So, here it is! We get to meet a character only mentioned briefly in chapter...6? yeah.

Alfred huffed, waiting for Arthur to finish whatever he was doing.

'Aren't you going to…I don't know, go into the village? We've just been sitting here for a half an hour, with you staring over the top of the rise at the townspeople like some creepy stalker.'

Arthur didn't even look at him, didn't even speak aloud, straining to talk mentally. 'I'm trying to identify a magical population and how accepting they will be to a full grown lion living in the middle of the village.'

Alfred rolled his eyes. 'Then why don't we just walk in there, and we'll have our answer! You ride on my back, and I'll appear to be fully in your control, and you wow some peasants into giving you bread and a flat with a storefront.' Alfred laughed to himself as the mental image of the scene described came into his mind.

Arthur sighed, his irritation growing as his patience for the lion lessening with each discourse. 'Alfred, remember, I was one of those peasants, you have no idea how things work. It doesn't matter how scary we look. They have pitchforks and families to protect, and sometimes magicians aren't that welcome due to bad experience with rouge dark wizards. Now shut-up, I have to concentrate, you royal pain in the arse.'

Arthur didn't feel Alfred tense at the word royal, his mind racing for a moment before the lion calmed down, remembering that Arthur was only using the word 'royal' as an exaggeration of how annoying the lion was to him at the moment, not that Arthur had found out that he was the prince, and that Arthur had known all this time. Why was he so jumpy about Arthur finding stuff like that out? He was really paranoid today.

Alfred…he wouldn't have minded if Arthur knew who he was, his feelings about the magician making it hard for him not to tell Arthur everything, to share everything, to tell him that he…l…but Arthur didn't like royalty, believed in the common man, sneered at high society. Arthur would be hurt, would turn away from him, and would treat him differently, no matter how he tried to act otherwise. It was just like his very early childhood playmates who all started out treating him fairly, to becoming distant, to polite, no longer coming over, and if they did, they played whatever Alfred wanted, letting him win without much of a fight.

Then there was the fact that Arthur had been given the whole 'beast man' mission which Alfred avoided speaking about like he avoided the plague, the questions or discussions about it making him antsy.

He noticed Arthur get up, the wizard motioning him to stay in place, and then the blond threw up his cloak and walked into town without a word. Mmm'kay, what was that about?

Arthur began his tour of the town on foot, his thoughts about Alfred distracting him for a moment. Why did he catch glimpses of a sad expression on his companion's face? Was it his sister, his life he left behind? Arthur still couldn't imagine going from feather beds to mud and rocks in a day. Was he sad to be stuck with Arthur? No, he'd said he was going to stay with him, even though Yao had given him an offer that was almost too good to pass up.

Was there something more that Arthur wasn't getting?

As a man in the market bumped into his shoulder while pushing a cart, Arthur came back down to earth. He needed to keep his wits about him and scope this place out! Then he came to the corner of the street, and looked up.

"Woodrich's Magical Shop, wares and talents inside" Damn. No village this size could hold two magicians up in the same business. That would mean he'd have to try his friend's village before he was out of familiar towns besides his academy's city or his home town, one which would welcome him as one among hundreds, the other would stone him to death for having relations with men. Maybe not if Alfred was there, but he wasn't going to put Alfred in danger for something so stupid as heading back to his pitiful roots to see his pitiful house that would make Alfred lose respect for him because he was so pitiful. And to also have to tell Alfred that he didn't enjoy the company of women the same as Alfred probably had; that he was a bit more partial to the knights in shining armor than the princess in the tower.

He sighed, turning around for where Alfred lay hiding. This was okay, he guessed. He only knew of this place because he'd been there on the way to Acirema. Granted it had been night time, and he was trying to out run Yao for the moment to get away without being stopped for a test by that irritating mentor of his. He hadn't noticed much that night, so he hadn't been expecting much in the day.

Leaving his homeland had been the biggest thing Arthur had ever done, and it had been his first taste at true independence. It was the first time he'd been out on his own, with just himself to make decisions and to forge his own path. And he'd already come close to becoming some crazy royal's plaything or a foreign noble's gopher boy. But he'd also met Alfred and now he was going to have a store and his life would truly be what he'd always wanted. His own, and happy.

He explored the town for a little while longer, pulling his prized cape around him as the air began to get colder. He smelled Alfred's scent on it, and it caused Arthur to involuntarily smile. That git, he sure could get Arthur riled up, but he was Arthur's best friend, and he didn't think he could live without the constant, annoying chattering.

He left town after picking up some essentials, and found Alfred where he'd left him, although the lion was asleep, hidden in the underbrush. His face was so calm, so feline, so unguarded. Arthur decided to let him sleep so he could think things over. He curled down next to Alfred as the sun began to set. They would have to camp for only one more week if things were as his friend had said they were in his home village.

Eventually, Arthur did wake Alfred up, and they continued on their journey, Alfred asking Arthur all sorts of questions about villages on the way. Alfred kept them moving well after dark with his lion's ability to see at night, and Arthur fell asleep to the lulling rhythm of Alfred's large paws.

Matilda sat on the couch, her face one of horror. The man sitting across from her was oblivious from her distress. Richard was now way below Edward, who told her that when she'd sneezed, she looked like the spotted mudfish as it attacked and killed its prey. That hadn't been so bad—apparently Edward thought that the highest of complements—but Richard…

"And you would not believe how hard this one fought, my lady! But I thought of you, deep down in my breast, and my heart soared with courage as I valiantly slay the beast in the hunting forests!" He had presented her with a yellow pelt that had been attached to muscle of an animal two days ago, and all Tilly could register was how much that pelt looked like Alfred had.

It was large, with tufts of off colored fur along the edge of one end of the pelt. He placed it on her lap, and she immediately felt like she was going to faint for the first time since her father's death.

"Wh-hat is this beast? I don't r-r-recognize it."

"It is a "l-ii-yon", we captured this one for the hunting forests from a far off land as a cub and let it grow up, then hunted it down after all these years! Honestly, we'd forgot it was there, but we were hunting some pheasants and then—"

Matilda breathed out a sigh of relief. This wasn't Alfred in her lap that Richard had killed. Needless to say, the pelt didn't please her at all.

"I am astonished by your bravery, and all this excitement has set off my delicate constitution! I would love to hear all about it, but I'm afraid I will have to retire early."

She couldn't stand being in this man's presence any longer, his tales of supposed heroics making her physically ill. She'd never liked the hunting forests and how they stole creatures from their natural habitats so nobles could go off and kill them when it was convenient.

"I am sorry you are not well! I shall of course bid you farewell, and I shall bring back a new pelt in your honor!" Richard then got up from his seat on the sofa and had the audacity to kiss her cheek quickly. He smiled at her surprise, taking the blood rushing to her cheeks as a blush, not of anger. The princess never got angry in his mind. Matilda was trying very hard not to slap this idiot of a suitor. He luckily left before she let herself get out of hand.

As soon as he left, Matilda stood up, throwing the disgusting pelt across the room, it skidding across the polished stone to bump into the ornate wall. Lilli, who'd been in the next room, came in, her face unreadable as she picked up the pelt. "How did it go?"

"THAT…THAT ASS!" Matilda quickly threw hands over her mouth, her anger beginning to fade to a simmer. Lilli tsked at the impolite words, but waited until Matilda could get herself under control.

"Okay, I think I'm more composed, I truly am sorry for that outburst, but that man! He brings me a pelt of some animal that looks like…the…Al…and then proceeds to tell me how brave he was hunting down the poor creature, then when I tell him to leave, he kisses my cheek! That is against all rules of courting! Kissing, well, I've seen some married couples that only kiss on their wedding day! The nerve!"

Lilli patted her arm in understanding. "Yes, Richard makes inappropriate advances, but he believes you to be in love with him, and that kiss is to make you become head over heels, and he to be the only suitor for the wiser, thinking that it will help sway you to accept his courtship and dismiss all others. Now, we both see, you'll just have to dismiss him."

"But the more people I dismiss, the closer I get to my wedding day!"

"Well, miss, you're going to have to make a decision, and fast. He'll be more daring as this goes on. And you're to eat with Francis for dinner."

Tilly sighed, exhausted, and sunk into the couch with her head in her hands. If only Ivan were not traveling to Aissur at the moment to meet with his Emperor to discuss his possible new position. And she couldn't talk to Gilbert either, he wouldn't be able to swing a visit to the castle to see her for another two days. She eventually made up her mind and followed Lilli to her chambers to get ready for her visit with her cousin.

Said cousin was sitting with Natalya on his lap, her hands running through his hair as he looked over documents.

"Natalya, when you came in a couple of minutes ago, you said you had something you wished to discuss?" Francis finally looked away from a proposal for a new law to run a hand down the Aissurian girl's side.

"Yes, I was down by the parlor talking in the hall with a maid about how one of my dresses needs mending, and I happened to overhear Princess Matilda and her maidservant talking about Richard of Outlier."

Francis nodded, remembering the face of the boy who had struck him as a typical suitor. Not bright, interested mostly in games and hunting, a good figurehead, one that would lose power for the monarchy and give more power to the court and the nobles. If Francis wasn't currently regent, he would have wished that this would be the type of man Matilda chose to help give him an edge in court to do whatever he liked. But now he could only think of how unhappy Richard would make Matilda, beautiful, young, and secretly full of life Matilda. No, he couldn't let that happen. "And?"

"She hates him, thinks him to be obnoxious, but doesn't want to say anything to hurt him or to anger you. She wants to be wed very much, but she isn't sure of who to marry, and whom she will anger by not marrying. You must help her realize that you will take care of her and help her make this decision without any hard feelings." Natalya ran a finger down his front, her nail brushing against the top of his chest that wasn't covered by his vestments. "Remember the plan. Ivan may be intimidating her into a courtship that she doesn't want, and now that he's becoming the diplomat, she'll be under more pressure to keep accepting him, or that might be what she's thinking. He is my fiancé, you know, this behavior will not be tolerated by our families much longer, so this will work to the advantage."

Natalya liked twisting the truth until it suited her, but Francis never suspected anything, just nodding along. "So," He continued, "We begin to eliminate any suitor who she doesn't honestly approve of?"

"Of course! Then we will get most of them out of our way and by the time her year is up, she'll have no choice but to listen to me, her closest relative and friend! Our plan will work now without a doubt!"

Natalya nodded, then she though for a moment. "What about that Gilbert fellow? He clearly has affections for her, and she seems to favor him over the others, seeing him every time he stops by. There is no reason that we can use to bar him from her, and being the son of a very powerful Lord, we can't get rid of him."

Francis waved her off. "We'll deal with him when he becomes a problem. Now, Natalya, I have an hour before I must get ready, will you accompany me to my chambers?"

While the idea of sleeping with the blonde made her want to throw up, she knew that her influence over him would only last as long as she could hold him with her body. She smiled at him with a cat like grin that she knew turned him on.

"I certainly will, my lord."

Gilbert looked both ways down the alley, making sure no one had followed him into the city. He knew that technically he was allowed to be down here, but he didn't want his father finding out about where he ran off to when he wasn't courting Matilda or handling the estate.

He saw no one, and continued on, running his hand over the old, faded walls of the poorer section of the city, counting a number of blocks he had to go until he could make a left and then go on until he made it to the door of a tavern that he knew well. He fixed his peasant clothes he'd borrowed from one of the workers on his estate to look neat, although he knew that the person he wanted to see probably wouldn't pay any attention to how neatly he dressed.

Pushing in the door, he walked into the rowdy, crowded tavern, buying himself a drink with a few copper coins. He didn't carry much money on his person when in the city. It was practically asking to be robbed to pay with gold pieces while dressed in peasant clothes.

He sat around, drinking some ale for awhile, talking with some laborers who were cursing the loss of revenue that the magical ban had placed upon them. Apparently there had been a plan for a magical academy in town that had been finalized and started a month before Alfred's disappearance, and all of them had been hired, and they didn't want to leave the city until the next spring so as not be out of work during the winter with no charity to call on but the obscure back water monastery. But with no more work, they all were going to have to pack up their families anyway. Gilbert felt bad that they were worried about starving when he was worried about seeing his favorite dancer.

She came out about an hour later to the sound of that blasted piano, which played in the background a lyrical tune. Her hair cascaded down her back as she swayed to the beat the fop of a pianist played, her beautiful body swaying rhythmically. But he didn't just lover her for her body. She sang and joked the night away, her personality always shining through.

"Oh, Elizabeta, why are you so unavailable? So not awesome."

The man next to him slapped him on the back, a hearty drunken laugh filling the air. "Oh, laddie, she is way out of your league. Maybe if ya had money and charm, you could win her, but she's devoted to ol' Roddy. No poor farmer boy will cause her to look twice."

Gilbert thought about it as he went to see her after the show ended.

She was putting on a shawl over her pretty green dress, standing in the back hallway of the tavern as if she was waiting for someone. She saw him, and recognized him from the last time he'd come back stage to bother her.

"Oh, its you. Listen, my fiancé won't like it if you keep bothering me, kid, or why don't you—"

He took her hand, and kissed it. "My Lady, I am sorry to bother you, but I have worked so hard to see you tonight. I had to dress like this and everything."

She looked at him for a moment, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Miss, I am more awesome than I appear! My name is Gilbert. Gilbert Beilschmidt."

Elizabeta's eyes flew open with shock. "Excuse me? Lord Gilbert? I think you're pulling my leg…"

"My lady, I am sincere! I have seen your beauty, and I simply wanted to inform you that if you ever wish it, I would gladly like to escort you around one Sunday afternoon, to court you."

She seemed hesitant, and a male voice called for her harshly down the hall. Elizabeta pulled her hand away, and turned to leave. "I am sorry, but I am engaged, I have to turn you down, Lord Gilbert."

Gilbert smiled, although it was a sad smile. "No worries, I knew I didn't have a chance anyway."

She seemed reluctant to go, but the voice called again, and she turned to run down the hall, looking back only once to see Gilbert had gone.

So, here we have the beginning of Gilbert's little escapade.

Fun Fact: Tanks were named such because when the British were secretly developing them, the money was going to build "Water Tanks". The name stuck.