Shinigami-cat: Hey guys, looks like this chapter has come out earlier than expected… I should be doing uni work… Oh well. I have made my choice and I am okay with it because this has made me feel happy and relaxed which is always good. Mental health is very important people. Always remember that… I OWN NOTHING!

Home Again

The ride back home was filled with questions from Elizaveta. Gilbert couldn't help but brush them off and laugh at how angry and distressed she was with him. His ordeal wasn't terrible, but at the same time it wasn't too bad. He was happy enough to answer her questions and she was happy to answer his.

"How on earth did you end up in that village?" She asked.

"It's a long story. Short version is; captured, traded, placed in some cell for political prisoner, escaped, almost drowned, almost got eaten, and ended up in the village." He counted off each incident on his fingers. "Anyone miss me back home?"

"Fuck yeah!" Cried Liz. "Your parents were mourning your death for months… We hoped we would hear from you within a few weeks… A month at most. I thought you were… We all thought you were dead."

"I couldn't really send a letter out to tell you of my continued living."

The look on Liz' face was one of exceptional sadness and dismay. "There was a funeral…"

"Oh… Was it any good?" She reached over and punched him in the arm. "Ow! Hey!"

"There were lots of tears shed. You got buried with honours."

"Neat. I guess they might need to change the date of my death when I get back… So do I still have my honours or do I have to wait until I'm dead to have those honours back? Also, if I have them now, what benefits will I get? A free meal once a week at any inn? A free bottle of ale? A slight raise in my pay? Do I even have a job still?"

Liz rolled her eyes and led her horse over to a stream for it to drink. "As far as I know you do have a job… I was filling in for you while you were gone. It wasn't something I enjoyed very much. I don't know how you do it."

Gilbert smiled a little and let his horse drink too. "Thanks for looking after them. I really appreciate it."

She smiled a little. "Yeah, when we get home, you should see you parents first, but the Queen did ask for you to come to the castle as soon as possible… Though your mother will do her best to keep you in her house. She might even think about locking you in your room to keep you safe."

"If she's put locks on my door I am going to be worried."

"… I'm glad you're still alive." She walked over to him and embraced him in a tight hug. "Never, ever, ever, ever do something like that again… You big, stupid, idiot."

Gilbert hugged back, gently squeezing her as he did so. "I'm sorry… Really I am… I'm going to be saying I'm sorry to a lot of people aren't I?"

"Yep."

"Thought so…"

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When they eventually got back home, everything looked pretty much the same. It was very comforting to know that the kingdom was running as it should be. Being back in a familiar setting relaxed him. Things were as they should be.

Once they got to Gilbert's house, Gilbert jumped off his horse and ran to the front door. He pushed open the door and rushed inside, trying to find someone. "Mother?! Father?! It's me! I'm back!"

Suddenly he felt someone grab him from behind, almost throwing their full body weight onto him. Looking down at the person's hands; their small, pale, hands. Gilbert knew they could only belong to one woman. He turned around and hugged his mother tightly as she quietly wept.

"Mother… You don't have to be reserved like that. I don't care if you aren't all composed or as ladylike as you usually are…"

"D-don't say that…" Sobbed Ula. "If you start saying things like that I'll start crying and if I start crying outright I won't be able to stop… I thought you were dead… N-never do that again!" As she spoke she started weeping horribly. Fat tears rolled down her blotchy cheeks, past her quivering lips. Within moments she was bawling her eyes out. Gilbert smiled a little and gently petted her back. He let her cry. She needed to. She thought he was dead for too long. Longer then a mother should have to think about the death of her child.

He waited several minutes before he spoke again. "Mother, where is father? Is he still at the castle, working?"

She wiped her eyes on her sleeves and nodded. "Y-yes. He has been w-working overtime to f-forget his grief… W-when we got your letter, knowing you'd still be alive… He figured the first place you would go was the castle or our home… The Queen wants you there as soon as possible… Will you be going now?"

"Only if you wish me to mother." Said Gilbert reassuringly. "I swear, it will be a while before I venture out from the kingdom again… Liz has implied that she's going to give me back my job, but I think a week or two at home will do me a world of good."

She smiled a little, still very teary eyed. "… Is Liz outside waiting for you?"

"Yes."

"Then I shall go with the both of you to the castle… Just give me a second…" She quickly rushed into the kitchen to wash her face. Once that was done, she walked outside wither Gilbert. Elizaveta got off her horse and helped Ula onto it. Gilbert did offer her his horse, but Ula would hear none of it. She didn't want Gilbert to walk more then he needed to. He could have had some horrible injuries that he wasn't telling anyone about.

When they eventually got the castle, Gilbert couldn't help but grin at the amount of people at the amount of people that were happy to see him. Guards were waving at him, servants smiled and respectfully bowed at him. It kind of made Gilbert feel a little like a king.

Elizaveta helped Ula off her horse and looked over at Gilbert. "Come on. Quit acting all high and mighty. You have a Queen and King to see."

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The throne room had more people in it than usual this day. It could have been because Gilbert's sudden arrival had interrupted something or they were told of Gilbert's arrival. However, the Princes were nowhere to be seen. It didn't sit right with the albino, but aside from that things seemed normal enough. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his father getting hugged by his overly joyful mother. It made him happy.

He approached the King and Queen, bowing respectfully before them. "Your royal highnesses, it is an honour to see you both and indeed this kingdom again. I apologize for my unfortunate and sudden absence. I hope that you will forgive me."

"You have no need to ask for our forgiveness." Said the King. "It was not your intention to get captured. Please tell us, where did you go and how did you escape? Your letter was very vague."

"As your majesty wishes." Gilbert cleared his throat and started to tell his story from the bandits capturing him, to the prolonged and unexplained capture by the Night Kin, the slow escape aided by Queen Gwen through a graveyard, the near death experiences in the cave, and finally getting saved and waiting to get rescued in the village that Elizaveta went to. Once he was done with his story he wasn't surprised to see the sceptical looks that people were giving him.

The Queen was the first to speak. "Forgive us for not fully believing you. There are just a few details that we don't fully understand…"

"There are many, many things I don't understand either." Said Gilbert. "I can only give you the information I have been presented with and speculate on the rest."

The King nodded a little. "I see. Well it is very good to have you back. I assume you would like your old job back?"

"I would appreciate it."

"Go to a Healer and have yourself checked out. Then take a few weeks leave. If you want your job back you have to be in the best physical condition possible. Okay?"

He nodded a little. "Yes your highness. I will see to it as soon as possible… May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Where are the Princes?"

The Queen smiled a little. "Alfred is off with his fiancé. Putting off wedding plans when they are at the age they are at is not a very good idea… Matthew has been unwell for a few days and has been in his room. I am guessing you would like to see him?"

He smiled a little. "I really would."

"I assume you still know the way to Matthew's room?"

"Yes your highness… May I take my leave now?"

"Of course." Said the Queen. "The court is dismissed."

When he was dismissed, he went straight to Matthew's room. Hearing that he was ill concerned him. Matthew was a good friend of his and he didn't want him to feel bad. He would have plenty of time to talk with his parents later that night.

He knocked on Matthew's door and peeked inside. The young man was lying in bed with the covers pulled over his head. He groaned something about not needed anything if they were offering him something.

Gilbert smiled a little and walked over to him. "Come on Matthew, I just got back and you don't want to see me?" Within seconds Matthew was sitting up in his bed, staring up at Gilbert with wide eyes. He looked like he was about to cry. "Hey, don't cry. My mother already did that." Instead of crying he slapped Gilbert's face so hard it left a bright red hand mark on his cheek. "… Did I really deserve that?"

"Yes!" Snapped Matthew. "You were gone for months! Months Gilbert! Why didn't you get in contact with us?! Why didn't you escape sooner?! Why?!"

The albino rubbed his cheek a little, letting Matthew vent out his frustrations. "Matthew, I tried my best to escape… It's very hard to chip away a brick wall with a spoon and a fork. Do you think I liked being captured?"

"I… I'm sorry…" Muttered Matthew softly. "E-everything you've been through… Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"I ended up getting caught by the Night Kin."

"By the Goddess…" Gasped Matthew. "A-are you okay? What happened? They didn't hurt you did they?"

"If that was their idea of torturing me they still have a lot to learn." He sat next to Matthew and smiled softly. "But what about you? The Queen said that you've been sick the past couple of days. Is it serious?"

"Not really, it's more of just a head cold thing… But you are alright? Right? Nothing terrible happened to you? At all?"

Gilbert smiled a little. "It's okay. They didn't hurt me. If anything they just scared me, or tried to anyway…"

"What happened?"

"Well, I was taken to a room in the castle of the Night Kin King and forced to stay there. I was expecting them to torture me or something but they just left me in there… I have no idea what they were trying to do."

"… This could mean war again." Said Matthew quietly. "They captured you for no reason and made no move to return you or even contact us about your capture." He sighed sadly. "And here I was hoping that the peace between our kingdoms would last."

"Yeah… And I have a sneaking suspicion that Queen Gwen tried to kill me…"

"How so?"

"Well she helped me escape, but sent me down a way that would have gotten me murdered and eaten by creatures if someone hadn't helped me out." He didn't want to remember that. Spelunker's were terrifying. "Anyway, how have you been? Anything interesting happened?"

"Um… I kind of decided to confess my feelings to the person I am in love with…" Before Gilbert could ask how it went, Matthew quickly pulled him close and kissed him. Well, kissing wasn't really the correct term for what they did. It was more like an awkward clash of lips, teeth and gums that was trying to be a kiss. He pulled back a little, blushing. "I um… I love you…"

Gilbert was shocked to say the least. "… Well I can safely say I didn't expect that at all."

Matthew looked away from Gilbert. "I um… I've kind of liked you for ages but I didn't really know if I should tell you, but when you vanished… I decided that when and if you came back I would tell you how I feel. Even if you don't like me back, I just wanted to tell you… and kiss you just once…"

"… I appreciate you telling me, but next time you confess to someone, just tell them. Don't kiss them, especially like that. I think my lips are bleeding a little…"

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The young prince was thoroughly embarrassed. "I just… I've wanted to kiss you for years… I'm sorry…"

Gilbert smiled a little and gently petted his back. "It's okay… I'm guessing you might want to date?"

"Yes!" He said a little too quickly. "I um… I mean we could take it slowly… and my parents might think there's a conflict of interest or something… or they could be thinking of arranging a marriage for me or something… I just don't know."

Gilbert smiled a little. "We could take it slowly if you like. We don't have to say we are dating or anything if you don't want to… But we can do all that hand holding stuff if you like."

"… As long as this isn't going too quick for you… You just got back and you're probably tired and I myself am still sick and probably delirious…"

Second thoughts were normal, but even Gilbert had to admit that Matthew seemed to backflip on his own emotions really quickly. Even he realized that he seemed to be taking this a little too well. Maybe he was too tired to process what on earth was happening. Things were just getting thrown at him from all directions and it probably wasn't doing him much good.

"Um, okay? You make up your mind Matthew…" The poor prince just looked so distressed and embarrassed about everything. It was almost adorable how horribly flustered he was. "… Come here." He pulled Matthew into a hug and gently rubbed his back. "It's okay. No need to freak out or be embarrassed."

"… Okay… I'm worried that you're going to leave again."

"Now you're starting to sound like my mother. Are you going to insist that I get a less dangerous job too?"

"I'm considering forcing you to… But then again, that means that I won't see you as often and I don't want that… Besides, I think Elizaveta isn't having much fun filling in your position…"

"She's going to have to for a few more days. I've been told to take several days leave to recover from your parents. I'll still come by and visit during that time, or you could visit me. My parents like it when you come over."

Matthew smiled a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Your parents were really upset that you vanished… We all thought you were dead… I just… We all just… Please don't leave like that again… I don't want you to leave me again. I don't care how selfish that sounds. I love you and I don't want you to go. Please…"

"I promise you Matthew, I'm not going to go. I don't want to. I'm not going to leave the kingdom for a long time I swear."

Matthew smiled a little and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

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Many hours later Gilbert was back home with his mother doting over him and his father just happy that his son was back. Ula hummed a little as she cooked as many of Gilbert's favourite foods as she could. Maverick and Gilbert were happy enough to let her do that since it was a way of expressing her love for her son.

As father and son sat in the lounge room, waiting for Ula to finish, Maverick seemed to find it important for him to talk about Gilbert's capture. "I'm sorry… I should have done something more to help you…"

"It's not your fault." Said Gilbert reassuringly. "If it wasn't me it was going to be you. We both got drugged."

"… I know, but still…"

"Hey, I don't want you to worry about it. It's no big deal. I'm just glad that you're still here and alive. I don't think that mother could have taken it if you just vanished like I did… You've always been there for her. I've just been with her for my whole life, which is less than what you've done."

"And you're rambling again." Said Maverick with a small smile. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Gilbert smiled a little. "Me too… Hey, so um, random question but who's Aspen?"

"… Aspen?"

"Yeah, you used to mention them a lot when I was younger."

Maverick frowned a little, caught off guard by the question. "Well she… She was a childhood friend that disappeared a long time ago before you were born, heck it was even before Jade was crowned Queen. We were good friends. She was this, crazy, outgoing, adventurous girl."

"How did she disappear?"

"Son, Aspen, Jade and I… we were all orphans. No big surprise, a lot of people died in the wars between Night Kin and Kin of Light. We were all living in some make shift orphanage set up. That got obliterated with Night Kin attacked along with the surrounding farms and houses. Many people died, some bodies were never found and some of us escaped… Aspen vanished and well… I can only hope she's dead."

"What?!"

Maverick shrugged. "There are many horror stories about what they did to captured Kin of Light… If any of them are true I beg the goddess that she died a quick and painless death. We shouldn't be talking about death at a time like this is a time when we should be happy. Why did you even ask about her?"

"Well I heard the name mentioned a few times here and there on my travels and I just… I wanted to know about her."

Maverick looked a little worried. "Lots of women and men are named after trees… Willow… Oak… All of that stuff. Especially in the country, that kind of naming is very, very common."

"Yeah but how many Aspen's are albino women?"

The look of shock on Maverick's face was so sudden an out of character that it even caught Gilbert off guard. "Excuse me? What are you implying?"

"Nothing. I'm just saying…"

"It sounds like you're doing more than just saying. Gilbert, I was there when you were born. I saw you coming out of your mother. I washed the blood off you and handed you to Ula."

Gilbert cringed. "Ew, I don't want to think about that."

"Well it sounded like you were questioning your birth."

"I wasn't."

"Then why did you make it a point to say she was albino?"

"I don't know…"

Luckily for the both of them, Ula walked in with a big smile on her face. "Dinner is ready."

TBC

Shinigami-cat: Thanks for reading guys. Please review.