and heir to her father's name. However, when he first asked her, she had rejected him just as she had rejected the prince before. No matter how many times he had asked her and showered her with gifts, ranging from beautiful flowers to exotic lands from his territories, nothing seemed to win her heart.

The next day, she had been tending the gardens of her childhood when she met a young man. He had claimed himself to be a wandering swordsman, wishing for a place to stay for the night. She knew that the king was cruel to strangers but knew that he meant no harm, so she hid him away in a hut near the edge of town where he could easily slip away as quickly and silently as he slipped in. She didn't know how, but she found herself drawn to this man. He was a good new light, compared to the king and his advances.

That night, she had been late to return to the castle. This of course prompts the interest of the cruel king, who knew perfectly well that she was always back on curfew. But when she was interrogated, she only stated that the townspeople had a small birthday party and she was invited to it. He wouldn't buy it, but knew that it would be all that she would say. She had been hiding something, and he wanted to know what.

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"D-does this have a happy ending…?"

"Perhaps. Or maybe not. You'll have to keep listening to find out."

"…you sound like a narrator…"

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The next day, to her utter surprise, she had learned that the wandering swordsman has decided to stay in the city for the week. He said that the security around the boarders had increased and that he was unable to leave, and plus he liked the beauty that the city had to offer. She didn't know why she was smiling the whole time.

For the next few days, the trend became this: she would leave the castle early in the morning and meet with the wanderer, and return on her curfew. During their talks, it was revealed that he could not remember anything past waking up in a prison cell. The prison was soon liberated and he was free to leave, yet his memory was still in shambles.

"For some reason, this place…brings a sense of familiarity…like I have been here before…"

"Stay as long as you wish." She told him. "But please hide yourself from the king. God knows what he would do to you."

"I am not afraid of him…but for your sake, I will hide."

That was the day she fell in love, all over again. However, she still felt tied toward the late prince, and rejected those newly found feelings. With each passing day, that became harder and harder to do. It soon became obvious that even the king knew that something was wrong.

One night, he had cornered her to give her the crown yet again. Like each time, she rejected his advance. That was when he decided to play his trump card.

"Do you still wish for the prince's return? My dear lady, please understand me." He said. "You can't wish for the dead to return to life."

"The prince is not dead, my lord."

"He hasn't returned for ten years, my lady. If he really was alive, he would have returned to you already." He caressed her hair. "Please understand…it is time to move on."

He gave her the option to be his queen yet again. This time, she said yes.

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"Ve~~~! Why did she say yes? She still loves the prince, and what of the wanderer?"

"This is her way of moving on. Her heart has been so burdened that she can no longer handle standing on again." Kiku smiled. "But there is so much more…"

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The next day, she forced herself to tell the wanderer about her marriage to the king. He looked hurt at the mention of it, but knew deep in his heart that she did not want this to happen. He took her hand and asked her why she said yes after all this time. Her heart broke apart and she spilled out the story of the kingdom: from the king's war to her engagement to the prince. She was going to be a queen no matter what.

"You cannot force yourself to do something that you do not wish to do."

"But this is for my kingdom." She said. "I must do this so that the people can have a say in our kingdom yet again."

"Have you ever considered what you want…?"

"…I wish for the dead to come back to me. And that is impossible."

The wanderer sat there with a tug of sadness in his heart as he allowed her to sob openly in his chest. Yet there was nothing he could do, for he was just a wandering swordsman. He could not go in and hurt himself, for what would she think about it? He felt his heart sink.

That night, she returned to the castle to ready herself for her wedding. The king knew that something was still holding her back, and sent out his knights to find that out. He called her into the throne, telling her that he had found a spy from a neighboring kingdom and that he was going to execute him before their marriage. She turned her head and saw that it was the wandering swordsman.

She began to scream for his innocence, failing to touch his heart. The swordsman, touched from her concern, started fighting everyone off. After the knights were taken down, he grabbed the princess and hugged her as tight as he could. The king, crazy mad with revenge, began a one-on-one duel with him.

"You cannot defeat the king, dear warrior!" The king roared.

"Yes, I can…for I remember everything now."

He drew his blade, shocking everyone in the room: it held the crest of the royal family. The warrior slew the evil king, backing up and letting the rest of the memories sink into his mind. The princess, shocked that he was still alive, hugged him from behind. He smiled and held her arms.

"I knew that you were going to come back…"

"And I have." He turned around to see her. "And if the offer still stands…"

"I will be your queen…"

The prince had returned and ruled over the reborn kingdom with the same gentle hands that his father had, the queen loyal and by his side.

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"The end."

Kiku turned his head and saw Feliciano's head on the pillow, thinking about the story that he had told him. The Japanese man had such a talent for telling stories.

"The wanderer was the prince all this time…"

"Yes…and she loved him both times." He answered. "Don't think too deeply into it…you just need your sleep."

He tucked him in as Kiku stood up and walked out of the room. Just as he was leaving the room, he heard a slight gasp coming from the young boy. He couldn't help but laugh softly to himself.

My job here is done.

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Yeah. Don't worry, the story has more meaning than you might think. I didn't just waste a whole chapter on filler :D