Warning: There are smut and some lemon in this chapter. Just a little for the rating, but you are still warned about this.
Chapter 12: Beauty and the Frog
Francis toyed the little green cross between his fingers, admiring the green glow whenever light hits it. He realised that his birthday is just tomorrow and pounders about it.
"Do you have plans for tomorrow? Or are you just going to lock yourself in your room?" Ludwig asked.
"Ve~ your highness, you seems to be a lot happier when Arthur came to the castle." Feliciano said in a sing-song voice.
"You noticed it too, n'est-ce pas?" Francis said with a little smile ghost across his face. "I have just come to realise my feelings too but I am just scared to lost him again."
"That's why I told you to take control of yourself." Ludwig reminded. "I know it's hard for you but it's for everyone's sake."
"Je comprends…" Francis said as he sunk in deep thoughts, all he could think was Arthur, those stunning green eyes, messy blonde hair and most of all, his beautiful soul.
"Que dois-je faire?" Francis asked himself once he was left alone. "How am I going to make Angleterre happy and not hurting him at the same time?"
Arthur sat on his table writing his journal. He was now poundering over his feelings with Francis. Francis did not come to see him since the twins' birthday. Sometimes he would see Francis briefly at the dining table eating his food but he would leave whenever their eyes made contact. Whenever he asked Kiku about Francis, Kiku would answer him saying he had not seen Francis the whole day.
He looked at the bunch of flowers Francis had given him during the twins' birthday. Most of the flowers had started to droop already but thanks to him, the flowers are still blooming with life. But then, he realised that no matter how beautiful a flower may look, it will still wilt and died at the end, so do love.
"Why would I bloody care for a frog?" Arthur asked himself as he shook his head, denying his feelings for Francis. He guessed that they should forget each other.
He was about to blow off the candle when there was a knock on the door. Who could it be at such late hours? He silently hoped that it was Francis at the other side of the door but part of him feels neglected to see him.
Sighing, he took the candle and went to reach the door. It was not Francis, much to his relief and disappointment. It was only Lukas at the other side of the door.
"Are you surprise to see me?" The little pixie asked.
"If I can remember, I thought we have magic training a few hours ago. Is there anything I can help you?" Arthur asked.
"Well, I just forget to tell you something." Lukas said. "For your information, tomorrow is his highness birthday."
Arthur just shrugged his shoulder, surprised that he has no feelings at all. "Well, it doesn't seem like I'm surprised about it."
"Then do you have any plans for him?" Lukas asked.
"…No…" It was then reality hit him like a brick on his head, he hasn't prepared anything for Francis but why would he bloody care? It doesn't seem like the frog is fucking caring for him.
"I forgot to teach you a spell just now." Lukas continued. "This spell allows you to create things a person wanted in mind. If you use the spell, it can produce things Francis likes and you can present it to him."
"Why would I do that? It's not like I bloody care for that frog." Arthur said, though he himself is denying something.
"Are you willing to left his highness alone and let him depressed all by himself on his birthday?" Lukas questioned back, seemingly to understand how Arthur feels.
Arthur thought for a moment before surrendering. "Fine. What is that new spell you planned to teach me?"
"Give me your magic spell book I gave you." Lukas said and Arthur just did as what he was told.
Lukas flipped through the pages where tons of magic spells were being listed on each pages. There are some notes written on some of the pages as a reminder to Arthur of the magic spell. The book was mainly written in a foreign language that Arthur does not have much knowledge about it so he need Lukas help to translate it.
"This is the spell." Lukas soon showed him the page. "It is read as 'I-ral-le-up ni sus-rev-noc' which means show me what I want." Lukas taught him.
"Iralleup ni susrevnoc…" Arthur repeated the spell a few times before saying out loud, silently wondering what will the spell cause.
"Speaking of which, I thought Francis' wish is to return back as a human. Will the spell turns him back to human?" Arthur asked.
"That's a good question." Lukas said with a little smile. "The effect of the spell depends on how serious you are while casting it. If you wish for something very hard, the spell will grant you the deepest wish you had wanted."
"Won't it cause any side effect?" Arthur asked again.
"There is a side effect. That is if you do not give enough concentration and focus on the spell, not only your wish will not come true, you may ended up getting something you do not want." Lukas explained which caused Arthur to shudder a little.
"So, I'm told to?"
"The purpose is to train your mind to focus so that your spell won't go wrong." Lukas stated. "Once you cast this spell, changes will take place within 10 hours time. During this time, you will have to remain calm and focused on what you wished for in order to make sure the spell works." He continued to explain. "And the spell may only last within a day time. Once the time is over, everything will revert back to normal, so you don't have to worry too much."
"So you mean that Francis will get to see his surprise tomorrow?"
"Something likes that." Lukas smiled a little. "Have my wishes on you, Arthur. I hope you can help Francis and have everything return back to normal." With that, Lukas soon disappeared like dust.
Arthur sat on his bed while looking at the spell for a moment. He wondered for a long time whether he should help celebrating Francis' birthday tomorrow.
He turned to look at the stalk of flowers Francis gave him and blushed a little. It won't be good if he just ignored Francis like that, he should do something to repay his stay and what Francis had treated him during these times. He then focused his mind and recited the spell. For once, he felt nothing but he was reminded of Lukas' words and just has to wait until tomorrow arrives.
Waking up in the morning isn't the best thing Arthur likes to do at the starting of a day. He felt waves of nausea hit him and he groaned a little at the uncomfortable feeling. Shielding his eyes from the sunlight, he shifted his body a little in bed.
"Hey Arthur-san, wake up. It's morning already." Kiku said as he cleaned up the mess of Arthur's room. "Today is Francis' birthday so you should spent some time together with Francis."
Arthur didn't give any negative response. He just get out of bed sleepily and dragged his tired body to the bathroom, their backs facing each other all the time.
Once he entered the washroom, Arthur, in his half-sleep, half-awake mode gets some water to wash his face before taking a good look of himself in front of the mirror. Though his vision was blurring, he somehow have a good look of his mother in the mirror.
"H-Hello there, mother. What brings you here today?" Arthur greeted his 'mother' sleepily. "You know, they said today is the bloody frog's birthday. I just don't know what I should do for that stupid frog." He continued to speak as if his mother is just in front of him.
"Arthur-san, who are you talking to?" Kiku voice can be heard from the outside. He knew that Arthur would talk to mythical creatures around him but his conversation is a bit not right.
"Mother, I missed you. When can I see you?" Yet, there's no reply.
In his sleepy state, Arthur took a bucket of water and splashed towards the person before him. There was no person, though, just a mirror with his reflection. The water splashed the mirror and reflected some of it at Arthur's face and body.
"Arthur-san, what are you doing?" Kiku went to the bathroom door to check up on Arthur. "Are you…" he stopped his sentence halfway when he takes a better look of the person standing in the bathroom.
The splash of water was enough to make Arthur awake from his trance. He slapped his face several time to make the sleep go away. He then opened up both of his eyes wide and stared into the reflection on the wet mirror.
"Ar-Arthur-san, is that you?" Kiku asked as he backed off a bit.
There was a loud scream coming from Arthur's bathroom, audible enough to be heard all over the castle. The servants were worried. This sent Elizabeta, Lovino, Alfred, Matthew and Bella rushing to Arthur's room as fast as a lightning.
"What's going on, Kiku?" Elizabeta was the first one to ask when the four of them banged into Arthur's room.
"Can somebody tell me what's happening?!" A woman's high pitch voice can be heard from the bathroom. The four of them went to the bathroom and saw Kiku standing by the door staring at something.
"Dude, who was that?" Alfred exclaimed, unaware of the situation.
In the bathroom stood a young lady before the mirror. Her long, wavy blonde hair falls down over her shoulder and her back, she looked quite slender with bust on her chest. The woman turned to face them, the same shade of green eyes staring back at them with horror. "Y-You… You guys…"
"Arthur, is that you?" Bella asked in shocked.
"Can somebody tell me what the heck is going on?!" The woman exclaimed.
"Dude, what you did to Arthur?!" Alfred questioned, still unaware of the situation.
"Stop it, Al. That is Arthur." Matthew whispered in his ears.
"Are you pulling my legs, Mattie?" Alfred snorted. "Arthur is a boy and don't tell me you can't even differentiate a man and a woman?"
"What the fuck is going on?!" Lovino exclaimed in shocked.
"Arthur, what happen to you?" Elizabeta asked, though her voice sounds like she was more excited rather than shocked.
"How do I bloody know?! I just wake up and found myself a girl!" Arthur said as he tried to hide the blush that began to form on his face.
"Who did this to you?" Kiku asked, his voice was the same tone as Elizabeta rather than being concern.
"How do I know?!"
"Oh look, it seems like there's a piece of paper under this book, Arthur." Bella said as she took out a piece of paper.
"I don't remember there was a paper over there." Arthur said as he (she?) walked out of the bathroom, thank god he was wearing his sleeping robe throughout the time. He then snatched the piece of paper from Bella and read the contents. "Don't tell me this is one of the frog's pranks…"
Overraskelse, do you like your gift for Francis? I practically planned it for you. Anyway, I hope you can help to cheer Francis up during his birthday with that looks. For now, Lykke til and don't worry, as I has promised you, the spell will cease after midnight, so enjoy your day as a lady.
"It's Lukas' doing anyway." Elizabeta snickered with Kiku.
"Disgusting…" Lovino said.
"That arsehole… How dare he'd make a fool of me?!" Arthur exclaimed as he squashed the paper in his (her?) palm.
"Dude, I think it's a good idea!" Alfred exclaimed. "That means you're gonna let Francis flirt with you!"
"That's not funny, Al." Matthew said barely above whisper.
"Hai, that's the idea." Kiku even agreed as well. "You should cheer Francis up on his birthday."
"Ooh, and I'm gonna get lots and lots of rare moment pictures." Elizabeta said in a sing-song voice as she danced all over the room. Now when did she have such temperament?
"I'm not fucking giving him this present!" Arthur yelled in exasperation.
"Hey, hey, calm down, Arthur." Bella said as she tried to hide her laugher. "It's been a while since I saw Francis flirt with people."
"Yea, and I, the hero is gonna to make sure Francis will be happy on his birthday!" Alfred said.
"Stop it! It's not damn funny at all!" Arthur said as he tried to get the crowd stop laughing.
"How did it go?" Lukas suddenly appeared out of nowhere with Mathias and Emil by his side. "It looks perfect, even your eyebrows were gone."
"Brother, I think it's a little too much." The little penguin said, not quite amused.
"He looks cute when turned into a girl." Mathias smirked. "I wish he could remain as a girl all the time."
"That's not funny!" Lovino shouted.
"Now that's a bit too rude, Mathias." Lukas said.
"Lukas, what the fuck is going on?! Can't you please bloody get me back to normal?!" Arthur cursed.
"I'm sorry. I can't do that." Lukas said playfully.
"What do you bloody mean by that?!"
"You know that there will always be side effect if I try to counter a spell or a curse, so it would be safer if you let the spell go on its course than breaking it immediately." Lukas explained.
"What if I insisted to break the spell?"
"You will end up being a woman for your entire life. I doubt if you ever want that to happen."
"What the bloody hell…?" Arthur muttered strings of curses under his breath.
"Don't worry, didn't I tell you that you will return back to normal by midnight?" Lukas assured him.
"Like bloody hell I can live as a woman for one day?!"
"C'mon, it's just only for one day, Artie." Alfred said. "And you have to make Francis happy on his birthday." He winked. "And you looked beautiful, even your eyebrows are gone." He added helpfully.
"I will bear with it for the moment but be reminded that I will have my revenge once I return my true self." He said while glaring accusingly at the servants.
"Then I guess I can't help much for the moment." The brown tanuki said. "I am never good with girls' fashion."
"Don't worry, Lovino. We will do the job for you." Bella said.
"That's right. And we are gonna dress Arthur up so that he could completely seduce Francis." Elizabeta chuckled.
"Don't you dare!" Arthur shouted back.
"Ve~ Aren't you going out to have some fun?" Feliciano asked Francis after Francis was dressed.
"I'm not going out to meet anybody today." The frog said grumpily.
"Not even Arthur? I heard he has a surprise for you."
"Non…" Francis replied as he buried his head under the pillow. He then glanced at the rose which was giving out a blue and red glow and he groaned a little. Just how much time left for him? He wondered if he would ever turn back to human.
"Francis-sama, here's your breakfast." Kiku said as he brings in a tray of food into the room.
"Are you still thinking about what happened years ago?" Ludwig asked.
"It has been ten years already…" The frog mumbled as he ate one spoonful of his congee.
"You should learn to start anew and learn to accept the past." Ludwig said. "It's not too late to correct it yet, you must do it while you still have some time left."
Francis remembers that day very clearly. His country was in total chaos and riots. Many people died, including his father in the battle field.
While everyone expects their birthday would be the most exciting and memorable occasion in their lives, the incident ten years ago was not fro Francis.
Ten years ago on his birthday, he could hear part of the castle wall collapsed. The servants can be heard screaming all over the place, the clanking of metals and destruction of the building. In fear, he ran off to the highest part of the castle, into a dead end. He was then confronted by a group of hooded men.
"What are you guys doing here?! GET OUTTA HERE!" He demanded them.
He remembers that person's face very clearly. An old woman, with wrinkled skin and toothless mouth, presented him a single white rose. "You, who only adored things on their appearance and does not appreciate inner beauty, is not worth to inherit this prosperous kingdom. I curse thee, to live in misery until when you learned your lesson." She cursed him and from that day onwards, he and everyone in the castle was forced to live as creatures.
"If you don't even dare to walk out from the past, how are you going to face reality?" Ludwig questioned.
"Ludwig is right, Francis-sama. You should stop being stubborn about yourself. How are you going to break the curse if you don't even know how to face it?" Kiku supported.
"Ve~ Moreover, you're hurting Arthur. Do you know that Arthur felt lonely and depressed when you're not around visiting him?" Feliciano said as well.
"Je suis désolé…" Francis said as he took another spoonful of congee. "Je ne sais pas quoi faire…" he said as tears appeared at the corner of his eyes.
"You are already on the right track, your highness." Ludwig said. "All you need is just to be honest to yourself."
Francis was silent throughout the conversation. He didn't quite listen what Ludwig, Feliciano and Kiku said to him, his mind was jumbled up with thoughts. Once the three of them left, Francis tried to seek his mind.
Today is his birthday, the supposedly memorable event of his life but he always ended up locked in his room because of that incident. The servants have been trying lots of ways to make him happy and open him up but to no avail.
He thinks about Arthur, he wishes to make him happy so do he himself. He then decided to go out to his garden in order to hide away from the servants and Arthur while he finds some ways to forget the scars of the past.
"Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas, your highness? Is there something troubling you?" Michelle appeared from the waterworks that linked the garden to his room. She saw Francis depressed expression and asked him in concern.
"I'm just fine, Michelle, just thinking about the past." Francis replied while forcing a smile.
"Those in the past will never repeat again. Most important of all, you must learnt from the past and face it." Michelle advised. "Just how are you going to break the spell if you don't even know how to let go of the past?"
"I guess you're right about it, Michelle." Francis said. "Would you mind helping me with it?"
"Help with what?" Michelle asked in confused.
"Try to invite Arthur out to my secret garden. Tell him I have an afternoon tea with him." He said.
"That sounds like a good idea." Michelle smiled as she leaped back into the water. Francis hummed while he gets himself ready for the afternoon tea.
Bella and Elizabeta have brought her some dresses for her to be wear for the day. She was annoyed. She hadn't gotten use to wearing girls' attire. They were either to fashionable or too troublesome to be wore. These dresses somehow exposed her neck a bit too much and make her feel empty waist down, while some are just too low cut.
Arthur looked into her reflection in the full length mirror as she examined the traditional Chinese dress Elizabeta and Bella had forced her to wear. She groaned uncomfortably at the sight of her wearing a dress. The sleeves were a bit too big and long for her and the dress is showing her curves a little too much. Nevertheless, she had to agree that the dress looked beautiful. It was pale blue with golden ornaments decorating it. They even tied her long blonde hair into a ponytail.
"It looks perfect on you, Arthur." Elizabeta said as she tried to remember the scene before her.
"Now, should you go down stairs to have your breakfast?" Bella requested.
Arthur blushed a little the moment when she reached downstairs. She could feel everyone had their eyes on her.
"Who was that, aru?" Yao asked as he eyed at Arthur's female form.
"Da, she's pretty and cute." The hellhound even comes out from its matryoshka shell the moment he saw Arthur.
"Did Francis bring in some beautiful ladies?" Tim asked as he looked Arthur from head to toe which cause Arthur to blush even more.
"Brother, please don't make fun of her. It was just Arthur being transformed into his female form." Bella said.
"What?! You are Arthur, aru?!" Yao exclaimed, almost breathing out flames from his mouth.
"Da-ze. Can I touch your breast?" Yong Soo leaped up happily as the spirit tries to get closer to her.
"Don't you bloody dare to touch me?!" Arthur said as she glared back at Yong Soo.
"My, you are turned into a girl." Mei went up and watched him. "You sure looked pretty when you are a girl."
"What actually happen?" Kaoru asked calmly.
"Oh, it was nothing. Lukas planned to make Arthur as a girl so he could cheer Francis up." Elizabeta explained.
"That'd be a good idea." Eduard said. "Ever since that incident, his highness would always locked himself in his room and refused to see any one of us especially on his birthday."
"He actually locked himself up during his birthday?" Arthur asked confusedly.
"That incident happened exactly on his birthday and he felt depressed when it was his birthday. No matter how many ways we have tried, he remained enclosed in his room." Bella told him.
"Say, I got an idea." Tim suddenly said which surprised everyone. "Why don't we have a ball tonight so that Francis can dance with Arthur?"
"That's a great idea!" Elizabeta squealed in excitement at the mention of a ball. "I will ask Roderich and Feliciano to make performances for the night."
"I'm not gonna fucking dance with a bloody frog!" Arthur exclaimed aloud in disgust.
"Oh c'mon, I bet you will look beautiful dancing as a girl." Alfred said as he walked into the dining hall with Matthew. "Francis will get ecstatic when he sees a lady."
"Won't it be a good idea with everyone having fun together?" Mei asked.
"Perhaps it was only me who was not having fun…" Arthur grumbled.
"It would be a waste if you just reverted back to normal without showing how beautiful you are before Francis." Elizabeta said. "Moreover, your prime mission for today is to make Francis happy and let him get out of his shell."
Arthur heaved a sigh. These people are making fun of her. "I will do it for all your bloody sake, just for today. I will have my revenge tomorrow!"
After having his lunch, she decided that he should go and hide in the library among her favourite books. But then, Elizabeta soon dragged her back to her room.
"What do you want this time?" Arthur asked annoyingly.
"What else? Michelle has sent us a message from his highness saying that he wants to meet you in his secret garden."
"I'm not going to meet with that bloody frog!" Arthur said as she crossed her arms before her chest.
"You promised us that you would make Francis happy for today, so no taking back your words." Elizabeta threatened him. "Anyway, I have found a perfect dress for you to wear."
"Don't tell me it's something too fancy." Arthur pouted. Girls' fashions are really troublesome. They have to change their clothes at every occasion.
This was the most awkward time for Arthur. She found himself wearing a maid dress! "What the fuck is this?! I'm not wearing this damn dress!" She exclaimed the moment she looked into her reflection in the mirror.
"No denying!" Elizabeta said as she helped Arthur with the dress. "You are going to be his highness maid for the time being. Serve him with tea and try to fulfil his wishes as much as possible."
"What the…? That sounds like I'm a slave to him." Arthur complained as she examined her outfit again. She was wearing a black dress with an apron outside. A white lace headdress rests on her head and there are laces at the end of her sleeves as well with white long stockings up to her thighs. She blushes a little when she sees her own reflection. This dress is fucking too low-cut and her hair was tied up as a pair of straight pigtails. She did complaint about it but Elizabeta said it will make her look cute and seductive.
Francis picked out assorted colours of roses in his garden and tied them together as a bunch before placing them in a vase on top of a table. He looked around before realising that Arthur should be arriving around now.
"Francis is waiting at the table. All the best." Michelle told Arthur once she brought her to the secret garden.
Arthur took a deep breath as she carried a tray of tea and afternoon snacks to be served. How will Francis react when he sees her as a lady in a maid outfit? Will Francis do anything to her? Thoughts race her mind as she carefully carried the tray and went to the table.
"Ah, Mon Cher, you are finally…" Francis sentence stopped midair the moment he saw Arthur. His mouth was gaped open at the sight of a young lady in a maid outfit standing before him.
"Uh… G-Good afternoon, your h-highness. I-I have brought you some tea and wine…" Arthur stammered as she met Francis eye-to-eye and blushed.
"Is that you, ma Cherie? Why are you in a dress?" Francis asked as he scanned Arthur from head to toe. "Mon dieu, you are turned into a girl!"
"So what?! Go ahead and laugh if you want to!" Arthur finally unable to take the embarrassing stares on her yelled back.
"Who did this to you?" Francis, however, did not give a direct answer, just continued to explore the English lady beauty.
Arthur sighed and placed the tray of food on the table before answering, "Lukas said I have to try and cheer you up with my looks." She avoided eye contact with the frog. "And today is your birthday…" She was silent for a moment, wondering how to say this out. "…Happy birthday…"
There was a tense silent. Arthur literally avoids eye contact and hides her blush from Francis while Francis continued to scan Arthur newly formed body. After what it was like an hour silent which was only half a minute, Arthur began to shiver nervously as she was afraid that Francis is going to do something to her.
"Vous êtes belle, Mon Cher!" The moment Francis broke the silence, he almost had himself thrown onto Arthur, sending the two of them rolling on the ground.
"What are you doing, frog?!" Once Arthur finally broke from his trance, she was shocked to see Francis snuggling on his… (Whatever it is…) chest! "Wha… What are you doing, you pervert frog?! Get the hell out of me!"
"It's been a while since I had seen such a beautiful lady." The frog said as he sniffs the scent of Arthur's hair. "If only you are a girl then you will definitely look prettier."
"Y-You pervert… Aah! Stop it!" Arthur struggled, amazed of the little frog's strength.
"Non, there's nobody here, so who cares?" The frog snickered as he continued to inhale the rosy scent waffled from Arthur's hair. "You do smell like roses, sweet and beautiful." He then takes a good look at Arthur's face. "Even those ridiculous eyebrows of yours were gone, just too lovely."
Arthur blushed at the statement. She practically damned Lukas for causing her to end up in this trouble. It was then she finally found back her strength and pushed the frog away from her.
"Ouch! What was that for, mon Cher?" Francis asked as he rubbed the bump on his forehead.
"For heaven's sake, I'm not a girl!" Arthur said as she stands up, dusting her dress.
"But you're a beu-ta-fal lady by now. Can't you just let me cherish such a beautiful lady for a while?"
"I'm not doing this with a frog!" Arthur said crossing her arms. "At least you should turn yourself into a prince charming or a better well-presented human."
"So what? I am your prince Charmant after all!" The frog boasted flamboyantly.
"Then what do you have as a proof?"
"Non, it's a secret and you won't believe it even if I tell you about it." Francis said in a mysterious tone. "Say, I heard that there would be a magnifique balle tonight for the sake of my birthday."
"How am I going to dance with a bloody frog?!" Arthur asked as she rolled her eyes.
"No worries. I will be your one and only prince charming. Just wait until tonight, remember to dress up as the most beautiful lady so I can see you. And I shall invite my lovely princess for a dance."
Arthur snickered a little at the frog's statement. "Say all you want, frog. Just don't break your promise."
"Of course a promise is a promise, I will be at the ballroom waiting for you and I will be the one and only one to dance with you!" Francis said, his tone serious.
"If you say so…"
After their brief argument, they continued with their private tea party. Mostly with Francis ordering Arthur to do this and that like how a master would order their servants.
The party did not last long though. Francis excused himself after a short while drinking tea and wine together with Arthur, saying something he needs to get something prepare for tonight event and he also asked Arthur to get ready as well.
"What on earth did that bloody frog want?" Arthur asked herself as she walked her way back to her room. "There's no way he could possibly turn himself into a human." She stretched her body before entering her room. The tea party just now was tiring, that bloody frog is ordering her to do things all over the place.
"That bloody frog… He better doesn't play any pranks on me." She muttered as she slumped on her bed, exhausted.
Just as she thinks that she can have some rest, Elizabeta, Mei and Bella soon barged into her room, shocking her in the process. "How was the tea party just now?" Elizabeta asked in excitement.
"It was fine anyway… That frog had treated me like his slave." Arthur said as she sits up on bed. "What are you three up to now?"
"What else? We are going to get you prepared for tonight's ballroom." Mei said as she winked. "We have picked lots of stuff for you to try on."
"Isn't it still early before the ball start?" Arthur asked as she saw the three of them holding some dresses of unique design and some weird accessories. "Moreover, I'm tired."
"Yes, but there are a lot of preparations needed to be done so do you yourself." Mei explained. "Can't you just cooperate with us just for a while?"
"… Fine…" Arthur heaved a sigh of despair; this body is making her insane. "What kind of stuff do I have to wear for tonight?"
"Well, since you're a girl. It would be appropriate for you to wear dresses." Elizabeta said. "And I think you should be familiar with English dresses, right?"
"But then since you're in France, this dress may be a little different from the dresses you have seen at England." Bella explained. "But I'm sure that you are able to get used to it soon, there's not much of a difference between France and England's dress."
"So? It doesn't seem like I actually know how to wear a dress…" Arthur said as she crossed her arms before her chest. These servants are getting on her nerves.
"First, you need to take a bath and clean yourself up first." Elizabeta, since she is the chief maid, so she will be the commander among the trios. Bella and Mei helped Arthur took off the maid dress she was wearing. "Once you have cleaned yourself up, you have to wear this dress inside." She said handing a white thin dress to her.
"This thing?" Arthur stared at the white dress with a little clothing in it. Why did he have to wear this anyway?
"It's a chemise. Girls wear that underneath their dress." Bella explained.
Arthur took a quick shower as what she was told and wore the white chemise Elizabeta gave her.
"That was quicker than I thought." Elizabeta smirked. "Now we have to get you ready."
"Ve~ it looks perfect on you, Francis." Feliciano said in a sing-song voice once he helped Francis done with his clothing.
"Merci beaucoup, Feli." Francis was in his top mood, Arthur has enlightened his day and he just can't wait to see his beautiful princess.
"I see you are in top mood after the afternoon tea, your highness." Ludwig came walking in as he gets things checked up.
"Bien sûr! I'm dating the most beautiful lady in the world, ohonhonhon…" Francis bursted into laughers at the thought of Arthur dressed beautifully and danced with him flowed all over his mind, that was just sooo romantic.
"Anyway, Roderich and the rest of the servants are getting everything prepared for the occasion."
"Tres bien, make sure everything is well done." Francis laughed even wider at Ludwig's statement. He was just too happy, too excited for the ball to start. "Anyway, I want Roderich to perform that beautiful piece of music he just written not long ago."
"It's called the Vienna Waltz." Roderich suddenly appeared out of nowhere with music sheet in his hands. "Are there any other music request you wish to make? I will have to get everything in place." He asked.
"Just play that Waltz when Mon Angleterre is going to dance with me, and do anything you thinks it's appropriate." Francis waved his hands; Roderich just bowed and left the scene. "Ahhh, today will be such a lovely birthday…" Francis sighed dreamily as he gazed outside the window.
"You look…" Mei was out of words the moment they have finally dressed up Arthur.
"You look gorgeous." Bella said.
"It can't be…" Arthur looked into her reflection in the full-view mirror in disbelief. She would've mistaken the person in the mirror as her mother. She really is the splitting image of her mother.
"This is great, Arthur. Everything suits you perfectly!" Elizabeta squealed.
Arthur continued to stare in disbelief at her reflection. She was wearing a pink western dress. This time, Elizabeta had her long blonde hair tied up as a bun with some shorter ones falling at the sides of her face, her bun was decorated by a bunch of assorted colour roses held by a white ribbon. A pair of emerald earings can be seen dangling from her ear lobes emitting a sparkling green light.
"It… It's beautiful…" Arthur said after a long, tense silence. She turned her back to face them with teary eyes, never had she thought that she could actually be THAT beautiful.
"Don't cry, Arthur. You will ruin your makeup." Bella said.
"Thank you so much…" Said Arthur as he sniffled, trying not to cry.
"Sorry to interrupt for the moment." Kiku suddenly appeared at the door. "Is everything done yet?"
"Everything is well prepared now. You just come in the right time, Kiku." Elizabeta said.
"Is that you, Arthur-san?" Kiku stared at Arthur with utter disbelief.
"Do I look ridiculous?" Arthur asked uneasily.
"Of course not, you look beautiful." Kiku said as a little grin appeared on his face.
"Alright then, shall we head off?" Elizabeta asked as she clapped her hands. "I can't wait to let the party begin!"
Arthur then followed the rest of the servants down the hallway to the ballroom. The route was the same as the way to Francis' room at the west wing but the moment they went up the flight of stairs leading to Francis' room, the servants turned towards the right. Arthur has never been into this area before. The usually dark and dimly lit hallway today is full of colours and decorations, various shades of light illuminated the area. Arthur gasps in amazement at the beautiful lighting, she felt like being a princess in a fairytale.
While walking along the hallway, Arthur noticed something was not quite right. She felt a little dizzy and the space seemed to be distorting, she managed to hold herself form losing consciousness. When she finally regained her senses, she realised she was no longer in her female form but back to he as the real Arthur himself. He was surprised that he even looked younger and shorter in this form but he continued to walk forward. He then took note that the structure of the hallway looked a lot more different than how it looked just now.
Is it an illusion? Or is it his hallucination? Arthur couldn't tell but he could make out the figure of a person running on the hallway. He begins to give chase, running through doors at both sides of the endless hallway. He sees the person running into a room and continues to give chase but before he could enter that room, another person blocked his way. Where did he (or she?) come from?
"Stop, you are not allowed to enter!" The person said. From the voice, Arthur could tell out that the person is a lady.
"Why can't I?!" He asked.
"You're off limit, only authorized person may enter." The woman said sternly.
"Then I will enter by force!" He insisted which surprised him a little. Perhaps this is the younger him, before he truly become a gentleman. Arthur thinks he was quite childlish but part of him is stubborn on finding out that person.
"Come if you dare! I will not take you easy!" The young woman said as she unshields her sword.
Arthur tries to attack her with his magic but the attempt seems futile. With a single slash of her sword, she easily sends him flying to the wall. Arthur continues his attack several times but everytime he just ends up being knocked out.
"No matter how hard you tried, I will not let you enter!" The woman said, still in her fighting stance.
"Bring it on! I won't surrender till victory is mine!" The younger Arthur insisted, as stubborn as always.
"Well said…" She snorted as she prepares to deal another attack towards him but is stopped by the person from the room.
"Stop, that's enough." The person said. "I admire his courage and determination."
"But my fairy, he is an intruder." The woman said.
The person stepped out from the room and the woman walked aside and bowed her head in respect. Is it another girl? But that woman just now called her my fairy. She has long, slightly curled blonde hair till her shoulder and sparkling blue eyes. She seems around Arthur's age and she dressed quite elegant in a fashionable sense.
"I see he didn't mean any harm." The girl (?) said. "His courage is enough to go through the door." She said while smiling at him.
"Bonjour, are you new here?" She greeted him while stretching out her hand. "I am the rose fairy in this castle." She then gently pulled Arthur into the gardens, smiling all the time. "Welcome to my rose garden…" Before Arthur could take a better look at the fairy's looks, his eyes are blinded by strong rays of light from the room…
"Arthur, Arthur?" Another woman's voice rang in his ears. "Arthur, are you alright?" She felt someone shook her shoulder and she quickly turned around.
"Huh? What happen?" She asked, looking at a worried Elizabeta standing net to her.
"You seem to doze of for a while. Are you alright?" Bella asked in concern.
So what happens just now was just an illusion? Arthur drew in a deep breath, making sure that her surrounding was reality before answering back. "I'm fine, just too amazed by the place." She lied.
"Well, we have arrived at the grand ballroom." Kiku said as he led the way.
The ballroom held an even bigger surprise for Arthur. Several grand crystal chandelier hung on the ceiling, sending rays of light to every single corner in the ballroom. Servants are running all over the place getting everything ready. However, the moment Arthur walked into the room, everyone stopped what they are doing and had their eyes on Arthur.
"Oh my god, is that you, Arthur?!" Lovino exclaimed in disbelief.
"Ve~ Arthur, you are beautiful!" Feliciano chirped in.
"I knew that you would look good in a dress." Even those who live outdoor were allowed to attend, Feliks immediately lighted up the moment he saw Arthur in a dress.
"Da-ze. I want to touch your breast!" Yong Soo leaped in excitement. "Don't you ever think of doing that, aru!" Yao spewed flame at Yong Soo to stop him.
"Arthur dude, you're amazing!" Alfred and Matthew gasped in amazement at Arthur's look. "I almost can't recognize you!"
"You look amazing, Arthur." Lili walked up to her with Vash followed behind her.
"You're indeed stunning, Arthur." Tino said to him. "I wish you could make his highness happy."
Now speaking about the so highly highness frog, where was he? Arthur looked around but spotted no sight of the frog.
"Where did that bloody frog go?"
"He's still not here yet." Ludwig told her. "But don't worry, he will be here soon."
Once all preparations were done, Roderich started playing the music and everyone started enjoying the party.
Arthur looked around the ball. From far away, Feliciano jumped onto Ludwig's back and started hugging him all over the place while Lovino demanded to attack Ludwig. Kiku and Mei were having a good conversation together but was interrupted by Yong Soo. Alfred and the other one were playing pranks on some of the people. At the other corner, Ivan out of his matryoshka doll was trying to invite Yao for a dancing which caused Yao to blush. Elizabeta was standing next to Roderich giving him support, monitoring the area from time to time. Mathias tried to get Lukas to dance with him but Lukas just ignored him and went to check on Emil who was having a silent time together with Kaoru. Feliks danced all over the place with an embarrassed dinosaur doll on his back. Bella somehow managed to pull Lovino aside and gave him some delicious looking treat for him to eat while Tim stood aside glaring at them (More like he was looking at Lovino). Berwald invited Tino to dance with him which Tino blushed and agreed. Vash who was too protective of his sister just sat down at a corner talking to each other. Even Eduard and Ravis were watching the ball taking place from a corner.
Arthur took a seat on a chair, the corset pressing hard on her stomach and she groaned a little in discomfort. Her feet hurt for standing too long, women's clothing are really troublesome. She looked around again, still no sight of that bloody frog. What's taking him so long?
"Désolé de vous avoir fait attendre, cher." A person's hand suddenly rests on her shoulder. "Êtes-vous bien?"
Arthur was stunned for a moment. She recognizes this person's voice and leaned in and snuggled in the person's warm chest. Wait a minute, this person has a hand and a chest?
In split seconds, she turned her back and her lips was crashed with a kiss from a certain someone. The person pulled back and smiled at her, she widened her eyes in disbelief.
The stranger standing before her has shoulder length wavy blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes identical to that kid she met in the illusion. He is quite tall with broad shoulders and well proportion body. She blushed at the sight of seeing such a handsome man before her.
"Hey there, beautiful." The man greeted her with politeness.
"Fr-Francis?" Arthur stammered. "Y-You are… human?" She made sure to take a double look so as not to mistake him. She could feel her face heated up and her breathing increase. She started breathing at a quicker pace but the tight corset was not helping her much.
"Oui. How do I look tonight?" Francis said making a pose as he twirled around.
"Wh-When did… did you…" Before she could question further, Francis soon gently grabbed her wrist.
"That can wait." Francis said in a soothing voice. "Aurons-nous la nuit pour nous?"
Arthur blushed even harder at his words, those words made her fell for the frog. Oh shit, what am I doing? She asked herself as she tried to avoid eye contact.
"B-But… I can't dance with… with a st-stranger…" She lied, trying to escape from Francis.
"Am I a stranger to you?" Francis asked as he offered her his hand. "C'est bon, je ne mords pas."
Arthur hesitated for a while before smiling and accepted Francis' offer. The two of them began dancing to the middle of the ballroom. There's a change in the tune of music. Everyone stopped the moment music changed, listening to Roderich newly written song while they made space for the two couple to dance.
For Arthur, the world seemed to be spinning. Her emerald eyes were both locked on Francis who was leading the dance and smiling at her all the time. Other than that, she was totally deaf to the surrounding, the murmuring and grinning sound of the servants went unnoticed by her.
When the last note signalled the end of the waltz, the two of them finished the dance with a twirl and stopped in that pose for a while. You could hear a pin drop at the moment, until when Francis leaned in to steal a kiss from Arthur. Arthur, surprised at Francis' sudden advance widened his eyes in surprise but she accepted it and continued to deepen their kiss.
When the two finally broke the kiss to get some air, Arthur has regained her conscious. There was a thunder of applause and sounds of squealing, shouting, whistling and clapping can be heard all over the place.
"Your dancing is pretty good, mon amour." Francis said as he met Arthur eye-to-eye. "This is the best birthday present I have ever got for the past ten years."
Arthur found herself tongue tied at the moment and was lost of words. Some of the servants went up to praise them of their good dancing but all their words fell deaf on her ears. Francis' voice was the only one audible to her.
"Ah, this is getting a little bit too noisy. Shall we go to the balcony?" Before she could answer, Francis already dragged Arthur out to the balcony where they could have some time alone.
Arthur still can't quite catch her breath even after the dance, she started breathing even more vigorously, taking as much oxygen as she could into her lungs.
"What's wrong, mon anglais beauté? You are breathing quite hard." Francis asked in concern.
"The corset…" Arthur complaint, her back somehow ached from standing straight for too long.
"But they looked beautiful on you." Francis smiled a little as he led her to sit by the balcony with him.
The night is peaceful today. From the balcony lookout point, they can see the full view of Francis' secret rose garden. Roses bloom all over the bushes and glow under the faint cresent moonlight.
"Why you are a human?" Arthur asked once she found her voice again.
"This is one of the curse." Francis explained with a sad smile. "At everynight on my birthday, I get a chance to regain back my human form and live as a human for a while." He then looked a distant away as if remembering something. "Because something happened ten years ago on my birthday…" He let out a sigh.
Arthur was curious about it but she decided to keep quiet seeing that Francis was not happy about 'what happen'.
"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to…" Arthur said softly. It was until a cold breeze hit them and Arthur shivered a little when cold prickled her skin. Winter is already around the corner in France and it is colder than the winter in her country.
Francis seeing this placed his coat over her to keep her warm. Arthur just gladly accepted it and gripped onto the warm of the fabric. "Shall we get inside? You'll get a cold if you stay outside." Arthur just nodded and followed Francis back into inside.
"Your highness, is there anything else you need?" Ludwig walked up to them once he noticed them.
"Well, nothing much I could say." Francis grinned. "I just want to spent some time with my petit lapin. You all can have the fun all to yourself."
"Very well, we will carry on the party without you." Ludwig bowed his head and let Francis took his leave.
Arthur soon found herself being carried bridal style by Francis back into his room. Francis dropped Arthur on his bed and started stripping the clothes she's wearing. First by pulling of the tight corset women are to wear, followed by the dress until Arthur was only left with the thin chemise she's wearing inside.
Arthur, finally released from the tight corset can finally drew her breath perfectly. She soon faced with Francis who was now bare chested and topped above her. She blushed a little seeing Francis naked form. Running a hand on his lean and lanky body, she never thought Francis could actually be this good looking.
Throughout the night, the two shared some hot, searing kisses and moaning can be heard coming from Francis room.
Arthur soon found Francis exploring her new body and moaned in pleasure whenever Francis touched her sensitive spot.
"Ahh… Fr-Francis… St-Stop…" She moaned again when Francis snuggled above her chest.
"I never thought that English girls are so beautiful, even more erotic than the girls I once had in my place." Francis snickered cunningly as he continued to grope Arthur's body.
"Ahh… N-Not th-there…"Arthur winced a bit when she felt her hips were being probed. She felt something entered her lower part. It felt painful but she couldn't help wanting more of that feeling of pleasure.
"Ohonhonhon~ You're so tight in there, mon cher." Francis said as he withdrew his finger, causing Arthur to moan in disappointment.
"Shut the fuck up, you pervert frog!" She gasped again when she felt something even bigger entered her body and hissed in pain. Francis soothed her with his mother tongue and kissed away the tears that were streaming down her cheeks as he proceeded.
The moment when Francis and Arthur enjoyed their time being alone. Arthur seemed to see images flashed before her eyes, is it an illusion again?
He found himself back as the younger him being pulled by the girl who proclaimed herself as 'the rose fairy'. She brought her into a garden full of roses. But the garden seemed to be livelier and more beautiful compared to Francis' secret garden he'd seen just now. But then, beauty is not an everlasting thing. The fairy suddenly collapsed and some of the roses were starting to wilt…
It was then the two found themselves curled up together on bed with their body covered in sweat and fingers entertwining each other.
"T-That's… my first time…" Arthur panted, almost laughing.
"Oui. I have not been doing this for a long time." Francis smiled as he laid next to her. "Je t'aime." He said before the both of them fell asleep cuddling into each other.
The next morning, the servants would find Arthur back to his normal slef lying on bed naked with a frog next to him among the tangled, sticky sheet. Everything was alright, until Ludwig woke them up and gave the both of them a good lecture and sent Arthur back to his room for a wash up.
"Oh~ Arthur is back to normal. This is no fun anymore." Mathias whined to Lukas who was busy flipping through the pages of his magic spell book.
"He has to return back to his normal self anyway." Lukas said obliviously.
"Actually, what is the spell that caused Arthur to return back to normal?" Emil asked.
"If you asked, the true way to reverse the spell and let Arthur return back as a man is to have sex with a man whom he loves or the man who loves him while he was in his woman form." Lukas said, he can be seen smirking at the corner of his mouth…
TBC…
xXx
This is a reeeeeeeaaaaaaally long chapter that I took more than a week time to finish it. Seeing that I am unable to celebrate Francis' birthday cos' I got damn test coming by this week, so I wish all the French here Happy Bastille Day! :)
First of all, I really need to apologize for my bad grammar. My English may differ a bit with the English from different countries so please correct me if I had any mistakes in it. I always suck when it comes to grammar in my essay. Just seeing all of you reading and liking this story just make me want to write more, thank you so much!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, this one is the longest one so far. The magic spell Lukas taught, 'Iralleup ni susrevnoc' is written in reverse form of the word 'Conversus in puellari'. It is a Latin word and it means 'Turn into a girl', so that's why Arthur is turned into a girl. XD
And if any of you wonder about the illusion Arthur saw, I actually adapted it from the game Hetaquest. Perhaps for the upcoming chapter, you may get to know more about Francis' past and the history between England and France. And if you ask me, how can the servants dance? Just let your imagination go wild and think about it, I'm too lazy to write any description about it. :p
World cup final is coming! Who do you think will be the champion of the year? I'm sure everyone is doing their best to get the best so I wish all the best to both Germany and Argentina for the up coming final match. See you all in the next world cup tournament four years later at Russia.
Translation:
[Norwegian]
Overraskelse: Surprise
Lykke til: Good luck
[French]
N'est-ce pas: Is not
Je comprends: I understand
Que dois-je faire: What should I do
Je ne sais pas quoi faire: I don't know what to do
Qu'est-ce qui ne va pas: What's wrong?
Vous êtes belle: You are beautiful
Bien sûr: Of course
Désolé de vous avoir fait attendre: Sorry to keep you waiting
Êtes-vous bien: Are you alright
Aurons-nous la nuit pour nous?: Shall we have the night for us?
C'est bon, je ne mords pas: It is okay, I don't bite.
Mon anglais beauté: My English beauty